20100428
BARCELONA CIDOB paper
BARCELONA CIDOB paper
This is to balance our general perception of spain towards as filipinos. It is time we wake up and realize that the spaniards are no longer our colonizers but friends respecting our national sovereignty and always extending a genuine helping hand.
This is to balance our general perception of spain towards as filipinos. It is time we wake up and realize that the spaniards are no longer our colonizers but friends respecting our national sovereignty and always extending a genuine helping hand.
BusinessWorld Online: Anatomy of a crony takeover (Conclusion)
Opinion
Posted on 09:59 PM, April 07, 2010Calling A Spade... -- By Solita Collas-Monsod
Anatomy of a crony takeover
ConclusionThe documents that I have thus far shared with the reader were sent to me by Catalino Generillo, who, while he was the PCGG lawyer in charge of Civil Case 0005 against Lucio Tan, et al., also presented it to the Sandiganbayan. They consist of letters from Lucio Tan to President Marcos and from PNB President P.O. Domingo to the Central Bank, an internal memorandum to Central Bank Governor Gregorio Licaros signed by his top aides, and the minutes of the Central Bank Monetary Board meeting wherein the board essentially waived its own rules to protect the PNB and to further financially accommodate Lucio Tan.
For his efforts on behalf of the Filipino people, Generillo was unceremeniously kicked out of the PCGG at the behest of Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera upon the complaint of Lucio Tan’s counsel, Estelito Mendoza. The reader, after reading these documents, can come to only one conclusion: that Lucio Tan could never have acquired what is now Allied Bank in 1977 without the help and active intervention of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and then Central Bank Governor Gregorio Licaros. The documents are uncontrovertible proof that Tan was given advance information, that PNB stuck out its financial neck for him (obviously on orders of Marcos), that the CB violated its own rules and regulations when it allowed him to win the bid for GenBank, that the technocrats at the CB had taken the unusual step of officially writing to their boss reminding him of all these violations.
Now comes the final question: Why was Tan so "malakas" with Marcos? The answer is revealed by the last document I present to the reader: excerpts from the sworn statement of Rolando C. Gapud, signed in Hong Kong "with the advice and assistance of" his lawyer, Angel C. Cruz, and in the presence of then PCGG Chair Jovito Salonga and Salvador C. Hizon, also of PCGG. The document speaks for itself (the few comments I have are italicized and bracketed).
"Sworn Statement
"I, Rolando C. Gapud, a Filipino citizen, of legal age, hereby depose and state under oath:
".......I was appointed VP of Bancom Development Corporation and rose to become Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer....I provided financial consultancy services to our clients. Among such clients was Mr. Jose Yao Campos of United Laboratories.....I was introduced by Mr. Jose Yao Campos to Mr. Marcos in or around 1973-1974...I was asked by Mr. Marcos to audit companies under the supervision and ownership of the following persons: Pablo Roman...Roberto Sabido...Frankie Teodorol...Luis Yulo...Trinidad Enriquez... I recall that I submitted to PCGG a brief description of the businesses of business associates and relatives of Mr Marcos -- including the following: (ANNEX "A") [Annex A consists of 25 pages describing the businesses of 29 such associates, popularly known as "cronies"] " ...I was the one who prepared and typed ANNEX "A". I submitted it...before I left the Philippines through the back-door in or around June 1986, because of what I perceived to be some great danger to my life...
"... 7. In 1980, I bcame the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Security Bank and Trust Company (SBTC). At that time, I was the Financial Executor of Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand Marcos. It is not quite accurate to say that I was the financial advisor of Mr. and Mrs. Marcos. Although at times I was consulted by Mr. and Mrs. Marcos and in that sense acted as financial advisor, in truth I was often carrying out the instrutions of Mr. and Mrs. Marcos. These instructions came to me, either through Mrs. Fe R. Gimenez who used to all up to convey them, or given to me directly by Mr. Ferdinand Marcos or Mrs. Imelda R. Maros, after being asked by Mrs. Gimenez to go to Malacañang.
[Here comes the reference to Lucio Tan:]
"8. With particular reference, for example to MR. LUCIO TAN, I know that Mr. Marcos and Mr. Lucio Tan had an understanding that Mr. Marcos owns 60% of Shareholdings, Inc., which owns shares of Fortune Tobacco, Asia Beer Brewery Allied Bank, and Foremost Farms. I was asked sometime in 1985 to formalize this arrangement. I went to Mr. Lucio Tan for that purpose. He tried to bargain by reducing the equity of Mr. Marcos to 50%. I told him that I was merely carrying out the instructions of Mr. Marcos and that if he wanted to bargain, he should take up the matter directly with Mr. Marcos. As a matter of fact, Mr. Lucio Tan, apart from the 60% equity of Mr. Marcos, had been regularly paying, through Security Bank, Sixty Million Pesos (P60 Million) to One Hundred Million Pesos (P100 million) a year to Mr. Marcos, in exchange for privileges and concessions Mr. Marcos had been giving him in relation to the business managed by Mr. Lucio Tan. As I said on p. 7 of Annex "A", Mr. Lucio Tan gained substantial concessions in specific taxes and stamp duties for his cigarette(Fortune Tobacco) and Beer Operations. He belongs to the group that could get presidential decrees and letters of instruction from Mr. Marcos for their joint benefit. I understand that Mr. Tan asserted that he was the victim of extortion, and that he outwitted Mr. Marcos by issuing to Mr. Marcos his 60% equity in face certificates of stock. This is not accurate. Mr. Marcos and Mr. Tan were in partnership, and they derived great material benefits from their relationship. As far as I know, Mr. Tan was not in a position to outwit and outmaneuver Mr. Marcos. I do not know that there is a crony or business associate of Mr. Marcos who could have done that. [emphasis supplied -scm]
[Can anyone, with the possible exception of the present PCGG and the Sandiganbayan, still doubt that Marcos and Tan were partners, with Tan being very much the junior partner?]
"....As far as I can remember there was only one instance of what I can describe as a legitimate earning of Mr. Marcos, namely, the retirement benefits of Mr. Marcos coming from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), but this was very small -- around One hundred thousand pesos)...which was given to him, through the Security Bank, when he reached the age of 65.
"...Also Security Bank used to receive wire transfers from many sources abroad, involving enormous sums of money, which were credited to the trust accounts and savings accounts of Mr. Marcos.
[Gapud also relates that Marcos acquired controlling interest of at least 51% in Security Bank, and proceeded to open several dollar and peso trust accounts (most starting with 77) and savings accounts , together with fascinating details about how boxes containing cash were regular sources of savings account deposits. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to conclude that all the money in trust and savings accounts were ill-gotten or unexplained: Gapud himself says that the only legitimate earning of Mr. Marcos was his retirement pay from GSIS.]
"...I am prepared to elaborate, if necessary, and execute such document or documents as may be needed to explain such part or parts of this Sworn Statemnt which may require clarification."
Thus does Gapud end his eight-page sworn statement (not including two annexes). He was ready to cooperate with the Philippine government in its efforts to claim the ill-gotten wealth of Marcos, wealth stolen from the Filipino people, including his share of the Tan-managed companies.
And yet, the PCGG has never used Gapud’s testimony, nor even called him to testify. In the same way that it has refused to use Tan’s brother Mariano Tanenglian as a witness for the prosecution. And the Sandiganbyan seems to be cooperating. They are that willing to kiss P220 billion (a conservative estimate of 60% of the value of the Tan empire) goodbye. The country is being suffocated by corruption. Is there a remedy? Yes. We can elect a president who will lead the fight against corruption rather than one who will allow it to flourish. This may not be a sufficient condition for success -- but it is a necessary one. The choice is ours.
20100426
20100422
Academia Militar - The Birth of the Philippine Military Academy, Excerpt from Philippine-American War, 1899-1902 by Arnaldo Dumindin
Excerpt from DUMINDIN, Arnaldo Website: Philippine-American War, 1899-1902: Academia Militar, The birth of the Philippine Military Academy (1)
Filipino army officers (under General Juan Cailles)
On the recommendation of General Antonio Luna, General Emilio Aguinaldo authorized the creation of a military school for officers.
On Oct. 25, 1898, the Academia Militar was established at Malolos, Bulacan with Colonel Manuel Bernal Sityar, hijo (meaning junior), as Director.
Colonel Sityar (ABOVE) was a Spanish mestizo who had served as a lieutenant in the Spanish Civil Guard. In 1882, he trained at the Academia Infanteria de Filipinas in Manila. He graduated from the Academia Militar de Toledo in Spain in 1895. He was born on Aug. 20, 1863 in Cavite City of an "Indio" mother and a Spanish father who hailed from Cadiz, Spain. His great grandfather was a lawyer to Spanish King Alfonso. His great grandmother was a relative of Queen Isabela. Both his grandfather and father were Spanish Dukes, and his father was in addition a commodore of the Spanish Navy.
Sityar was the first to suspect the existence of a revolutionary movement. On July 5, 1896, he reported to the Civil Governor of Manila that certain individuals, especially in Mandaluyong and San Juan del Monte, were enlisting men for unknown purposes, making them sign in pledge with their own blood. But his report did not alarm the colonial authorities. Fifty-six days later, on Aug. 30, about 800 Katipuneros assaulted the polverin (Spanish powder magazine) at San Juan del Monte, igniting the Philippine Revolution. (153 Katipuneros and 2 Spanish soldiers died in this first major battle of the revolution).
1898: A company of Filipino soldiers originally in the Spanish service
1898: Staff officers of General Juan Cailles
1899: Filipino army officers
The Academia Militar's mission was to complete the training of all officers in the active service. The academy formally opened its classes on Nov. 1, 1898. The classes were divided into two sections, one for field officers from colonels to majors, and the other from Captains and below. Graduates became regular officers of the army. The course of instruction consisted of current orders and regulations, field and garrison regulations, military justice and penal laws, arithmetic and military accounting, geography and history, field fortifications, and map drawing and reading.
Barasoain Church and Convent. Photo taken on March 31, 1899, shortly after the Americans captured Malolos.
The Academia Militar was housed in the convent of Barasoain together with the Universidad Literia de Pilipinas and Instituto Burgos.
The Academia was deactivated on Jan. 20, 1899 due to highly escalated tensions between the Filipinos and Americans. Fifteen days later, on February 4, war broke out.
Source:
1. http://philippineamericanwar.webs.com/thephilippinearmy.htm
"PERFECT JUSTICE" from an Excerpt from Arnaldo Dumindin: THE WAR RAGES, 1899
Excerpt from DUNINDIN, Arnaldo: Website: Philippine-American War, 1899-1902: The War Rages, 1899 (1)
Father and son killed by Americans. Photo taken in 1899, location not specified. A U.S. Red Cross worker reported seeing “horribly mutilated Filipino bodies,” and said, “American soldiers are determined to kill every Filipino in sight.” A soldier from Washington wrote of bloodthirsty “sights you could hardly believe,” and concluded, “A white man seems to forget that he is human.”
U.S. military forays descended into a series of atrocities that included the massacre of prisoners, civilian and military, and entire villages. General William Shafter told a journalist it might be necessary to kill half the native population to bring “perfect justice” to the other half.
Source:
1. http://philippineamericanwar.webs.com/the warrages1899.htm#
20100419
Korea's ethnic nationalism is a source of both pride and prejudice, according to Gi-Wook Shin - Shorenstein APARC
Korea's ethnic nationalism is a source of both pride and prejudice, according to Gi-Wook Shin - Shorenstein APARC
One of the major factors why South Korea has developed into one of the major economies of the world and a leading exporter of cars and electronic goods.
One of the major factors why South Korea has developed into one of the major economies of the world and a leading exporter of cars and electronic goods.
20100416
MY SHORT ESSAY ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES by Jaeyoun Kim
(Here is an essay written by a Korean student for the filipinos out of love for the filipinos:)
However, they do not love the Philippines. I talked to two prisoners at the maximum-security compound, and both of them said that they would leave the Philippines right after they are released from the prison. They said that they would start a new life in other countries and never come back to the Philippines .
Many Koreans have a great love for Korea so that we were able to share our wealth with our neighbor-hood. The owners of factory and company were distributed their profit to their employees fairly so that employees could buy what they needed and saved money for the future and their children.
When I was in Korea , I had a very strong faith and wanted to be a priest. However, when I came to the Philippines, I completely lost my faith. I was very confused when I saw many unbelievable situations in the Philippines. Street kids always make me sad, and I see them everyday. The Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia, but there are too many poor people here. People go to church every Sunday to pray, but nothing has been changed. My parents came to the Philippines last week and saw this situation. They told me that Korea was much poorer than the present Philippines when they were young. They are so sorry that there are so many beggars and street kids. When we went to Pagsangjan, I forced my parents to take a boat because it would be fun. However, they were not happy after taking a boat ride. They said that they would not take the boat again because they sympathized with the boatmen, for the boatmen were very poor and had a small frame. Most of people just took a boat and enjoyed it. But, my parents did not enjoy it because of love for them.
My mother who has been working for Catholic Church since I was very young told me that if we just go to Mass without changing ourselves, we are not Catholic indeed. Faith should come with action. She added that I have to love Filipinos and do good things for them because all of us are same and have received a great love from God. I want Filipinos to love their neighborhood and country as much as they love God so that the Philippines will be well off.
I am sure that love is the keyword, which Filipinos should remember. We cannot change the sinful structure at once. It should start from person. Love must start in everybody, in a small scale and have to grow. A lot of things happen if we open up to love. Let's put away our prejudices and look at our worries with our new eyes.
I discover that every person is worthy to be loved. Trust in love, because it makes changes possible. Love changes you and me. It changes people, contexts and relationships. It changes the world. Please love your neighborhood and country. Jesus Christ said that whatever we do to others we do to Him. In the Philippines, there is God for people who are abused and abandoned. There is God who is crying for love. If you have a child, teach them how to love the Philippines. Teach them why they have to love their neighborhood and country. You already know that God also will be very happy if you love others.
That's all I really want to ask you Filipinos.
Filipinos always complain about the corruption in the Philippines . Do you really think the corruption is the problem of the Philippines? I do not think so. I strongly believe that the problem is the lack of love for the Philippines
Let me first talk about my country, Korea. It might help you understand my point. After the Korean War, South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. Koreans had to start from scratch because entire country was destroyed after the Korean War, and we had no natural resources.
Koreans used to talk about the Philippines, for Filipinos were very rich in Asia . We envy Filipinos. Koreans really wanted to be well off like Filipinos. Many Koreans died of famine. My father & brother also died because of famine. Korean government was very corrupt and is still very corrupt beyond your imagination, but Korea was able to develop dramatically because Koreans really did their best for the common good with their heart burning with patriotism.
Koreans did not work just for themselves but also for their neighborhood and country. Education inspired young men with the spirit of patriotism.
40 years ago, President Park took over the government to reform Korea. He tried to borrow money from other countries, but it was not possible to get a loan and attract a foreign investment because the economic situation of South Korea was so bad. Korea had only three factories. So, President Park sent many mine workers and nurses to Germany so that they could send money to Korea to build a factory. They had to go through horrible experience.
In 1964, President Park visited Germany to borrow money. Hundred of Koreans in Germany came to the airport to welcome him and cried there as they saw the President Park. They asked him, "President, when can we be well off?" That was the only question everyone asked to him. President Park cried with them and promised them that Korea would be well off if everyone works hard for Korea, and the President of Germany got the strong impression on them and lent money to Korea. So, President Park was able to build many factories in Korea. He always asked Koreans to love their country from their heart.
Many Korean scientists and engineers in the USA came back to Korea to help developing country because they wanted their country to be well off. Though they received very small salary, they did their best for Korea. They always hoped that their children would live in well off country.
My parents always brought me to the places where poor and physically handicapped people live. They wanted me to understand their life and help them. I also worked for Catholic Church when I was in the army. The only thing I learned from Catholic Church was that we have to love our neighborhood. And, I have loved my neighborhood. Have you cried for the Philippines? I have cried for my country several times. I also cried for the Philippines because of so many poor people.
However, they do not love the Philippines. I talked to two prisoners at the maximum-security compound, and both of them said that they would leave the Philippines right after they are released from the prison. They said that they would start a new life in other countries and never come back to the Philippines .
Many Koreans have a great love for Korea so that we were able to share our wealth with our neighbor-hood. The owners of factory and company were distributed their profit to their employees fairly so that employees could buy what they needed and saved money for the future and their children.
When I was in Korea , I had a very strong faith and wanted to be a priest. However, when I came to the Philippines, I completely lost my faith. I was very confused when I saw many unbelievable situations in the Philippines. Street kids always make me sad, and I see them everyday. The Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia, but there are too many poor people here. People go to church every Sunday to pray, but nothing has been changed. My parents came to the Philippines last week and saw this situation. They told me that Korea was much poorer than the present Philippines when they were young. They are so sorry that there are so many beggars and street kids. When we went to Pagsangjan, I forced my parents to take a boat because it would be fun. However, they were not happy after taking a boat ride. They said that they would not take the boat again because they sympathized with the boatmen, for the boatmen were very poor and had a small frame. Most of people just took a boat and enjoyed it. But, my parents did not enjoy it because of love for them.
My mother who has been working for Catholic Church since I was very young told me that if we just go to Mass without changing ourselves, we are not Catholic indeed. Faith should come with action. She added that I have to love Filipinos and do good things for them because all of us are same and have received a great love from God. I want Filipinos to love their neighborhood and country as much as they love God so that the Philippines will be well off.
I am sure that love is the keyword, which Filipinos should remember. We cannot change the sinful structure at once. It should start from person. Love must start in everybody, in a small scale and have to grow. A lot of things happen if we open up to love. Let's put away our prejudices and look at our worries with our new eyes.
I discover that every person is worthy to be loved. Trust in love, because it makes changes possible. Love changes you and me. It changes people, contexts and relationships. It changes the world. Please love your neighborhood and country. Jesus Christ said that whatever we do to others we do to Him. In the Philippines, there is God for people who are abused and abandoned. There is God who is crying for love. If you have a child, teach them how to love the Philippines. Teach them why they have to love their neighborhood and country. You already know that God also will be very happy if you love others.
That's all I really want to ask you Filipinos.
THE COST OF SPEAKING ENGLISH TO US, FILIPINOS
This is the cause of why we today, although filipinos, speak English, a very foreign language. We were made to pay with at least 500,000 to 900,000 of our lives in the form of food deprivation, water deprivation, torture, terrorism, hostage taking, execution and mass murder, just so that they, the americans, will be able to transmit the developmental virus Heredity Injuring Virus into our system.
This resulted to the corruption of our: national identity; history; perception of the world; creativity; moral ethics; values; intellectual process; culture; defense system; political system; functioning relationship with each other and that of other nationals; and all of our systems.
This corrupted the way our nation has been formed and developed. This corrupted the development of our relationship with each other including our brother muslims. This corrupted our present behavior as individuals and as a people. Our national developmental code has been corrupted.
We have become worshipping dependents of our american invaders. We have likewise become selfish individuals with only apathy and contempt for the rest of our brothers.
Because of the american invasion, the definition of our relationship with our brother muslims have been corrupted. Instead of us developing this definition of our relationship among ourselves upon the proper organic historical basis, the Heredity Injuring Virus which the americans transmitted infected that development which mutated to facilitate the needs of the foreign americans which was in conflict with that of our own organic needs.
Let us be grateful to the English language and the continuing american invasion. We fiercely resisted in 1899 and have yet to fully accomplish them today.
José Miguel García
20100414
Philippine-American War, 1899-1902 by Arnaldo Dumindin
An excerpt from the work of Arnaldo Dumindin.
Two mortally terrified Filipino women are being brought in for interrogation. Photo was taken in 1899, location unspecified. The Manila correspondent of the Philadelphia Ledger reported, “Our men have been relentless, have killed to exterminate men, women, children, prisoners and captives, active insurgents and suspected people from lads up to 10, the idea prevailing that the Filipino was not much better than a dog . . .” (In Cabugao, Ilocos Sur, on June 21, 1900, five US soldiers ---John Wagner, Edward Walpole, Harry Dennis and John Allance and a Private Meeks---who were sickened by the atrocities perpetrated by their fellow Americans, deserted to the Filipino side; on Nov. 25, 1900, in the same town, another American, Private William Hyer, joined the Filipinos).
Two mortally terrified Filipino women are being brought in for interrogation. Photo was taken in 1899, location unspecified. The Manila correspondent of the Philadelphia Ledger reported, “Our men have been relentless, have killed to exterminate men, women, children, prisoners and captives, active insurgents and suspected people from lads up to 10, the idea prevailing that the Filipino was not much better than a dog . . .” (In Cabugao, Ilocos Sur, on June 21, 1900, five US soldiers ---John Wagner, Edward Walpole, Harry Dennis and John Allance and a Private Meeks---who were sickened by the atrocities perpetrated by their fellow Americans, deserted to the Filipino side; on Nov. 25, 1900, in the same town, another American, Private William Hyer, joined the Filipinos).
20100410
20100409
Filipininiana.net: Constitución Política (La Constitución de Malolos)
This is our organic national constitution, written in the original language.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
