With the filing of criminal charges—usurpation of authority and graft and corruption by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales against former President Benigno Aquino III for the Mamasapano massacre, where 44 members of the Special Action Force were killed, two questions come to mind:
Will Aquino get his comeuppance as the one who had ultimate responsibility for the death of the men?
More importantly, will the families of the fallen 44 finally get justice?
It was BS Aquino who made former Police Chief Alan Purisima the chief architect of Oplan Exodus, where the men were supposed to serve an arrest warrant on Malaysian terrorist Marwan. He was killed, but another bomber, a Filipino, escaped.
At that time, Purisima was suspended for another case—an anomalous deal with a courier for licenses!
How can a suspended police officer be in charge of such a sensitive operation? Did not BS Aquino know this was a violation of the law?
This is the reason I ask: if Purisima and then-SAF chief Getulio Napenas were charged, why is Aquino, who was giving the orders, any less culpable? It defies reason and logic!
BS Aquino may now be facing criminal charges, but I still cannot understand why Morales is so hesitant to charge Aquino with homicide through reckless imprudence. As a Senate probe found, Aquino is accountable and culpable for the men’s deaths!
For the Ombudsman to simply say that the former President may be guilty of usurpation of authority and graft and corruption is a recipe for dismissal! Who could Aquino have usurped authority from when he is the President? Sounds stupid, if you ask me.
If Morales must be credible, considering that she was appointed by Aquino himself, she should charge him with homicide through reckless imprudence. Nothing less would suffice!
Another question is why the SAF men did not get help from the army, who were near them at the time.
This question has not been answered until now. Who told the military to stand down? I can see no other with the authority to do it than the commander-in-chief, Mr. Aquino himself.
Until Aquino is indicted for homicide, I cannot see justice for the SAF 44. Will the administration of President Duterte finally give it to them?
Aquino should go to jail. It’s karma for someone who was so incompetent and vindictive and hypocritical.
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Another issue for which Mr. Aquino must be held accountable is when he used taxpayers’ money to bribe senators to convict impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona. He created a mongrel called the Disbursement Acceleration Program, later on ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
The DAP was instrumental in impeaching the late chief justice. The bribe was exposed by Senator Jinggoy Estrada. This caused his arrest and detention; it was alleged he was involved in the pork barrel scam of Janet Lim Napoles.
Other political enemies of BS Aquino—former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Bong Revilla were also detained.
And while Secretary Florencio Abad was charged for the abuse and misuse of funds, Mr. Aquino still got off scot-free.
Is it not obvious then how the Ombudsman acts as the protector of Mr. Aquino?
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There is a growing concern among businessmen on the financing of the Duterte administration’s Build Build Build infrastructure program.
No less than Ramon Ang, president and chief operating officer of the diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp., says that some of the infrastructure projects, like regional airports, have been put on hold due to a change in approach.
Tycoon Manuel Pangilinan has likewise said some businessmen had concerns about whether the government has the capacity to execute these large projects.
For the past 30 years, Ang said, the private-public partnership program has been working. Why change it?
Under Dutertenomics, in a hybrid approach to infrastructure projects, the government will first bid the project and then auction the operation and maintenance to the private sector. The government will rely on funds coming from bilateral loans or official development assistance.
This, however, will take away opportunities from Filipino businessmen who have become excited about the infrastructure program.
Ang believes that using ODA funds to build infrastructure projects would make the country more indebted than necessary. For example, if the hybrid approach used funds from China, Chinese companies will bring in workers, equipment, cement, steel, gravel, etc. “That is what happened to Africa, India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.”
I cannot understand what the economic managers of President Duterte want to prove by a hybrid approach. The PPP has done well for the country for the past 30 years. If it ain’t broke, why fix it?
We will be buried in debt!
Government officials proposing the hybrid financing scheme say this is the fastest approach to build infrastructure.
Are we trying to please China?