Presidential son and congressman Mike M. Arroyo is under heavy scrutiny these days over his alleged failure to declare millions of properties and assets including a beachfront property in Northern California, USA.
This comes close at the heel of the now infamous expensive marathon dinners in New York and Washington D.C involving her mother President Gloria M Arroyo and her retinue during a recent visit to US President Barack Obama.
Those high end meals, complete with caviar and $500-a bottle Krug champagnes was severely criticized for its ostentatious flaunting
and waste of money amidst hunger and poverty in the Philippines.
Now, Filipinos have been introduced to the likes of Le Cirque, Van’s Steakhouse ,establishments synonymous only to the rich and famous and
now to some extent….the notorious and corrupt.
I can only relate to the proletariat Turo-Turos, the “Pinausukan” carinderias so-called because they are jeepneys and taxicabs drivers habitué where most of the “ulams“ have been polluted by the “usok ng tambutsos” (exhaust of jeepneys and taxis). But still, the menudos, apritadas and sinigang na ulo ng isda are still unmatched in ambrosia and lighter to the wallet as it would cost you an average of P25-50 (roughly $1.00 or more)…a far cry to the New York and Washington DC bacchanalia of Gloria et al of $50,000 (P1.5 million).
To borrow a phrase from the Great Gatsby, the “rich are different from you and me “.Yes, President Gloria and her family are indeed a different breed .
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The young Arroyo, beside his multi-million wealth, also owns Mikey’s, a restaurant located along the controversial President Diosdado Macapagal avenue, named after his late grandfather, a kilometre-long strip of road that scandalously cost P1 Billion! ( one of the earliest alleged scams of the then fledgling Arroyo presidency).
This is where Mikey is said to hold court with his close circle of friends, among them colleagues in congress and oddly enough some Bureau of Customs personnel.
Every Fridays of the week, these customs personnel gather and meet for their usual “biyakan“, For the unitiated, Biyakan means in street lingo as dividing the spoils or the loot, in this case, what is being divided or shared among them are money derived from their Monday to Friday take or collections of under the table transactions at the government bureau.
“Ito ay mga perang nakolekta galing sa mga lagay at iba pang orbit o paikot“, a custom old hand told this writer. (these are the money collected from illegal transactions in the form of bribery and other grease money). Orbit is a street parlance to means a spin or to web a spin to make money.
No wonder, there are reports that one very influential person is involved in big-time smuggling at the Bureau of Customs raking in millions and millions of pesos. You guess is as good as mine.
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NOYNOY: The entry of a presidential son to the 2010 presidential race is creating a big stir among Filipinos at home and abroad.
Senator Benigno “Noynoy “ Aquino III declaration last Sept.9 of his decision to contest the presidency is setting off a huge sentiment of hope and big expectations on reforms in government.
Latest surveys showed that Noynoy is now leading all of the probable candidates for president by a wide margin.
This is the third time in Philippine electoral history that a presidential heir has aspired for the position once held by one of their parents . The late former senator Sergio Osmena Jr. son of the late Sergio Osmena Sr. of Cebu ran against then reelectionist President Marcos but lost badly while the present president., Gloria M. Arroyo, won amid accusations of cheating in 2007. Her father Diosdado Macapagal, assumed office as president when he beat the late Carlos P. Garcia in the 60s.
Now Noynoy is tracing the footsteps of her well=loved mother and revered Icon of Democracy the late President Cory Aquino who died only last August.
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FCT REBUTTS PORTUGAL ET AL CLAIM: The Filipino Center of Toronto (FCT) has disputed claims made by the group of Dr. Francisco Portugal of the dismissal of libel cases the FCT filed against the group which included Courier publisher Mon Datol, who is also a Philippine Press Club (PPCO) director.
In a press release, it stated “the plaintiffs (FCT) have never swayed from their intention to pursue both the rally action and the radio action (two cases of defamations filed against the Portugal group)to conclusion on their merits and it is confident that its positions in both actions will be borne out by the judicial process “.
They also said Portugal and his group had refused to work “amicably to move both actions ahead “ and as a result, the FCT will “bring a motion to the court to set the administrative order aside and set a new timetable “.
In their claim, Portugal and his group said the libel case was dismissed because FCT “failed to act on the set deadline of July 28,2009 “.
But under the rules, FCT can initiate a motion to contest the dismissal. On the other hand, Portugal and his group said that they will oppose such move.
But both warring camps have initially expressed willingness to set a dialogue to end the disputes and litigation..
FCT also clarified that these two defamation claims are “being funded by the individual plaintiffs (Linda Javier and other officials) and not out of the FCT coffers “, the press release further said.
Lastly, FCT said it “remains hopeful that the avenues available in the litigation process will bring these issues to a definitive conclusion “.
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EVENTS AND MILESTONES: Happy birthday to my friend Mon Datol, the hard-hitting publisher of the Philippine Courier. Mon hosted a big bash with lots of entertainment and music last September 13 at the Sunrise restaurant and karaoke.
The Juan de La Cruz band composed of Pepe Smith, Wally Gonzales and Mike Hanopol have just concluded their Calgary leg of their Canadian reunion concert and will hold their last and farewell performance on September 26.