Postscripts from the grave

I received the text message at 840 am that Angelo Reyes had died at 832 am on February 8, 2011.

A former AFP Chief of Staff who held several key positions in government after his stint in the military from Ate Glue, who became embattled in the imbroglio of the AFP scandal, had committed suicide.

During the senate inquiry on the AFP scandal - former comptroller Garcia getting a slap on the hand through a plea-bargaining agreement with the Ombudsman, Rabusa spilling the beans on the alleged malversation of funds and former COA auditor Heidi Mendoza revealing the very bad audit trail and alleged cover-up in the military funds - I could not help but want to share my thoughts as citizen Juan de la Cruz on the matter.

And while I was waiting for the perfect timing to write it all down, the perfect storm happens. Angelo Reyes commits suicide.

HIs death has left more questions from the Filipino people, who probably for the longest time, are tired of the corruption in government.

It is without doubt that the average Juan de la Cruz has suffered tremendously and has perhaps become callous with the way graft and corruption has become a lifestyle for government officials. When Heidi Mendoza points out that not all in government are corrupt and that still those in government who join this institution as public service to the Filipino people, this practice has become the exception rather than the rule.

I do not cast aspersions against Angie Reyes. He had an illustrious career. An officer and the chief of staff of the Philippine Army. While he is known for his bravery and his rise to the ranks, he is also better known as the chief of staff of ousted president Erap. He took a stand to defy his commander in chief for reasons perhaps only he will know and which he takes to his grave. And if this is so much of the bravado that was Angie Reyes, Erap's successor undeniably was ridden with more questionable ethics and moral values when she stole the presidency from the rightful winner of a democratic election. Ironically, he stood by her.

Ate Glue had stayed in office because her generals were well rewarded. That, no one can doubt. It is evident that key governmental posts were provided to the chiefs of staff on a silver platter.

But the graft and corruption that riddled the AFP is no different from the graft and corruption in the Philippine bureaucracy. One does not need to look far to see this. From the BIR to the Bureau of Customs to congressmen and other local government officials who utilize pork barrel funds in order to enrich themselves while in public office, they are a dime a dozen. This apparent lack of transparency has numbed the average Juan de la Cruz. If those who serve public office can steal from the coffers of the government, then why not the average worker? And as long as public officials remain exempt from being dragged to court or are incarcerated for enriching themselves in public office, it will be a lonely battle for PNoy who seeks to change the ethical and moral conduct of those in government.

And this is where I beg the indulgence of the Reyes family. You see, after all the flames have been put away, it cannot be underscored that the money used to enrich those in public office come from hard earned money by the average Juan de la Cruz. For us who strive to make a decent living, who toil each day and probably work several jobs or take an exodus and work in dangerous countries in order to provide a better future for our families, the misuse of public funds will definitely catch the ire of every average Filipino.

You see, it is not only you as a family that grieves for the death of a loved one. There is no heroism in the act of suicide of Reyes. He takes to his grave the quest for justice of Juan de la Cruz.

The fact is, that those who serve in government will never be able to enrich themselves or even provide palatial homes or pay for trips for wives and family around the world, or own multitude of cars and bank accounts with how much they earn. And this is what strikes a chord with every Filipino. Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez is wrong and lying when she says that there is no way you can pin down ex-Maj Gen Carlos Garcia for plunder. His family have lived the good life while 70% of Filipinos live below the poverty line. His SALN do not match what he has in the bank. His wife, unless she is Jackie Onassis or Jinky Pacquiao or his children will never be able to buy a condominium in New York with how much the husband makes.

The media has simmered down and wrote only the good things Angie Reyes had done during his career as a public servant. And those that have come to his defense are colleagues and comrades who are mostly generals as well.

As a family man, there is no doubt that Angie and all the generals have provided well to their families. How well, is apparent in their lifestyles. Where their children are schooled. The kind of houses they live in. And how disproportionate their living conditions are compared to even the average business manager who seems to have to shuffle in between jobs in order to send their children to school, provide a house over their heads and food on the table.

Angie Reyes, a bemedalled soldier had fought the physical battles in his lifetime. It was unusual that the man who led the destruction of Camp Abu Bakkar would be so engulfed with depression when the time came to prove his innocence from a fight with allegations on corruption in the military.

To the Reyes family - media or the senators or those who casted aspersions against Angelo Reyes did not kill him. An innocent man will always stand and fight for his innocence. I for one would be in a fighting stance if someone maligned my family and my personality. No amount of puny senate inquiry or people who are out to destroy my reputation will succeed in destroying my spirit and resolve to clear my name. There is no doubt that Angelo Reyes earned his medals bravely, but behind his downfall was a more powerful person who had destroyed and besmirched his reputation.

His death was tragic and it left a large void in the hearts of the Filipino people. He took what he knew to his grave.

And justice will remain elusive to the average Juan de la Cruz.

(In)justice we swear

Former military comptroller Major General Carlos Garcia's P303Million plunder case has been dismissed after he pleaded guilty to bribery and violation of the anti-money laundering act - two lesser offenses he faces before the SandiganBayan. Of course, after he pleads guilty to these, he was granted P60,000 bail. On December 18, 2010, at 11 am, Garcia walked out of the PNP custodial center after serving almost 6 years in jail. Then there is talk of a compromise deal on the supposed return of the ill-gotten wealth. And that since he has served the maximum time for jail for an offense called bribery, he probably will go scot free.

The case of Garcia stemmed from the confiscation and eventual prosecution by United States authorities on trying to sneak in $100,000 in cold cash by his sons to the US. His wife Clarita, and all his sons - Ian Carl, Timothy Mark, and Juan Carlo - are US Citizens. They are co-accused in two cases against them.

A general in the Philippines does not and will never in his lifetime make that much money even if he dies in the line of duty. If you set the pay check of the President of the Philippines as the highest pay grade for government officials, well you can figure the math. He earns P37,000 a month. He is reported to have transferred P44M to the US in 11 years. Their family own several properties in the US.

The sequence of events leaves much room for cry for justice in the Philippines where those that are in power and those that have money have preferential treatment, are able to get better lawyers who go around the bush to find a way out of the corrupt practices of our government officials who steal from the coffers of the nation.

If the current administration is serious in its mission against graft and corruption, it must begin with this case. The wife and children of Garcia should be extradited and all ill-gotten wealth must be recovered, even if it means that the Garcias will be poorer than the poorest of the poor. It is, after all, the money of the people of the Philippines.

It should be done soon and swiftly so that it will serve as a lesson to others in government who will dare touch money intended for the development of its citizens and not the few who choose to steal and get away with it.

But justice in this country is wanting. The case of the Marcoses is a perfect example. And as long as we turn a blind eye at the the way money changes hands in exchange for justice, we will remain third world.

How many more lives and more Filipinos should live in poverty because those that are supposed to serve us steal from under our nose?

[For those interested in the whole story trail of Garcia's travail, copy and click on to this site

http://trapo.freeservers.com/garcia.html]

Tim Who?

His name is Timothy Mark Depakakibo Garcia. He is the 25 year old son of former Maj. General Carlos Garcia, the erstwhile former military comptroller of the Philippines who has been accused of plunder charges to the tune of 300M pesos (together with his wife Clarita and sons Ian Carl, Juan Paolo and Timothy Mark).

Who is Timothy Mark Depakakibo Garcia? Last September 16, 2009, out of nowhere, Peter Davis wrote a feature article on Tim Garcia in the news website "The Daily Beast" on the young Tim who is now a publicist for fashion label Marc by Marc Jacobs. In the article, Tim is seen living out his house arrest fashionista style. He is supposedly kept company by a friend named Bryanboy (whatever that means). The family is wanted in the Philippines for a string of plunder cases, what with the father supposedly making headlines years ago from acquiring multimillion dollar cash from his measly pay as an army official. In January 2004 (or when Tim was only 19), he and his mother purchased a $765,000 condominium unit (Unit 6A) at the Trump Park Avenue Condominium right smack in the heart of Park Avenue, New York City.

Interestingly for those that failed to follow the trail after the expose on the illegal wealth of the general, this is the trail as reported:

On March 5, 2005, Timothy Garcia was "arrested by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents and presented in this District."

The court was also informed that Clarita Garcia was arrested and presented in the Eastern District Court of Michigan in Detroit and Ian Carl and Juan Paulo Garcia were arrested in the Northern District of California. All four are currently detained.

Clarita Garcia, 58, and her husband, retired Major General Carlos F. Garcia, and their three children – Timothy Mark, 25, Ian Karl, 30, and Juan Paulo, 27, are all facing plunder charges in the Philippines. Plunder carries a penalty of 30 years to life in prison.

General Garcia, a former comptroller of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and others were accused of “willfully, unlawfully, and criminally amass, accumulate, and acquire ill-gotten wealth in the form of funds, landholdings, and other real and personal properties in the aggregate amount of not less than 303-million pesos (US$6.2 million)."

The source of funds used by Timothy and his mother, Clarita, was believed to be the unexplained 303-million (US$6.2-M) acquired by General Garcia. The Garcias were able to transfer $2 million from the Philippines to the United States.

Except for General Garcia, the rest of the members of the family are all US citizens and are subjects to extradition.

In addition to extradition, Juan Paulo and Ian Karl are detained in the Northern District of California in San Francisco for bulk smuggling charges related to $100,000 being transported to the United States from the Philippines in 2003.

Timothy Mark and Clarita Garcia are only facing extradition charges and have no other criminal charges.

General Garcia is serving his two-year sentence for perjury in the Philippines. The Garcia couple, as well as their three children, will face plunder charges in the Philippines as soon as the Garcia family members are extradited to the Philippines.

Before purchasing the Trump condominium unit, Clarita Garcia deposited on Jan. 15, 2004 $308,327, approximately $200,000 in cash and in two certified checks from the Bank of the Philippine Islands totaling $108,327 into the Citibank account in New York she holds jointly with Timothy Garcia.

The Garcia also transferred over $1-M from Export and Industry Bank in the Philippines to the United States in a three-month period. On Jan. 21, 2004, $357,418 was wire transferred from General Garcia’s account in the Philippines to Clarita and Timothy Garcia’s Citibank account in New York.

On Feb. 3, 2004, $265,673 was again wire-transferred by Gen. Garcia to the same account of Clarita and Timothy.

On Feb. 20, 2004 and on March 11, 2004, $263,809 and $176,324 were transferred from Merceditas Garcia, sister of General Garcia, to the same bank account of Clarita and Timothy Garcia, respectively. - GMANews.TV


We probably would not know what was going on in the mind of Mr. Davis when he came out with the "fashionista" lifestyle of Tim but this definitely was not a venue to brag and brandish the lifestyle of the crooked and famous. One of the readers had commented that unless proven guilty, no one had the right to lambast the Garcias. Come on, give us a break. Not all are morons in this country, where money laundering and corruption in government is the RULE, rather than the exception.

A fashion statement? Duh, yeah right. But highlighting the "fashionista approach" with Garcia "perched on a sleek white Armani Casa chair in his apartment in the modern, gilded Trump Plaza at 502 Park Avenue, Garcia is decked in head-to-toe designer: a supple caramel leather Alessandro dell’Acqua jacket, Alexander McQueen jeans, a thin white LnA tee shirt and YSL boots. His wrists are adorned with a big Cartier gold and silver Tank watch, a Cartier Love bracelet, a white enamel Hermes bangle and a $1000 dollar large gold plated spiked Hermes cuff called the Collier de Chien." is a crime on the the Filipino people by displaying ostentatious living from apparently "stolen" wealth. This apparently obnoxious display of travesty of the Philippine justice system can hardly be downplayed and must affect the senses of even the most callous and the most snobbish among the faux elitist fashion circles.

As if the rise to the Imeldific or the Arroyo banquet were lifestyles that would catch the ire of the citizens of the world, Tim is not some important personality that is provided the God given right to go ahead and spend the money of the impoverished country where his father happens to have been the former comptroller and happens to have plundered from. And I have no idea who and what Marc by Marc Jacobs is. Marc may be some fashion icon in the hubris of New York whose eclectic crowd of wannabes may be going gaga over his world, but he definitely needs some constant reminder that the rest of the world does not revolve around him and that a little sensibility on social responsibility among these fashionistas should slap some sense into their ever snobbish attitude of never care.

I praise the Filipino for being able to rise above the proverbial poverty level and make it big in, yes, New York New York, there has got to be some reality check among the youth on how to grab the limelight with a conscience. The likes of Manny Pacquiao, Aling Dionisia, Boy Abunda, Lea Salonga or other Pinoys who have shown that their lifestyles have changed because of hard work are the epitome of the kind of people that those of us who struggle to make it big in this crazy world should emulate.


I loathe, however, those who have no right to spend other people's money for their own gains.


We do not need to publicize people like Tim Who, who seems oblivious of the limitations of what his family financially is capable of and utilize the Filipinos money to pamper his sordid taste in fashion with the approval of "fashionista" cohorts in New York City. It's people like these who justify the glamor and glitz of an empty lifestyle. No morals. No values. A designer's name attached to their wrist, their backpacks, or their ankles.

But Tim Who is no Paris Hilton and like the other thieves of the night, he has no right displaying unabashedly the gold that he has no right to wear. It is a shame that people like Davis even make a sense out of nonsense.

Tidbits of farce, fart and Ate Glue in Wonderland!

After the US Presidential elections came to a quick and decisive close yesterday, the Filipinos in the Philippines who were glued to CNN awaiting the momentous decision can all go back and do what they do best...bash Ate Glue.

The other day, Ate Glue had commented that people should stop riding on the JocJoc Bolante caravan. She chided everyone for doing a political grand stand on the corruption issues that are hounding her. My answer - WHY NOT? Her fat ass is just sitting on these issues and she's not lifting a finger. Her never care attitude is nauseating and these people who're licking her p**sy are willing to stand the pungent odor as long as they rake in the millions.

1. The Euro Generals Saga - So the story goes that the Russian officials, through a letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs, are now inviting the wife of the head of the Philippine National Police General Versoza back to Russia, together with retired General Eliseo de la Paz. What's the Mrs got to do with the story? The PNP is mum on this, but wait, now de la Paz is also being asked by the Russian authorities to explain why there was still over 56,000 euros the asshole was carrying (which they likewise confiscated). De la Paz had a bright explanation - two Chinese friends had requested him to buy 2 very expensive watches which would cost arount 28,000 euros each. Bull! F**k the idiot! This guy should have just been assigned to Mindanao and tortured till death by the Abu Sayyaf and extremists.
From the way the story is evolving, the stories from the grapevine is that General Versoza's wife had actually carried more than the money found in the de la Paz from Manila to St. Petersberg. Of course, no one would inspect the wife of the PNP Chief on her exit from Manila. She had brought more moolah than you could count. The money was to wine, dine, dance and buy gifts for the other wives of the other generals that had gone with her. On their way back to Manila from the junket, the Mrs was caught with the cash that was left from their shopping spree (eat your heart out Paris Hilton as Mrs V had more moolah than what your dad left you!). Someone had to take the fall and de la Paz, thinking that since he was a general, could get himself untangled in the scenario at the airport. Too bad the Russians are more intelligent than the dumb pinoy bobo-cops! But the plot has thickenend...

2. JocJoc JocJoc I am sick - Best Actor in a Comedy is JocJoc Bolante. I hate saying it, but it looks like the doctors at St. Lukes are in this together. Tadahhh!!! Love them, hate them. No wonder the doctors end up getting stoned to death in this comedy-drama that you'd love to hate. They invoke the patient-doctor confidentiality, a.k.a. - secret! So while no one is talking, JocJoc's lawyers are busy buying time requesting for the Supreme Court for temporary injunction and so on and so forth. I guess it would have been better if JocJoc just proclaimed insanity and then went ballistic and shot himself in the hospital. Doesn't have to be fatal. Just do it! That way he can be sent to the looney bin where he can join his kin. Come on guys, this guy has a house in Ayala Alabang that is worth over 80Million pesos. His family says that they are rich even before he got the position as Undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture. They claim that he accepted the position because Mike A and he are friends and they go a long way back. Nice story. But no one would give a sh*t about his forum shopping to keep him out of jail. Ironically, the buying time drama is evolving like a true blooded Pinoy Telenovela there is never a timeline to end the story as long as other issues are present. With these two dramas that have evolved, it has become a tug-of-war for the Filipino people on which channel we are following. And the joke's on us!

3. Ate Vi to run for VP? OMG! - Ate Vi celebrated her nth birthday in style in her hometown in Batangas. The governor is just as charming and pretty as she was decades ago when she was part of the teeny bop group with Esperanza Fabon, Edgar Mortiz, Jay Ilagan, et al. In the birthday bash, she was asked if she was ready to become Vice-President of the Philippines in the 2010 elections and she said that she was concentrating on the here and now. Making a film was on her next agenda. Well, Gov. Sarah Palin, eat your eye glasses out because the Philippines has also its own version of you, except that Ate Vi is less ditzy than the governor of Alaska in the US of A. But wait, Ate Vi retorted that she has not thought about it well enough and well things can change...OMG...she can do an Obama! Maybe she can be president? God, just throw thunder and lightning and make the ocean eat up this country, if that happens.

4. Drug prices to drop? - So now the impelementing rules and regulations on the Universally Accessible and Quality Medicines Act (Cheaper Medicines) has been signed and the implementation will take effect soon. This includes the controversial tag line that all generic drugs will carry the label "this generic drug is therapeutically equivalent to other generic products with the same generic name. Signed - BFAD". So who's going to do the testing for these generic products? How sure are we that the requirements for therapeutic equivalence are actually met by the manufacturer or distributor? Knowing how many fly-by-night and backyard distributors there are in this country, there will be a massive increase in deaths due to lack of efficacy or safety of a drug product if the patients and doctors are not vigilant with the current scenario of drug production practice in this country. The only way this can be resolved is to bring back the death penalty. In China, the Food and Drug head was executed a year ago because of the poor quality of drugs in the country. We should subject of regulatory authorities with the same punishment if found guilty to approving drugs into the Philippine market without a bioequivalence/bioavailability test, when needed.

Remember guys - the most expensive drug is the one that doesn't work!

Thieves...at a time of poverty

As this blog is being written, Ate Glue is in Beijing. According to the newspaper reports, while Ate Glue may not be popular in the Philippines, she is considered an empress in China. My comment - the Chinese can have her as their president. My dear Chinese comrade-in-arms, you can have Ate Glue!

Anyways, let's cut to the chase and let me update my readers on the state of the nation. F**k the people that run this country. The government officials in this banana republic seem to be enjoying sucking up to Ate Glue for whatever penny that can extract from her highness, since she has only a little less than 2 years left in office. So her court jesters seem to be in high spirits and even the honorable "tong"gressmen are just shitting in their pants, not minding the mess they are making nor smelling the shit they are emanating from defending the palace.

Let's see - the "tong"gressmen are flocking and f**king in numbers, creating an orgy of frenzy against the new impeachment against a sitting president. Of course, Ate Glue has already greased those that need to be greased, so the assholes are sitting and shitting pretty on their asses with all that b**lsh*t defense coming out of their mouths.

Aw common people. Isn't this the very reason why we deserve the kind of government we get? Why every Juan, Pilar and Pepe are flocking out of this country? Why we, as a Filipino race do not even deserve to be looked up to in international communities?

We allow ourselves to get trampled upon. We allow ourselves to be shitted on. We don't care how the people in government beg, borrow or steal. We are a pathetic race and we deserve what we get from whom we voted for. We go on our every day lives and demand from government to bring down the cost of fuel, electricity, basic commodities, rice, text message charges, medicines...yet I have yet to hear our country men rise up and demand from government, their moral ascendancy from all the scandals that are being charged to them.

The "Euro Generals" escapade is the perfect example. Why Ate Glue refuses to touch them is beyond my comprehension. It's probably the fact that there is honor among theives...and that is best exemplified by this case scenario.

Imagine that the money changer who had exchanged the peso into euros for General de la Paz, had come out to say that since early August of this year, the 6.9Million pesos was already with the generals because every week, someone would come to his money change shop to exchange for 3,000 - 5,000 euros - until all that 6.9Million pesos had been transacted! And the reasons that de la Paz had given, together with Puno and the other generals had varied from day to day. Now they are singing the song that they brought the money to Russia to buy spy gear and weapons ----- DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!??!?!!?!? Look who's being taken for a ride. Tweedle dee doo and tweedle dee dumb...

And because Ate Glue had stated that she puts her full trust in her generals IN SPITE of this glaring fiasco, which has Senator Miriam under full throttle against the PNP force (and I hope she does trash Puno to pieces), puts the moral ascendancy of Ate Glue in question. Why and whom is she defending? To the generals, their act of impropriety or theft, let's not be coy about the incident, is simply a "me too" act. If Ate Glue can steal from the coffers of this land, why not them.

In actuality, Ate Glue is to blame. She did a really lousy job at being discreet and she used the money of the Filipinos to cover up all those f**ked up deals she and her men made. At a time when more Filipinos are hungrier than ever, accentuated by the worldwide economic meltdown, it is despotic to be robbing at a time of poverty.

Game of the Generals

The headlines called the 8 PNP generals, the Euro Generals, after the fiasco in Russia.

The 8-man Philippine contingent that went to St. Petersburg, Russia to attend the 77the Interpol meeting, embarrassed the Philippines when retired comptroller MR. de la Paz had tried to take out of Russia 6.9Million Pesos (105,300 euros) on their return trip over a week ago.

Instead of the government officials pacifying a mad crowd, it sent mixed messages to the Filipinos by "defending" the retired general from why in heaven's name he was carrying that much CASH with him.

The day after the news had hit local media, DILG Secretary Puno was seen scrambling to defend his generals, saying that it was an approved budget but to the tune of 2.3 and not 6.9Million Pesos. But Puno had to save face and thereby explained that the money was to cover for airfare, accomodations, allowance, food expenses and other "contingency funds". The next few days were more embarrasing because we had one general covering up another general and Puno flip-flopping on the flak that has been barraging his office.

First and foremost, I cannot help but be filled with anger. Anger because this government has made each and everyone of us look really stupid, if we were to accept the reasons provided as to why de la Paz still had 105,300 euros that were undeclared when he was exiting Russia!

You don't go right up to the airline counter and say, hey you, I'm buying a ticket to Moscow right here and right now. Nor do you go up to the hotel and say, hey buddy, you got a room for $200 a night? Give my 8 buddies and their wives a room each and I'll pay you in cash!!?!?!?!!? And when one of the generals DO GET SICK during the trip, you don't bring up that wad of cash at the hospital and say, fix him I've got the dough. And even if they claim that the money was to pay for the total expenses of the generals - why was there so much moolah left?!?!?!?!?

And this is not like the first time these generals are on a field trip.

These events take months of planning. Since the government knew that de la Paz was already retiring this month, during his trip to Russia, why did they still send the guy? You don't send someone who even if he undergoes training in a conference will NOT be useful to the police force any longer.

There are more questions than answers in this Game of the Euro Generals and unless Ate Glue do something about this dilemma that her generals are caught in, it makes more sense to let Sen. Trillanes out and put these generals in jail where they belong until they sing the right song.

They say that money can buy anything. So how much are the souls of our cops?

No wonder this country is looked down by foreigners in terms of graft and corruption. But you can always have Justice Secretary Gonzalez try to use his decrepit tongue and foul mouth try to salvage the President and her humpty dumpty men.

Election is about 1 1/2 years into the corner my friends. It is time change the realm of Philippine Politics.