GMA ALLIES PREPARE FRONTAL ATTACK VS NOY / NOY WANTS WAR, HE'LL GET IT
MANILA, APRIL 16, 2011 (STAR) By Jess Diaz [File photo shows Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez at the House of Representatives. BOY SANTOS]
Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's allies in the House of Representatives have decided to "go on the offensive" against the Aquino administration, Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said yesterday.
"We agreed not to be docile, supportive and constructive anymore. We will go on the offensive and criticize this administration frontally. That was the marching order," he said at the news forum Serye Café in Quezon City.
The decision, he said, was arrived at in a meeting last Monday between a small group of members of the House minority that included now Pampanga Rep. Arroyo, House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez and Lakas president Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. (photo at right).
Suarez said the marching order to launch a "frontal attack" against the Aquino administration was given, not by Arroyo, but by Revilla. "No, not from GMA, but from our party president," Suarez said in response to a question on who issued the marching order.
But Revilla denied yesterday he had given the party orders to lock horns with the administration.
"Now is not the time for bickering," the senator said in a statement. "The party remains an ally of the current administration in all its efforts to alleviate every Filipino's living condition, eradicate corruption in the government and improve the country's economic situation while continuing to play its role under the check and balance system."
Arroyo, who represents Pampanga's second district, is regarded as the titular head of Lakas, the ruling party during her nine-year presidency.
Suarez said the retaliatory move by the opposition was prompted by the filing last week of a tax evasion case against Arroyo's eldest son, party-list Rep. Mikey Arroyo.
"We felt that this administration has ordered a witch-hunt against us, that they will charge us one after the other until they finish us all off. We have to fight back," Suarez said.
He said the offensive would start next week with the filing of resolutions calling for House inquiries into cases of "inefficiency and corruption in this administration."
Suarez declined to discuss specific details of the cases but said these would be "damaging" to President Aquino.
When asked if Revilla and Arroyo's other allies in the Senate will initiate similar investigations, Suarez said it was not discussed at the meeting.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has filed a tax evasion case against Mikey, who allegedly failed to pay P73.8 million in taxes.
"Admittedly, Mikey is not well-liked because of his flamboyant style and due to the unpopularity of his mother. But the tax evasion charge is really a smokescreen for the failures of the Aquino administration," Suarez said.
He noted that before Mikey was charged, the Department of Finance filed charges against Local Water Utilities Administration chairman Prospero Pichay Jr. for alleging sinking P500 million in agency funds in a near-bankrupt small bank. "And before Butch Pichay, administration allies impeached Ombudsman (Merceditas) Gutierrez. There is a pattern here of targeting those identified with President Arroyo," Suarez said. Pichay, a former Surigao del Sur representative, and Gutierrez are friends and appointees of Arroyo.
"After them, who will be the next targets among us?" Suarez said. He said the witch-hunt launched against Arroyo's allies will be "counter-productive."
"It is a waste of time, effort and taxpayers' money," he said.
Administration woes
Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri (photo at left) said President Aquino may be doing a lot of things for the country but his efforts are not enough to improve the economy.
Zubiri said that for instance, the administration failed to push for the implementation of the Renewable Energy Act of 2009, which he authored, because red tape continues to hinder investors.
The Department of Energy is yet to set guidelines for its implementation. He also said Aquino has not come up with a visionary project for the country like what was done by past presidents.
Among these were the Philippines 2000 of former President Fidel Ramos, and Arroyo's initiative to transform the country into a first world economy by 2020. "Almost a year is over and there is no clear direction where the present administration is taking the country," Zubiri said. "So far, the Aquino administration is busy looking backwards by investigations of corruption in the past.
That's a good step, but we must have a forward looking program parallel to that," he added. He said Aquino has been dependent on his Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects, which should not be the case because it is not sustainable.
"Investors are fearful of the PPP because their investments have no security. The President should not rely on PPP because it is limited only to highly populated areas like Metro and Mega Manila," he said. Zubiri said that if Aquino's performance could be rated on a scale of one to 10, he would give him a grade of six.
"It would be safe to give the President a six out of 10, just above passing because his administration is only 10 months old," he said. "But within that 10 months, we have seen no changes." – Dino Balabo
FROM MALAYA BUSINESS INSIGHTS
'Noy wants war, war he'll get' BY WENDELL VIGILIA
GMA allies prepare counter exposés
SEN. Ramon Revilla Jr. has ordered Lakas-Kampi-CMD members to start retaliating at the Aquino administration which recently filed charges against its allies, Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo and Local Water Utilities Administration chairman Prospero Pichay.
Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said Revilla, party president, and former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo who gave the green light to "constructively criticize" the Aquino government in a meeting on Monday night with party leaders and members.
"We are a constructive minority at supportive kami, pero mukhang kahit anong gawin naming pagtulong, iniisa-isa (ng administrasyon) ang mga kasamahan namin. The marching order is to go nationwide on strengthening the party and go on (political) offensives. We will start to criticize what this administration is doing on the basis of facts," Suarez said.
He also said opposition is preparing a series of exposés concerning three "damaging" issues against the administration.
He said these cover graft and corruption and ineptitude in governance but would not give details.
Suarez said House minority leader Edcel Lagman is already in the thick of preparations for congressional inquiries into the allegations.
"It's damaging. We are calling for congressional inquiries. It sums up everything. Corruption is a serious case and inefficiency in the government. The exposé will be an eye opener and the administration should answer on these issues," he said.
Revilla's order came on the heels of the Bureau of Internal Revenue's P73.85-million tax evasion complaint against Mikey and his wife Angela Montenegro Arroyo and the Department of Finance's criminal and administrative charges against Pichay over the alleged anomalous acquisition of a cash-strapped thrift bank, Express Savings Bank Inc. (EXSBI), that spelled losses to government amounting to P480 million.
The BIR said the Arroyos did not declare their true incomes for the years 2003 to 2009, totaling P73.85 million, despite their acquisition of numerous properties here and abroad.
Investigations showed the Arroyos bought real, personal and other properties worth several millions from 2004 to 2009, including houses in the US, in Lubao in Pampanga and at the La Vista subdivision in Quezon City, and motor vehicles, stock shares, jewelries, clothes and other personal effects as enumerated in Mikey's statement of assets, liabilities and net worth as of Dec. 31 of the years 2002 to 2009.
The order to hit back at the government was also made in the face of efforts of Malacañang and its House allies to force out Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez through an impeachment trial which will start May 9.
Mikey earlier said the administration is obviously engaging in "political harassment" to boost President Aquino's sagging approval rating.
Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa denied President Aquino is at war with the Office of the Ombudsman, the Supreme Court and even Ang Galing ng Pinoy Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo despite remarks that he issued after cases had been lodged against Arroyo and Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.
"He is not at all combative It's just part of his anti-corruption drive… He just wants to call everybody's attention to his own views," Ochoa said. – With Jocelyn Montemayor
FROM THE DAILY TRIBUNE
Minority set for 'all-out war' against Noy camp By Charlie V. Manalo and Angie M. Rosales 04/15/2011
President Aquino through his spokesmen has been referring to the opposition as his "enemy" which has apparently riled the opposition camp.
Anytime next week, the opposition camp is expected to launch an all-out offensive against the administration which its members claim has embarked on an "inquisition campaign" against its critics instead of addressing the country's pressing problems.
At the weekly Usaping Balita sa Serye, Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez (photo) of the Lakas-Kampi bared that the party leadership, at a meeting last Monday, shared common sentiments within the Lakas, and the mem-bers of the opposition have more or less decided that it is time for them to finally break their construct-ive and cooperative stance vis a vis the administration and instead deliver crip-pling blows against the Aquino government.
"We are a constructive minority and have been supportive of this administration. But it seems that no matter how much we help constructively, they (Palace) have been targeting, one after another, our partymates. The marching order is to go nationwide on strengthening the party and go on offensives, we will start to criticize how this administration doing with basis and facts," Suarez said, adding it was party president, Sen. Ramong "Bong" Revilla who had issued the marching order.
But Revilla yesterday debunked pronouncements by some congressmen from the Lakas-Kampi party to lock horns with the administration, specifically Aquino.
The said "marching orders" supposedly made by Revilla was aimed at avenging or strike back at the Palace for what the opposition perceives as politically-motivated move to file tax fraud charges against party mate and eldest son of former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo, Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo.
"I have not given marching orders to the party to lock horns with the administration. Now is not the time for bickering," the senator said in a press statement.
Revilla, who was elected sometime late Feb. as party president, said Lakas "remains an ally of the current administration in all its efforts to alleviate every Filipino's living condition, eradicate corruption in the government and improve the country's economic situation while continuing to play its role as a check and balance (force)."
"With all the numerous problems that the country is confronted, we need to work with each other if we want to alleviate ourselves from the situation we're in. Unanimity is what we need. Divisiveness should be the last thing on our mind," he said.
Revilla, however, did not provide any explanation as to why he was being quoted, by some members of the House of Representatives, for him to have supposedly issued such directives to his ranks in Lakas-Kampi.
He also did not offer any information that could shed light into this matter, except such "clarification" that he gave such marching order to them.
Likewise, Revilla made no mention as to whether he would take appropriate action against those who peddled such claims that has put him in the bad light, considering his position in their political organization.
Suarez meanwhile, admitted that the decision to be on the offensive was an offshoot of the crackdown, apparently being instigated by the Aquino administration against their allies and in preparation for the 2013 mid-term elections.
It will be recalled that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed P73.85-million tax evasion cases against Ang Galing party-list Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo and his wife Angela Montenegro Arroyo while the Department of Finance (DoF) filed criminal and administrative charges against Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) chairman Prospero Pichay over the alleged "highly irregular and anomalous" P480 million infusion of taxpayers' money into a Laguna thrift bank.
The solon said they were going file next week a couple of resolutions at the House of Representatives aimed at seeking inquiries over two major issues which he claimed would surely be damaging to the administration.
"It's damaging, We are calling for congressional inquiries. It sounds up everything, corruption is serious case and inefficiency in the government," said Suarez.
"The expose will be an eye opener and the administration will be obligated to answer these issues. They should also be ready in presenting the budget (2012)," said Suarez.
Despite repeated proddings, Suarez refused to bare the two issues, saying he is not in the position to identify the three issues being prepared by the opposition headed by House Minority Leader and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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