MANILA, JUNE 11, 2011 (TRIBUNE) By Aytch S, dela Cruz, and Angie M.Rosales - President Aquino and his Palace aides have turned paranoid, saying they have detected a "pattern" of destabilization through a "pattern" of demonization of the current chief executive which they claim is being hatched by the opposition forces, following the series of criticisms leveled against Aquino's leadership and his officials that have been making the headlines.
Aquino and his aides appear to be following in the footsteps of the Arroyo administration that saw the goblin of destabilization where there was none.
Apparently, this paranoia over the possibility of the Aquino government being destabilized and ousted, stems from the published interview over Church-run radio Veritas of Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos who called on Aquino to save the country by resigning, since he is "not worthy" to lead the country and that groups are seriously "preparing" for his ouster.
"He (Aquino) does not plan, does not study, does not
make his own decisions, and just lets his friends make the decisions for him. Poor Philippines. The "job is not for him. The earlier he will be out of his post, the better for the Philippines. He is not really worthy to be a President," Pueblos was quoted as saying, accusing him of cronyism.
Pueblos also stated that he knows of a group that is already plotting to seriously unseat Aquino because of his being unworthy of the presidency and his cronyism.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda once went ballistic, blasting at Pueblos, calling him a "lair", and "conspirator in cassock" among other names, saying that he "displays the zeal of a Grand Inquisitor and not the Christian humility of a shepherd."
"Instead of pastoral concern, he (Pueblos) seems ignorant of the virtues of charity, humility, and prudence and instead fires from the hip, armed with a fanciful imagination, and utterly without any effort to discern the truth: practically a conspirator in a cassock, which makes him anathema to responsible citizenship, the duty of every Filipino whether in the lay or clerical state," Lacierda said in a prepared statement.
Lacierda accused the Butuan bishop of "spewing lies" in favor of the opposition's propaganda, adding that they have reason to believe former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo is behind Pueblos' public appearance.
"He (Pueblos) admits to being in the loop as far as people conspiring to unconstitutionally oust the President and told the media he is awaiting further details on these supposed plots...Bishop Pueblos deserves to be rebuked in the strongest terms for being a longstanding advocate of impunity, from the time he opposed attempts by the CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines) to discern the moral culpability of former President Arroyo for 'Hello Garci,' and his more recent opposition to establishing a Truth Commission," he added.
In facing reporters during a press briefing, Lacierda considered Pueblos' surfacing before the media as the fourth instance in which Aquino was being heavily criticized not because he has been involved in any graft case but only due to the relentless allegations pressed against his officials who fall under the category of kaibigan (crony), kaklase (classmates), and kabarilan (shooting buddies).
Lacierda theorized that Arroyo's letter to the Judicial and Bar Council challenging the nomination of Supreme Court Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales as the next Ombudsman, the House Minority's plan to put five of Aquino's close allies under investigation, as well as the recent complaint by the Bangkang Papel (paper boat) boys' that they were stripped of their scholarships by the Aquino administration, saying these are connected to each other in an apparent bid to ruin the so-called relative peace being felt in the government prior to the publication of these issues.
"It sounds like (the issues) are being thrown all at once. There seems to be a pattern here…" Lacierda claimed.
"They (opposition) cannot say that President Aquino is tainted with corruption so they would use other people in his administration. These issues cropped up all of a sudden. You know, everything was silent (before). We were doing our job and I guess the opposition has nothing better to do because it (session) is (on) recess and they were like, 'wait, let's make some noise'," claimed the Palace spokesman.
Lacierda, moreover, conveyed that they are no longer interested whether Pueblos divulges everything he knows about the so-called ouster plot allegedly being worked by some groups against Aquino because the bishop already started out with a lie and they doubt if he would ever speak the truth.
"This guy (Pueblos) is howling in the august halls of his residence, in the comfort of his residence spewing lies and propaganda. So I think he should dwell and reflect on what he did. This is not a role that is a prime duty of a shepherd or of a pastor and the way he's doing it, he's leading his flock astray," Lacierda said.
"Let him discern the truth if he is man enough to speak out the truth. As of now, he is spewing lies, propaganda, and innuendos—very shocking of a man of the cloth to do so," he stressed.
"They keep on spreading lies upon lies upon lies…until they have the semblance of truth. This is the typical propaganda machine of the Nazis. So I guess that is what they precisely are trying to do to make it appear and emphasize the same point again and again, without any basis in truth, without any basis in fact, so that people will believe that this is true," Lacierda said.
Lacierda insisted that they, in the administration, will not in any way get upset over these issues because they are not yet on the same level as the 'Hello Garci', Fertilizer Fund, and NBN-ZTE scandals which transpired during Arroyo's incumbency.
"You know very well that if there's one thing that will earn the ire of the Filipino people, it's leaders who have exhibited greed, exhibited measures of graft and corruption in their administration and they expressed no remorse or regret over their actions," added Lacierda.
As this developed, Sen. Franklin Drilon lashed back at supporters of the former president calling for the resignation of President Aquino for appointing known friends and close associates in high positions in the administration.
Those who conveniently kept their mouth shut when the Filipino people expressed their outrage against the massive corruption under the Arroyo administration are the least credible persons to make the same accusations against the President, Drilon said.
Drilon, echoing the Palace line said:"Being an avid supporter of Arroyo, Bishop Pueblos is the least credible person to ask for President Aquino's resignation over unfounded allegations of cronyism," Drilon, a Liberal Party official, said.
"Where was Bishop Pueblos when President Arroyo appointed her manicurist and her gardener to important positions in government?" said Drilon, noting that it was the former president, and not President Aquino, who was guilty of appointing her friends and cronies in key public posts.
"Where was Bishop Pueblos when the Catholic Church criticized Mrs. Arroyo for her extravagance when she and her cronies spent almost a million pesos on a single dinner in an expensive restaurant in New York during her 2009 USA trip?" Drilon further said.
Drilon said he was "appalled by the gall of Bishop Pueblos to call for the resignation of President Aquino who is only doing his best to institute reforms in government." He added that if Pueblos intended to stop the government reforms being pursued by President Aquino, he should resign as bishop of Butuan and "join the ranks of the pro-Arroyo opposition in the House."
Members of the House minority bloc led by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman yesterday reacted strongly to the Malacañang's statement that they are on a "fishing expedition" for planning to initiate a probe on close associates of President Aquino.
He lambasted the president for ignoring the recommendation of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) headed by DoJ Secretary Leila De Lima to file charges against Undersecretary Ricardo Puno of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), for his culpable ineptness in the handling of the fatal hostage rescue operation as the Undersecretary in charge of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
The Albay lawmaker further pointed out that the President motu propio cleared Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima of tax irregularities despite clear incriminatory evidence, and even rammed through the confirmation of Purisima in the Commission on Appointments.
He said that congressional investigations should be pursued as a means to "perfecting legislation" and could be done parallel to the filing of criminal cases.
"Prosecution and legislation are separate, although complementary, modes of action to guarantee good governance and an upright bureaucracy," Lagman said.
Apparently reacting to a statement by House Majority leader Neptali Gonzales II daring them to file charges against the president's allies, Lagman said: "Prosecution is a process against individual offenders whereas congressional investigations in aid of legislation are for the enactment of statutes to cover general application."
Lagman also took a swipe on Belmonte and Gonzales for defending the actions of the president. "Why should the President's allies in Malacañang and in Congress be more popish than pope when the subject officials have signified their willingness to be investigated?" he said. With Charlie V. Manalo and Gerry Baldo
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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