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23
Jun
Joey III: GMA going through 5 stages of grief
Joey III: GMA going through 5 stages of grief
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is going through the five stages of grief, but she seems unable to reach the final stage, businessman Joey de Venecia III said yesterday.
There are five stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. These are the same five stages that one undergoes upon learning that death is imminent.
“Mrs. Arroyo is revealing to the Filipino people all these five signs as she faces the absolute certainty that her days in power are fast coming to an end,” said de Venecia.
A few months ago she was in total denial. She still believed that her hold on power was permanent and that a way would be found to let her stay in Malacanang beyond 2010, according to the ZTE-NBN whistleblower who also filed an impeachment case against Mrs. Arroyo last year.
“We did not see the second stage but we didn’t have to. It was clear that she was angry at the thought that her term could not be extended. Something had to be done about it,” he added.
More recently, Mrs. Arroyo “has been bargaining behind our backs, with the help of her allies in the House of Representatives.” Mrs. Arroyo’s message: Find a way to extend my stay and I will take care of you.
In reply, the House majority concocted “a ridiculous and unpopular” resolution that would allow them to convene as a constituent assembly without the Senate. Recent reports say that the House majority is bent on convening as a con-ass immediately after Mrs. Arroyo delivers her State-of-the-Nation address next month.
Seen as a desperation move to keep Mrs. Arroyo in power beyond 2010, the 23-member Senate have unanimously voted to refuse to take part in the assembly. Once convened, the senators are expected to question its legality before the Supreme Court. Legal experts are one in saying that a con-ass without the participation of the Senate is null and void.
Mrs. Arroyo is also reportedly looking at another option, to run as congressman in her home district in Pampanga.
“These days, she seems to be in a state of depression. How else can we explain these series of unnecessary trips to foreign countries? It’s as if she is trying to cheer herself up by going on junkets at the taxpayer’s expense,” said de Venecia, “I can only hope that she reaches the final stage of acceptance, sooner rather than later. She must accept that her days in power are numbered, that she is nothing more than a lameduck president, and that she totally wasted her stint as Philippine president.”
But he added that Mrs. Arroyo does not seem inclined to accept her fate.
Mrs. Arroyo has several courses of action, according to de Venecia. “One, and this is the course I hope she takes, is to do everything possible to undo the damage she has done with her tolerance of wholesale graft and corruption perpetrated by her close circle.”
He said her other choice is to prepare for her exit “by doing everything possible to cover the tracks of her misdeeds.”
Mrs. Arroyo is fully aware that the next president will probably come from the opposition, and that next president will at least call for an investigation of the numerous scams perpetrated by the Arroyo administration, said the son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.
“The one wrong choice that she might still make is to find a way to stay in power, such as running for congressman. This course of action is suspect. Yet she is still mulling it. Maybe she should listen to former President Fidel Ramos, who said Mrs. Arroyo should stop her titillations with con-ass, and accept the inevitable,” de Venecia said.
Posted in Alcantara |
15
Jun
Joey III warns of GMA
Joey III warns of GMA plan to stay in power
The mixed signals coming from Malacanang about Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s plans next year should give the people reason to worry, businessman Joey de Venecia III warned over the weekend.
“Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman said she will run for congress in her home district in the 2010 elections on the same day that Malacanang said she was definitely stepping down. What gives?” de Venecia asked.
One of Mrs. Arroyo’s spokesmen, undersecretary Gary Olivar, told Malacanang reporters Friday that he was sure the president would step down next year.
Malacanang, said de Venecia, could be testing the waters “to see how the public will react.”
The ZTE-NBN whistleblower said Mrs. Arroyo’s running for congress “is an odd choice.” Since she is almost certain to win in her home turf, the suspicion is that she and her allies in the House of Representatives are bent on helping her stay in power “for the most obvious reasons.”
“Along with the move for charter change, their plan is to change the form of government to a parliamentary system wherein she stays in power as prime minister,” de Venecia said.
“If she really wants to continue serving the people – her excuse for running for congressman – why not run for senator?” according to de Venecia.
The reason is obvious, he said. “She will lose because she has no national constituency to speak of. But replacing her son as congressman is far easier and more certain, the son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia said.
In the last few days, Malacanang even released a statement comparing her plan to run for congressman with “ancient American history.”
“Yes, there were two US presidents who ran for Congress after they stepped down from the White House, but that was during the 1800s,” said de Venecia.
“How can we compare what happened almost two centuries ago in the US with what’s happening in the Philippines today? There is simply no point of comparison,” he said.
De Venecia, who also filed an impeachment case against Mrs. Arroyo last year, said he was certain the president had every intention of staying in power so that she and her family could continue bleeding the country dry.
Also, he added, there was a great need to stay in power to cover their tracks.
“The Arroyo administration will go down in history as the most corrupt in the annals of Philippine history. This administration has institutionalized corruption to the most fearful level imaginable. The greed of the Arroyo family is almost beyond belief,” de Venecia said.
Most of the presidential candidates for next year’s elections said they would take a closer look at all the scams and scandals that occurred during the Arroyo regime to determine her culpability and file charges, if warranted. And with all the administration’s possible bets faring badly in various surveys, “Mrs. Arroyo is willing to take the most desperate measures in order to stay in power when her term ends next year,” said de Venecia.
Of the various scandals that hounded the Arroyo administration, it was the ZTE-NBN deal as revealed by de Venecia that has been called “the mother of all scandals.”
Posted in Alcantara |
15
Jun
Joey III warns of GMA plan to stay in power
The mixed signals coming from Malacanang about Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s plans next year should give the people reason to worry, businessman Joey de Venecia III warned over the weekend.
“Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman said she will run for congress in her home district in the 2010 elections on the same day that Malacanang said she was definitely stepping down. What gives?” de Venecia asked.
One of Mrs. Arroyo’s spokesmen, undersecretary Gary Olivar, told Malacanang reporters Friday that he was sure the president would step down next year.
Malacanang, said de Venecia, could be testing the waters “to see how the public will react.”
The ZTE-NBN whistleblower said Mrs. Arroyo’s running for congress “is an odd choice.” Since she is almost certain to win in her home turf, the suspicion is that she and her allies in the House of Representatives are bent on helping her stay in power “for the most obvious reasons.”
“Along with the move for charter change, their plan is to change the form of government to a parliamentary system wherein she stays in power as prime minister,” de Venecia said.
“If she really wants to continue serving the people – her excuse for running for congressman – why not run for senator?” according to de Venecia.
The reason is obvious, he said. “She will lose because she has no national constituency to speak of. But replacing her son as congressman is far easier and more certain, the son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia said.
In the last few days, Malacanang even released a statement comparing her plan to run for congressman with “ancient American history.”
“Yes, there were two US presidents who ran for Congress after they stepped down from the White House, but that was during the 1800s,” said de Venecia.
“How can we compare what happened almost two centuries ago in the US with what’s happening in the Philippines today? There is simply no point of comparison,” he said.
De Venecia, who also filed an impeachment case against Mrs. Arroyo last year, said he was certain the president had every intention of staying in power so that she and her family could continue bleeding the country dry.
Also, he added, there was a great need to stay in power to cover their tracks.
“The Arroyo administration will go down in history as the most corrupt in the annals of Philippine history. This administration has institutionalized corruption to the most fearful level imaginable. The greed of the Arroyo family is almost beyond belief,” de Venecia said.
Most of the presidential candidates for next year’s elections said they would take a closer look at all the scams and scandals that occurred during the Arroyo regime to determine her culpability and file charges, if warranted. And with all the administration’s possible bets faring badly in various surveys, “Mrs. Arroyo is willing to take the most desperate measures in order to stay in power when her term ends next year,” said de Venecia.
Of the various scandals that hounded the Arroyo administration, it was the ZTE-NBN deal as revealed by de Venecia that has been called “the mother of all scandals.”
Posted in Headline, Joey III warns of GMA, News |
11
Jun
Joey III raps Chinese Columnist
Filipinos should not let Chinese journalist Chip Tsao’s insult that the Philippines is nothing more than “a nation of servants” pass, businessman Joey De Venecia III (ZTE-NBN whistle blower) said in a press statement yesterday.
Any journalist worth his salt is entitled to his opinions, but Tsao “crossed the line,” according to de Venecia.
“It is not enough for his editor or his publication to apologize and pull out his insulting column from their website,” he added, “We should demand nothing less than an apology from Tsao himself.”
While claiming that he uses humor in his columns, Tsao’s piece which came out in the HK Magazine’s March issue belittled the Philippines and the estimated 130,000 Filipino domestic helpers working in Hongkong.
China, he said, could live with unfriendly Russian and Japanese acts against them, but not from the Philippines, which recently reiterated its claim to the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Besides the Philippines and China, the Spratlys are also claimed by Taiwan, South Korea and Vietnam, among others.
De Venecia also said the Philippine government had responded weakly to the insults of the Chinese journalist.
“Placing him on a blacklist which would prevent Tsao from entering the Philippines is a useless move because he has not shown any intention of ever coming here,” according to one of the country’s pioneer IT businessmen.
At the very least, the Department of Foreign Affairs should tell the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines to take action against one of its nationals.
China does not enjoy the same freedom of the press that the Philippines has, de Venecia pointed out. It is not improbable to think that Tsao wrote his piece with some goading from a Chinese government functionary.
Ching Tsao should consider himself lucky that he has a Filipino helper named Louisa who has a degree in international politics from the University of Manila, said de Venecia. “At least he can engage her in intelligent conversation. Could he do the same if he had a helper from some other place like Mainland China, for example?”
De Venecia also scored the administration’s overdependence on remittances from Filipinos working as domestic helpers who were clearly overqualified for such work. President Arroyo has called on the Philippines to produce what she calls “super maids” for continued deployment abroad.
It’s all right for Filipino professionals to live and work abroad, said de Venecia, who also worked in the US before coming home. “But having our overqualified countrymen serve as domestic workers abroad is a sad statement on the employment opportunities available here.”
Posted in Joey III raps Chinese Columnist, News |
11
Jun
Joey De Venecia III (ZTE-NBN whistle blower) rejects proposed tax on SMS
The revival of the plan to impose a tax on SMS (short messaging service) or texting is not the best way to raise additional revenues for the government.
“Ultimately, you will be punishing the Filipino taxpayer since the telecommunications companies will pass on the cost to consumers,” businessman Joey De Venecia III (ZTE-NBN whistle blower) said in a statement yesterday.
The “tax on text” plan was revived in the House of Representatives last week in answer to the budget deficit which is expected to widen this year.
Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila is reportedly in favor of the plan, which was earlier shelved after a public outcry showed that the tax would lack support from consumers.
But Socio-economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto had earlier rejected the proposal, arguing that the big telcos – Globe, Smart and Sun – were already paying substantial income taxes.
Moreover, the government already collects a 12 percent expanded value added tax (eVAT) from local text messages and an overseas communications tax for international text messages.
“Classifying SMS as a sin product does not make sense,” added de Venecia III, “since texting is a form of communication essential for business. Families and friends are also able to keep in touch at a low cost,” he added.
“Overtaxing an essential communications tool would harm both the industry and the consumer,” according to de Venecia III.
“The government should instead focus on increasing its tax collection efficiency instead of adding new taxes,” he said.
Considered as one of the pioneers of the call center industry and father of broadband technology in the country, de Venecia III has been putting up IT-based companies for the past 15 years.
As proponent of the proposed national broadband network, he became known for being the whistleblower in the ZTE-NBN scandal, which would have burdened Filipino taxpayers with an onerous contract worth billions of pesos. The administration was forced to scrap the deal following de Venecia III’s revelations.
Posted in Joey De Venecia III (ZTE-NBN whistle blower) rejects, News, features |
11
Jun
Slay Try on ASEC may be related to ZTE-NBN scandal
Slay Try on ASEC may be related to ZTE-NBN scandal
The failed attempt on the life of Department of Transportation and Communications assistant secretary Elmer Soneja could be connected to the still unresolved ZTE-NBN scandal, according to businessman Joey de Venecia III.
Soneja was shot and seriously wounded in an ambush along Ortigas Avenue extension in Pasig City Wednesday morning.
“The important thing right now is for Asec Soneja to recover. My heart goes out to his family and I am praying for his full recovery,” de Venecia, whistleblower of the ZTE-NBN scandal, said in a statement.
“This ambush was obviously done by his enemies, or people who wish to silence him on the ZTE-NBN scandal,” he said.
“When he gets well, I hope that Mr. Soneja divulge all he knows about the deal,” de Venecia added.
The son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia said the ambush of Soneja was another reminder that law and order remained a serious matter that had not been properly addressed by the Arroyo administration.
“If a senior government official like Elmer Soneja could be shot on a busy street near one of the country’s major business districts, how unsafe does this make ordinary citizens?” de Venecia asked.
But he said that his strongest suspicion was that the slay try was directly connected to the ZTE-NBN scandal. “Asec Soneja is one of two senior government officials most knowledgeable about the case,” according to de Venecia, who said that he has also received death threats because of his expose.
Soneja is assistant secretary for planning and project development as well as chairman of the DOTC’s bids and awards committee, which handled the evaluation of the ZTE-NBN project. He reports directly to Transporation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza.
De Venecia had accused former Commission on Elections chief Benjamin Abalos and First Gentleman Miguel Arroyo of telling him to back off in his pursuit to set up a national broadband network and give way to the Chinese company ZTE.
De Venecia also said he was offered a P500-million bribe to step aside, which he refused on the grounds that the contract offered by ZTE needed government guarantees and was grossly overpriced as well as being inferior to the proposal submitted by his group, Amsterdam Holdings.
National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Romulo Neri confirmed the multi-million bribe offers made, saying he himself had been offered P200 million to give NEDA approval to the ZTE proposal.
Joey De Venecia III
Posted in News, Slay Try on ASEC may be related to ZTE-NBN scandal |
11
Jun
Slay try on asec may be related to ZTE-NBN scandal
Slay Try on ASEC may be related to ZTE-NBN scandal
The failed attempt on the life of Department of Transportation and Communications assistant secretary Elmer Soneja could be connected to the still unresolved ZTE-NBN scandal, according to businessman Joey de Venecia III.
Soneja was shot and seriously wounded in an ambush along Ortigas Avenue extension in Pasig City Wednesday morning.
“The important thing right now is for Asec Soneja to recover. My heart goes out to his family and I am praying for his full recovery,” de Venecia, whistleblower of the ZTE-NBN scandal, said in a statement.
“This ambush was obviously done by his enemies, or people who wish to silence him on the ZTE-NBN scandal,” he said.
“When he gets well, I hope that Mr. Soneja divulge all he knows about the deal,” de Venecia added.
The son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia said the ambush of Soneja was another reminder that law and order remained a serious matter that had not been properly addressed by the Arroyo administration.
“If a senior government official like Elmer Soneja could be shot on a busy street near one of the country’s major business districts, how unsafe does this make ordinary citizens?” de Venecia asked.
But he said that his strongest suspicion was that the slay try was directly connected to the ZTE-NBN scandal. “Asec Soneja is one of two senior government officials most knowledgeable about the case,” according to de Venecia, who said that he has also received death threats because of his expose.
Soneja is assistant secretary for planning and project development as well as chairman of the DOTC’s bids and awards committee, which handled the evaluation of the ZTE-NBN project. He reports directly to Transporation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza.
De Venecia had accused former Commission on Elections chief Benjamin Abalos and First Gentleman Miguel Arroyo of telling him to back off in his pursuit to set up a national broadband network and give way to the Chinese company ZTE.
De Venecia also said he was offered a P500-million bribe to step aside, which he refused on the grounds that the contract offered by ZTE needed government guarantees and was grossly overpriced as well as being inferior to the proposal submitted by his group, Amsterdam Holdings.
National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Romulo Neri confirmed the multi-million bribe offers made, saying he himself had been offered P200 million to give NEDA approval to the ZTE proposal.
Joey De Venecia III
Posted in Alcantara |
10
Jun
Joey III to Appeal CA Decision
Joey III to Appeal CA Decision
All legal remedies have not yet been exhausted. They will be.
Businessman Joey De Venecia III (ZTE-NBN whistle blower) said when he learned of the Court of Appeals decision denying his petition for the issuance of a writ of habeas data seeking protection from the Arroyo administration, which had placed him under watch, “with sadness and regret.”
“I will definitely appeal the decision,” de Venecia said in a statement to media yesterday, “This fight is far from over.”
Known as the whistleblower in the ZTE-national broadband network scandal, the son and namesake of former House Speaker Jose de Venecia had sought legal intervention to stop the administration from continuously harassing him.
Joey de Venecia’s petition is a landmark case in Philippine Jurisprudence.
“Under the Arroyo regime, I have completely lost my right to privacy as proven by the wiretapping of my cellphones and land lines,” said de Venecia. “I know this is hard to prove, but I know that it is taking place. My friends, family and business associates know it, too.”
Because of the death threats against him and his family, de Venecia said he has been forced to hire bodyguards for protection. The threats were sent via phone and reported by a Lieutenant General which de Venecia reported to the Makati Police. Those threats have now become public record through the police blotter.
“Gloria Arroyo herself admitted to the people that wire taps of anyone’s phone is possible when she publicly apologized for the ‘Hello, Garci’ incident. If her phone could be tapped, what more a private citizen like myself?” said de Venecia.
Ironically, de Venecia said that it was also the ISAFP, or Intelligence Service of theArmed Forces of the Philippines, which released the Hello, Garci tapes, that is now being used against him.
“Mrs. Arroyo is using as an effective tool against me the same organization that revealed how she tried to cheat her way to victory against Fernando Poe Jr. in the 2004 elections.
De Venecia added that his house is constantly under surveillance and this is also known to the private security of the Makati village where he lives.
The most telling proof that he has been harassed by the government underPresident Arroyo is the posting in YouTube of manipulated and created conversations he has had regarding the ZTE-NBN scandal and personal matters, according to de Venecia.
“Unfortunately, those alleged conversations have been doctored or edited, by who knows who.”
Since it was illogical for him to post anything negative about himself in the global video network that is YouTube, it stands to reason that it was government operativesdoing so with either the tacit or outright approval of the Arroyo administration, said de Venecia. “Perhaps the Court of Appeals might have disregarded this when it decided to reject my case,” he said.
It was not only his privacy that de Venecia said he had lost, but also the rights that every citizen and private businessman is entitled to. This includes the muzzling of the free press, as government-run radio and television stations, as well as some print media that the administration controls, which has denied him his chance to air his side and to report the government harassment against him.
The death threats have also curtailed his freedom of movement, who said the government decided to throw the kitchen sink at him when he filed an impeachment case against Mrs. Arroyo last year.
De Venecia said he would appeal the decision through his lawyer as soon as possible.
Posted in Joey III to appeal CA decision, News |
10
Jun
Computerization of 2010 polls must be nationwide – Joey III
Computerization of 2010 polls must be nationwide – Joey III
If the computerization of the May 2010 elections cannot be done in full nationwide, it should at least be done partially, but also on a nationwide basis, businessman Joey de Venecia III said yesterday.
“The proposal for selective computerization is unwise,” de Venecia said, because this would open the door to cheating.
Since the possibility of full automation is fading fast, the best alternative would be to resort to partial but nationwide computerization, whether in the registration, casting of ballots, counting at the precinct level, or national tally levels, he said.
Since all the bidders were disqualified, the Commission on Elections is losing time to award the bid to a qualified company. The Comelec recently agreed to allow some of the disqualified bidders to resubmit their bids, but de Venecia said, “the clock is running, and there is no guarantee that the new bids will be qualified.” This, despite the fact that two bidders have reportedly passed the technical specifications set by the poll body.
And even if one winning bid is chosen, this still has to be audited and examined with a fine-tooth comb to make sure that it is valid and more importantly, erase the possibility that results can be manipulated, the IT-based businessman added.
De Venecia said the Comelec should only pick suppliers from either the US or Europe since American and European countries have had long experience in computerized elections.
“By now, they would have caught and corrected all means of cheating with the use of computers,” according to de Venecia.
“I also trust American and European companies to avoid engaging in any kind of corruption, if only to protect their reputations. They can also be expected to be honest enough to admit what can and cannot be done between now and May 2010.”
Even if the computerization project is awarded to a qualified company, there will not be sufficient time to put up the nationwide network, he added.
While known to the public as the whistleblower behind the ZTE-NBN scandal, as well as his filing an impeachment case against President Arroyo last year, de Venecia is better known to the business sector for his pioneering investments in business process outsourcing, or call centers, and other technology-based companies.
Having been engaged in various IT-based businesses for more than a decade, de Venecia said it has become all but impossible to implement the full computerization in time for the polls.
“I find dangerous the proposal that selective computerization be resorted to instead. This means that only some areas in the Philippines will be fully computerized. Where those areas are is anybody’s guess. But no doubt the opportunities for computerized cheating will be massive,” he said.
It would, therefore, be better if the entire country were partially computerized by next year. If the entire process from registration to casting of the ballot to the final count cannot be completed, then what should be done is what is doable.
If, for example, the counting of the ballots at the precinct level is all that can be done now, then the Comelec should admit this and do so. At least one layer of cheating in the past can be eradicated.
Posted in Alcantara |
10
Jun
A Scandalous Regime
A Scandalous Regime
This week marks the 4th anniversary of the Hello Garci scandal and it is sad to note that the parties involved in the apparent cheating before, during and after the 2004 presidential elections have seemingly gotten away with their crimes against the Filipino people.
The whistleblower of that case, Samuel Ong, recently passed away. He died not knowing if justice can still reign in his homeland.
There were numerous scandals that followed the Hello Garci case, not the least of which is the ZTE-NBN deal of which I am the whistleblower on record. I hope that I do not meet the same fate as Mr. Ong. But two years after I revealed what has been called the mother of all scandals, the parties involved have not been charged, much less penalized.
Two years after I revealed what went on regarding the ZTE-NBN deal, I am still waiting for the Senate blue ribbon committee to come out with its final report. I supplied all the supporting documents to the committee proving that very powerful people worked to make sure that the country would end up with an inferior national broadband network in exchange for hundreds of millions of pesos in kickbacks.
Besides Hello Garci and ZTE-NBN, there was also the multi-million peso fertilizer scam. In two of those cases, a very powerful but unelected personality was involved. He is the same person who went on a lawsuit spree against dozens of Filipino journalists whose only crime was doing their jobs, asking embarrassing questions of the Arroyo regime and almost always getting no answer.
The list of scams and scandals goes on. There was the case of the payoffs in Malacanang where congressmen were given cash gifts so they would follow the wish of the incumbent to change the constitution. There was the case of the regular payola received by the congressman-son of the president.
Other scandals have yet to be unearthed. The public is wondering why the First Couple go on official and unofficial trips to the Middle East so often, specifically to an emirate that serves as the banking center of the region.
Perhaps we can accept that some form of graft and corruption will exist everywhere. But the level of corruption tolerated by the Arroyo administration has reached a dangerous level, dangerous to our existence as a nation and as a people. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has singlehandedly institutionalized corruption with her sins of commission and omission. Hers has been the most scandal-riddled administration of all time.
The legitimacy of the Arroyo presidency has always been under question. It therefore began and will most certainly end under a cloud of doubt.
Posted in A Scandalous Regime, News |
