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26
Nov
MASSACRE – Result of 2004 Electoral Fraud – Joey III
MASSACRE – Result of 2004 Electoral Fraud – Joey III
The inhuman massacre of civilians and media men in Maguindanao is the direct result of massive electoral fraud delivered by the administration’s warlord in Maguindanao. This according to Joey De Venecia III who claims that Ampatuan is now being treated with kid gloves only because he was the one who delivered a landslide win for the entire K-4 ticket in Maguindanao.
“Nobody ever believed that FPJ and any of the opposition senators running at the time got zero votes!”. De Venecia adds, “As a reward, the administration gave Ampatuan control, not only of an annual 10B in infra fund,s but also carte blanche as warlord of the province – Tha,t has led to this.” referring to the massacre.
“GMA is in a bind right now because if she turns on Ampatuan then Ampatuan would spill the beans on her – that he cheated for and in her behalf in the 2004 elections.”
De Venecia strongly supports the public clamor for the immediate disarmament not only of Ampatuan’s private army but of all private armies maintained mostly by administration pitbulls like Ampatuan.
“Its so hard to believe that the AFP and PNP which is some 200,000 strong with their APCs, tanks, attack choppers and regular supply of ordnance hasn’t even moved an inch to immediately disarm Ampatuan who has been named by survivors of the massacre.”
The reason for the inaction can only be traced to Malacanang who, for all intents and purposes, is the real sponsor and protector of Ampatuan’s power and blood lust.
De Venecia however cautions against calls for a new war directed at the warlord to be waged in Mindanao. “In other countries this incident would be treated as a police matter, a war would just give Ampatuan more room to cover-up, complicate and muddle the issue” said De Venecia.
“I appeal to all Filipinos not to let-up in demanding swift and hard justice for this barbaric act, always seeing this matter for simply what it is – that this administration encourages and supports warlords at the expense of the people.”
Joey, his followers and friends will have masses offered for the innocent civilians and 22 members of the press who suffered torture, mutilation and painful death at the hands of Ampatuan’s private army.
25
Nov
JOEY DE VENECIA III JOINS PUWERSA NG MASANG PILIPINO (PMP)
Businessman Joey de Venecia III officially joined the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) yesterday after respectfully turning down earlier offers to join other opposition parties.
De Venecia took his oath as a member of the party founded by President Joseph Estrada, who remains the party’s titular head and candidate for president in the May 2010 elections.
“I join this party because I believe in its pro-poor programs,” the son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia said. The former speaker could not join the oath-taking of his son because he is down with flu.
Although Estrada defeated his father in the 1998 elections, the young de Venecia said he had always felt welcomed by the former president. “He treats me like one of his sons,” the ZTE-national broadband network whistleblower said.
Private citizen and political neophyte Joey de Venecia has never run or been appointed to any government position. He will be part of the PMP’s heavyweight senatorial line up which will include reelectionist Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Ponce-Enrile and Miriam Defensor-Santiago, among others.
Recent surveys show Joey de Venecia III to be a probable winner in the senate race, with the opposition expected to swamp the administration bets.
A successful IT-based businessman, this will be the first foray of de Venecia into Philippine politics. He has brought in close to 100 million US dollars in direct foreign investments to the country, mostly in the IT, telecom and agriculture industries.
His pioneering work in broadband through his companies Broadband Philippines and Qinteraction paved the way for the entry of the business process outsourcing industry – commonly referred to as call centers – into the country. Besides his numerous business experiences in the Philippines and abroad, de Venecia has also been active in NGO work helping street children and the urban poor via the Virlanie Foundation and fighting drug addiction through the New Beginnings Foundation.
A member of the prestigious Makati Business Club, de Venecia became nationally known when he single-handedly exposed the 16-billion peso ZTE-NBN deal in September of 2007. He testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that his proposed national broadband network was discarded to give way to the ZTE proposal at the behest of then Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos and First Gentleman Miguel Arroyo. It was the latter who famously told him to “back off” and allow the ZTE-NBN deal to push through.
Because of de Venecia’s testimony, President Gloria Arroyo was forced to cancel the 16 billion peso deal.
De Venecia’s proposal would have been funded by private investors and would not have cost the Filipino taxpayer a single centavo. In contrast, the ZTE proposal approved through the machinations of the president’s husband would have required a government-to-government loan.
De Venecia refused a bribe of 500 million pesos offered by Abalos to keep out of the dirty deal.
He said he was entering local politics because he had much to offer the people, he represents the IT business community and also because so many opposition leaders had asked him, led by former President Erap Estrada.
“I wish my father were here today, but I know that he respects my decision,” Joey de Venecia III said after his oath-taking.
Besides being the son of five-term Speaker JDV who co-founded the original Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrat Party, Joey is also the grandson of Speaker Eugenio Perez, First Speaker of the Philippine Congress and one of the founders and former president of the Liberal Party.
Joey de Venecia’s roots are originally from Dagupan and San Carlos cities in Pangasinan. Joey is an accountant and financial economist by profession.
23
Nov
Gloria won’t survive 2012
The Dec. 21, 2012 end-of-the-world scenario found all over the internet and made more popular this week with the blockbuster movie ‘2012’ is fiction, but businessman Joey de Venecia III said the Filipino people can prevent a real catastrophe from happening next year.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo may have survived the killer floods which deluged Metro Manila including Malacanang last month, but she will be politically dead long before Dec. of 2012, according to de Venecia.
“We can make sure that her reign of greed comes to an end by rejecting her and her relatives in the May 2010 elections,” the ZTE-national broadband network whistleblower said.
De Venecia had earlier warned that the president elected next year would be a lame duck because Mrs. Arroyo would refuse to surrender power. She will run for congressman in her home province of Pampanga with the goal of becoming Speaker of the House. Once there, she and her supporters will push for charter change so that she can assume the post of prime minister, according to de Venecia.
“Whoever wins as President in 2010 is inconsequential. She is counting on a tsunami of congressional charter change initiative,” the son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia said. This explains why administration standard bearer Gibo Teodoro has been left to fend for himself with no effort whatsoever from the Palace to stop the continued exodus of allies to the opposition. ”My fearless forecast is that the opposition will win the Presidency but lose the Chacha war,” De Venecia said. “But the people however will not allow this and the administration will be forced to retreat.” In order to stop this plan, de Venecia said it was imperative for the people to reject all of GMA’s handpicked candidates who will do anything and everything the Arroyos tell them.
It will be easier to bring the Arroyo family to the bar of justice and face the consequences of their unprecedented corruption when they are no longer in power. A way will be found for the Arroyos to return the billions of pesos in unexplained wealth that they have acquired in their years in power, de Venecia added. ”By 2011, Gloria Arroyo and cohorts will be facing unprecedented lawsuits for corruption and plunder,” he predicted.
“By 2012, she and her family would have to face a gigantic personal and political catastrophe as a result of the people’s wrath. Her graft-filled world will collapse, just like the currently showing hit movie. There will be no trace of GMA after 2012.”
The Arroyo administration – not typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng – were the biggest disasters to hit the Philippines, not just in the last 40 years, but of all time, Joey de Venecia III said.
20
Nov
Free cellphones for all doable
His claim that the country’s telcos can provide free cell phones to all their subscribers is based on fact, businessman Joey de Venecia III said yesterday.
“Millions of Filipinos who live and work abroad know that providing free cell phones is the practice of telcos in their host countries,” he said, “The Philippines is one of the few countries in the world where telcos do not provide complimentary cell phones.”
De Venecia said providing the freebie should also apply to pre-paid subscribers, who form the overwhelming bulk of cell phone users in the country. All the telcos have to do is include a lock in provision when consumers buy their pre-paid SIM cards with the complimentary phone.
Subscribers who do not adhere to the terms and conditions of the provision will have their cell phones locked. These phones cannot be sold because only the telcos can unlock them.
“The technology for this exists,” explained de Venecia, one of the country’s pioneering IT businessmen. As proof, he pointed to the new phones with built in GPS , or global positioning system.
Giving away free cell phones will boost the Philippine economy, he said, as every percentage increase in cellular penetration results in a corresponding increase in GDP, or gross domestic production (the sum total of a country’s income earned from producing goods and services, excluding remittances from overseas workers).
Joey de Venecia III admitted that the country’s big three telcos – Globe, Smart and Sun – would not be happy with his proposal. “But they report billions of pesos in net earnings annually. Providing free cell phones will not hurt their bottom line but even increase it as the telecom consumer pie gets bigger. They can source their free phones from China, which manufactures low-cost but high-quality cell phones and other electronic goods.
The ZTE-national broadband network whistleblower knows of what he speaks. In his past IT projects, de Venecia has had the opportunity to source equipment from China .
Good cell phones can be had for as low as $10, or less than P500 if sourced from China , he added.
The son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia said that the country’s biggest telco – PLDT – provides free phones to landline subscribers. This now includes their so-called wireless land lines, which are actually cell phones in a different guise.
De Venecia admitted that regulating pre-paid subscribers who receive free phones was a new idea that the telcos might not welcome since it would add to their work. He insisted, however, that the telcos “owe it to the Filipino consumer.”
The telcos should maximize their service, not just their profits, according to de Venecia.
He dismissed the argument that since texting is how most Filipinos use cell phones, the telcos would not earn as much if they gave away phones “to mere texters.”
There is no additional cost in providing the texting service to subscribers, said de Venecia.
“Have we forgotten that when cell phones were first introduced in the country, SMS or texting was provided free of charge?” he asked.
The telcos should give Filipino consumers a break, Joey de Venecia III ended.
Posted in Alcantara |
18
Nov
DOE to blame for oil price mess
The Department of Energy “totally mishandled” the freezing and subsequent unfreezing of oil prices following the series of typhoons which hit the country resulting in the declaration of a national emergency, businessmen Joey de Venecia III said yesterday.
“The government should have done everything possible to keep the prices of oil and petroleum products down in the weeks following Ondoy and Pepeng,” de Venecia said. “It could have resorted to creative solutions instead of knee-jerk, short-term palliatives.”
Immediately after the government lifted Executive Order 839 which froze oil prices, the pump prices of diesel, gasoline and all petroleum products rose by anywhere from P1.50 to P2 per liter to the detriment of Filipino consumers.
As a result, jeepney driver organizations are now clamoring for a P1 hike in the minimum fare.
De Venecia placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes who he said “could have done better.”
In the most trying of times, creative solutions are most needed, according to the son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia. “Whether in the private or public sector, the best managers or executives are those who think outside the box. They are the ones who can ride out a storm with aplomb.”
Energy Secretary Reyes “offered nothing new to the public,” said Joey de Venecia III. Instead, he offered “clerical and mechanical” solutions.
The retired general “should have put on his thinking cap,” the businessman added.
The ZTE-national broadband network whistleblower said the government could have worked with the oil companies to find ways to cut their operating costs in order to protect their profit margins. As a businessman, Joey de Venecia III said belt-tightening measures is one of many steps that private companies can resort to in the face of hard times. There is no reason why the government could not similarly deal with the oil firms, whose profits have been perpetually healthy in the last many years.
“High oil and energy prices will hit the country’s farmers, fishermen and small businessmen most,” according to de Venecia. “Especially those in the provinces hard hit by Ondoy, Pepeng and the other storms of the last few weeks.”
To force them to pay more for oil and energy is like rubbing salt on their wounds, he said.
Joey de Venecia III said it was not too late for the government in general and the energy department in particular to try harder to alleviate the plight of the millions of victims of the recent weather disturbances.
The oil companies can also do their part by lowering their profit margins, at least until the country fully recovers from the recent calamities.
16
Nov
Joey de Venecia III takes cudgels for Ang Ladlad
The Commission on Elections should stop being so homophobic and instead recognize the contributions of the gay community to national development.
“Denying the gay community a chance at representation in Congress via the party-list Ang Ladlad by saying they will bring immorality to the House is a big joke,” businessman Joey de Venecia III said yesterday.
“Unfortunately for the Comelec, it’s not a funny joke, but rather a big insult to the Filipino gay community.”
The Comelec last week denied the bid of Ang Ladlad for party-list status in the May 2010 elections citing “immorality.”
“The Comelec commissioners should be reminded that it is now 2009, not 1909,” de Venecia said, “The time when gay men and women were demonized is a dark time in world history, but that time is over.”
De Venecia said that while there were still some countries which discriminated against gays, the Philippines should not be one of them.
“We’ve had male and female presidents and senators. Why not a gay member of the House of Representatives?” the son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia asked.
Ultimately, it will be the Filipino electorate which will vote for party-list representatives. Filipino voters will determine if Ang Ladlad or any other party-list organization representing the gay community deserves a seat in the House, he said.
De Venecia said he could not discount the possibility that gays have already occupied seats in Congress, either at the House of Representatives or the Senate. But past or present gay lawmakers, if any, still chose to keep their sexual preferences “in the closet” because of the stigma attached to homosexuality.
Gays can be brilliant lawmakers, soldiers, accountants or boxers, according to de Venecia.
“Each person should be judged for what he or she is as a human being. In the case of politicians, he or she should be judged based on what he or she brings to the table, not his or her sexual preferences, which is a private matter,” the ZTE-national broadband network whistleblower said.
“I, for one, am a heterosexual who does not fear or loathe homosexuals. I treat each one as the individual he or she is,” according to de Venecia.
He said it was “shameful” that the Comelec commissioners had issued a sweeping statement against all gays by calling them immoral. Gays per se are not immoral, said de Venecia.
“Corrupt public officials or relatives of public officials who take advantage of their positions…these are the immoral ones,” Joey de Venecia III said.
13
Nov
Lifting EO 839 insensitive, baseless – JDV III
With Petron reporting over P3 billion in profits, lifting Executive Order 839 seems to be Malacanang’s Christmas bonus for the oil firms. Too bad it’s at the expense of the people, businessman Joey de Venecia III said yesterday.
“Times are hard and lifting EO 839 just makes it harder,” according to De Venecia, adding that such an act is both insensitive and baseless.
“What’s the basis for lifting the order? The government hasn’t even opened the books of the Big 3 oil players,” he said.
Examining the books of Petron, Chevron and Shell will show that the three oil firms have been making huge profits, according to de Venecia. He said the three firms can well afford to assume some losses for a few weeks or even months, considering that the Philippines is still in a state of emergency following last month’s killer typhoons.
The son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia said the oil firms seem to be blackmailing the Filipino people by withholding supplies, especially in areas where they are most needed. Already, some provincial areas have been reporting shortages owing to the non-delivery of their regular supply by the oil firms.
“A little sacrifice of their huge profits isn’t going to push them to bankruptcy,” said de Venecia, “Their stockholders will not become impoverished if their earnings dip slightly this year.”
They should “curb their greed,” the ZTE-national broadband network whistleblower said.
The government has threatened many times to examine the oil players’ books but to date, this has not happened, according to de Venecia.
As such De Venecia believes that lifting EO 839 without the examination their books is without basis. “The oil companies should have the conscience to taper their huge operational expenses to help the people, instead of arrogantly maintaining high expenditure levels and passing this cost to the people.”
De Venecia liked the country’s oil company executives and stockholders to their US counterparts in the banking and insurance sectors. The American executives’ outrageous compensation and company-financed perks were partly to blame for their going under, spurring the recent US recession.
Malacanang should act like the government of the people and for the people, and force those who have more — in this case the oil players — to help alleviate the suffering of the many who have less, Joey de Venecia III said.
12
Nov
I will not be silenced – Joey III
“If the intention of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee’s final report on the ZTE-national broadband network scandal is to silence whistleblowers like me, it has only half succeeded,” businessman Joey de Venecia III said yesterday.
But if the intention is to determine that First Gentleman Mike Arroyo is “the guiltiest one of all,” then the panel has done a credible job, he added.
De Venecia thanked the senators who took the stand that to charge him and his star witness Jun Lozada would have a chilling effect on would-be whistleblowers. Senators Ping Lacson, Chiz Escudero and Alan Peter Cayetano had noted the negative effect that the Blue Ribbon report would have on ordinary citizens wanting to reveal wrongdoing by powerful and influential persons.
“Who will want to expose corruption in the highest places now?” the son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia asked.
But a defiant de Venecia said, “I will not be silenced. I want nothing more than to face Mr. Arroyo and his cohorts in court to prove my allegations. Mike Arroyo masterminded the scandal.”
He added: “How can Senator Gordon say I was part of the deal when I refused a P500 million bribe from Benjamin Abalos? And has he forgotten how my father was unceremoniously unseated as Speaker because of my expose?”
It was de Venecia who first revealed the grand-scale corruption behind the deal in September of 2007 when he testified before the Blue Ribbon that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s husband had warned him to “back off” and allow the Chinese telecoms firm ZTE to bag the deal. De Venecia also testified that then Commission on Elections chairman Abalos had offered him a bribe of P500 million to keep silent.
De Venecia had prodded Senate Blue Ribbon committee chairman Richard Gordon to finally release the report earlier this week after reminding the senator that it was long overdue.
The final hearing on the case was held on Sept. 1, this year, two years after De Venecia first blew the whistle on the P16-billion scandal.
De Venecia said he pushed Senator Gordon to release the report despite the Blue Ribbon head’s prejudging his case. Two days before the final hearing, a banner story in a national broadsheet quoted Gordon as saying that Joey and his father Joe de Venecia should also be charged. This, despite the Ombudsman having cleared the de Venecias of any wrongdoing regarding the case.
The younger de Venecia said he agreed with Gordon who said that President Arroyo may have committed an impeachable offense when she took no action after learning of the bribes being offered to guarantee that ZTE would win the contract.
“Her terminating the contract did not absolve Mrs. Arroyo of her role in the deal,” de Venecia said, “She kept quiet while the biggest scandal in Philippine history was happening right
11
Nov
Joey III eager to face First Gent, Abalos in court
Joey III eager to face First Gent, Abalos in court
No regrets.
In a case of the accuser becoming the accused, the Senate Blue Ribbon committee is seeking the filing of charges against businessman Joey de Venecia III for his role in the ZTE-national broadband network mess.
“I am not surprised. Senator Dick Gordon had already prejudged the case by earlier saying I was part of the dirty deal, when in fact I was the victim,” according to De Venecia.
De Venecia was the whistleblower of the P16-billion scandal. Testifying before the Blue Ribbon two years ago, he accused First Gentleman Mike Arroyo and former Commission on Elections head Benjamin Abalos of conspiring to award the government contract to Chinese telecoms firm ZTE in exchange for billions of pesos in commissions and kickbacks.
“If I had backed off as the First Gentleman ordered, I would have been P500 million richer, which was the bribe offered to me by Mr. Abalos to keep silent,” the son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia said. “Instead, I find myself being accused of taking part in their conspiracy.”
De Venecia said he was confident that the truth would come out sooner or later.
“I’ve said it before and I say it again: First Gentleman Mike Arroyo is the mastermind of what has been called the Mother of All Scams,” he said.
De Venecia had gone to the Senate earlier this week to ask Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Blue Ribbon panel, to release the final report on the ZTE-NBN case. Gordon agreed to release the report this week after all the members of the Blue Ribbon had signed the document.
Despite the report recommending that he be charged, De Venecia said he was happy that the Senate committee concluded that Mr. Arroyo played the biggest role in the scandal.
“I have no regrets. I look forward to seeing Mike Arroyo and Benjamin Abalos in court to prove my allegations,” the whistleblower said.
De Venecia added that he agreed with the observation of Gordon that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had a lot of explaining to do where the ZTE-NBN scandal was concerned. A member of her Cabinet, Romulo Neri, confirmed that bribes were being offered by her husband’s accomplice Abalos. Aside from the P500 million offered the young De Venecia, Abalos allegedly offered Neri P200 million to make sure ZTE bagged the contract.
De Venecia said he could not help but laugh when he learned that he and his star witness Jun Lozada would be charged for their role in the ZTE-NBN case. Lozada, however, cried.
The Ombudsman had previously cleared Joey de Venecia III and his father JDV of any wrongdoing in the case.
10
Nov
Sometimes all it takes is a little prodding.
After a visit from businessman Joey de Venecia III, Senate Blue Ribbon committee head Richard Gordon agreed to release the final report on the ZTE-national broadband network deal.
De Venecia went to the Senate the other day with a formal letter asking Senator Gordon to release the final report asap.
The Blue Ribbon held its final hearing on the ZTE-NBN deal last Sept.1. It will be recalled that Joey de Venecia and Gordon had a heated exchange of words over what the businessman said was the senator’s prejudging the case.
The unscheduled meeting between De Venecia and Gordon was held in a more cordial atmosphere. After a brief chat on the Senate floor, Gordon asked his staff to retrieve the final copy of the report.
For De Venecia, the release of the report is the culmination of a two-year odyssey to ferret out the truth in what has been called the Mother of All Scandals. The son and namesake of former Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. had accused First Gentleman Miguel Arroyo and then Commission on Election chief Benjamin Abalos of conspiring to guarantee that China’s ZTE Corp. would bag the deal even if the younger De Venecia was the original proponent who had submitted a superior proposal.
Joey de Venecia had locked horns with Gordon after the latter stated in a newspaper interview that the former Speaker and his son should be charged. De Venecia reminded Gordon that not only had he been cleared by the Ombudsman, he had also been wrongfully charged being a private citizen who never held a government post.
“It really doesn’t matter if Senator Gordon has prejudged me by saying I was guilty even after the Ombudsman cleared me,” he said, “What’s more important is that the committee report be released for the people to judge for themselves if its findings are valid.”
De Venecia said that he was worried that with election fever heating up, the ZTE-NBN scandal would be swept under the rug.
De Venecia testified that he was himself offered P500 million to back off and allow the contract to push through.
Instead, he revealed the results of the scam before the Blue Ribbon panel two years ago. As a result, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was forced to cancel the contract. But the older De Venecia – a five-term Speaker – was removed from his post.
In his letter to Senator Gordon, the younger De Venecia said, “I am sure that you will agree with me that this issue needs closure… The role played by the person whom I consider the mastermind of the ZTE-NBN deal, First Gentleman Miguel Arroyo, has yet to be determined. The Filipino people are looking at the Senate to prove that there are no untouchables in this administration.”
He added that unless the Blue Ribbon committee releases its report soonest, the biggest scandal involving the government will be overtaken by events.
“The culpability, if any, of President Gloria Arroyo will never be determined,” he said.
De Venecia told media that releasing the report soonest would give Senator Gordon a “golden opportunity to prove his independence.”
“I think you will agree with me that the ZTE-NBN deal should not be treated as a political issue. Corruption in the highest places must not be allowed to pass. I am appealing to you Hon. Senator Gordon to release the Blue Ribbon report on the scandal at the soonest possible time,” De Venecia said.
