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Opinion

The DND spokesman: Did he quit or was fired?

SHOOTING STRAIGHT - Bobit S. Avila -

Just when things were going well for Zamboanga City, a powerful bomb destroyed the Atilano Pension house, killing 3 people and injuring 27 people attending a wedding ceremony. As expected the Abu Sayyaf has been pointed to as the perpetrator of this attack even if they have not made any official claims to this tragedy. So police investigators are still unsure as to whodunit, except that the bomb used was an improvised explosive device (IED), other than that, there are no new leads.

This tragic story was buried in the inside a page of our main stream newspapers, but it was featured on BBC and Al Jazzera TV news. This incident comes in the heels of another incident last Oct. 9th at the Red Palm Pension in Bo. Guiwan, Basilan and at Mon’s Kitchenette last June 25th also in Basilan. This incident brings us to ask, this is part of the destabilization plan by certain groups who want to “force” the hand of President Benigno Aquino III to declare a “revolutionary” government? I certainly hope not!

Incidentally last Nov. 22nd, we have read that article about that unnecessary talk about the Aquino government calling for a revolutionary government when Department of National Defense (DND) spokesman Atty. Jess Paredes spoke during the weekly Balitaan sa Rembrandt Hotel. We were taken by surprise that minor functionaries of the Aquino government would so freely speak about the possibility of declaring a revolutionary government and chastised him for making that uncalled for statement.

Well, lo and behold Atty. Paredes, who is the Executive Assistant of Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin aside from being the DND spokesman, suddenly called it quits without any explanation. I checked if there was any follow up to that story in the next few days, but only a deafening silence. What happened to him? Was he fired or forced to quit? If the Aquino government prides itself with transparent governance, they must tell the public the reason why Atty. Paredes is suddenly out of the DND.

* * *

I just did a TV interview with an old American friend who grew up in Cebu. His name is Louis Jurika who now lives in Austin, Texas (they left the Philippines when Martial Law was declared) who came to the Philippines upon an invitation of the Elks Club in order to straighten out a book by a Japanese born in Hawaii before World War II and was caught in the war with the Americans in Corregidor. Richard Sakakida later became a double spy for the Japanese Imperial Army and the United States Army.

I’m writing this story simply because I would like to drive home my point that more often than not, people try to change history and this is exactly what felt when I read in the Philippine STAR that report dubbed “GMA Faces P15-M damage suit for detention of Morong 43”.

There is no doubt that the Aquino Administration has whipped up what I would call a Satanic hate campaign against the former President, which is why the attention of our national media networks and newspapers are focused on what’s going on with the President. In truth, I have not been following the former President’s arrest story simply because there are many other stories out there that need the Filipino people’s attention. But as Federico Pascual correctly pointed out, P-Noy needs GMA to distract our people from the real problems he is facing in this country… problems that we believe that he can no longer tackle.

But when I read this report about the Morong 43 filing a monetary claim against GMA, I decided to write this piece. I wrote about the Morong 43 because these were a group of 43 friends of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA) who were caught in flagrante delicto in Morong by elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

As usual, leftist propagandists especially those in mainstream media created stories in order to get the sympathy of our people and in the end, since it was an election year, even President Aquino and his leftist advisers ended up having them freed on Dec. 10, 2010. After their caper and I reckon with the encouragement coming from “friends” in Malacañang, these supposedly Morong 43 are now daring to make money by the demonized former President Arroyo.

Perhaps it is Divine Providence that the greed that now permeates the Morong 43 would end up in a court case after all. When P-Noy ordered their case dismissed and the health workers released, it meant that the real story would no longer be heard… and in the end, only the propaganda of the leftists and their pack of lies remain as truth. This court case would certainly bring out the truth as to who really were the Morong 43. Abangan!

* * *

For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected] or [email protected]. His columns can be accessed through http://www.philstar.com.

ABU SAYYAF

AL JAZZERA

AQUINO

AQUINO ADMINISTRATION

ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES

ATILANO PENSION

BASILAN

COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE PHILIPPINES

DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENSE

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