Daang Matuwid must show transparency

Today marks the infamous 9/11 and 3 things I remember about this date is that, it is the 11th year of the dastardly bombing of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center that escalated the War on Terror on a global scale. Sept. 11 is also the birthday of the late Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos and did I ever forget it is also the birthday of Sir Arthur Lopez, that debonair hotelier par excellence. The reason why I won’t forget Sir Arthur’s birthday is due to the fact that it comes exactly a week after the birthday of Sir Max Soliven, who is dear to both Sir Arthur and me. So cheers to you Sir Arthur!

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Has anyone noticed that whenever Pres. Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino, III gets himself into some kind of trouble… somehow, the Social Weather Station (SWS) suddenly comes up with a survey that shows that the President is doing well in their surveys? I’ve been keeping tabs on this because of my suspicion that SWS is linked to the propaganda machinery of P-Noy.

Last weekend, P-Noy’s “Kabarilan,” Interior & Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Rico Puno got himself once again in hot water when the explosive reports made the headlines that Usec. Puno allegedly tried to enter the condo of DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo on Aug. 19, a day after his plane was declared missing. So was it a “lockdown or a raid?” We heard the TV reports from Mrs. Leni Robredo herself saying that her maid called her that men were outside the condo asking to enter the place. She rightfully told the maid not to allow these men in.

Earlier, when Sec. Manuel “Mar” Roxas accepted the DILG nomination from the President, his first act was to “fire” Usec. Puno… but apparently that move backfired on Sec. Mar. First because he was not yet confirmed as DILG Secretary and second… we all know that Usec. Puno is literally the right hand man of P-Noy. Here comes Sen. Miriam Santiago seething with anger demanding a Senate probe on that condo raid. She was fuming mad at Puno saying; “It is an indication of infighting amongst Palace factions.” This is a test case for Daang Matuwid to show some transparency.

Indeed, we know more than what we need to know about the rift between the Balay group and the Samar group. However in my recollection and in fairness to Usec. Puno, he doesn’t belong to either the Balay or the Samar groups… so where do you think that this Senate probe would go? 

If you ask me… calling a Senate probe against Usec. Puno is a waste of time simply because no less than P-Noy already issued a statement that it was he who ordered Usec. Puno to secure the office of the still missing Robredo. So now, was this a verbal order or was it a written one? We’d like to know for the sake of transparency. So if the Presidential order was to seal the office of Sec. Robredo, why then did Usec. Puno go to the condo of Robredo? Was this also part of the President’s order? Anyway, the latest news is that P-Noy has already removed Puno from the DILG.

It doesn’t help Usec. Puno that the press has gone to town, linking him to a questionable gun deal, which P-Noy pointed out himself that it was the process that was under investigation, not Usec. Puno. Like I said, since Puno doesn’t belong to either the Balay or the Samar group, but just the same, these people have turned their media dogs against him, crucifying him just like the way they crucified and ousted former Chief Justice Renato Corona and tagged him as guilty before he could even prove his innocence. Now the tables have been turned against Usec. Puno. Now he knows how CJ Corona felt under the vicious attacks of his own yellow kind.

Right now… we are hearing statements not just from the opposing groups within the hallowed halls of Malacañang, but from the opposition and from the usual rumor mills that are in full production once again. With P-Noy back in town, now is the right time to ask, what really is the bottom line here? Who was really being investigated by the late Sec. Robredo? As for Sen. Miriam Santiago, she should investigate P-Noy himself because he was the “mastermind” of this caper… while Puno was only following orders.

Meanwhile these wild rumors has not stopped churning conspiracy theories that have suddenly surfaced… one of the more interesting, but seemingly a wild one is that the plane crash that killed the DILG Secretary and Capt. Jessup Bahinting and his Nepalese co-pilot Kshitiz Chand was no accident. Someone texted me that the plane was rigged. Really now!

Of course, I find this hard to believe. But then my texter told me, why do you think that those guys at the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) were issuing damaging statements against Capt. Jessup Bahinting… from his expired license, which was proven to be incorrect, bad fuel or that the plane was not really a charter flight? To make it look like an accident? It is for this reason why we need to find out the real truth about that crash. But look at the way they are mishandling the plane wreckage?

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