Palparan: AFP is losing the propaganda war
I went to the Cebu City Hall yesterday afternoon for an official visit and I was taken aback by the big changes that surround City Hall. I parked at an old bodega which apparently is now the New La Nueva Grocery or Supermarket. What was very noticeable was that the old decrepit bodega was no longer there and in its place is the Senior's Park and parking lot. City Hall today looks pleasing now than ever before.
Since I was there already, I dropped at the Mayor's Office and call it a coincidence that Mayor Michael Rama just arrived from his US trip and was holding a presscon. What I got from him was that Filipino communities that he visited in the US like Las Vegas, Houston, and our sister City of Salinas, are eager to help rebuild the Cebu City Medical Center. He also told us that there will be Filipino Americans from Salinas, Las Vegas and Houston that will be joining the Sinulog Festival next year. At this point, all I can say is welcome back to Cebu Mayor Mike.
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Reading the headlines of the national dailies screaming that retired Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan whom leftist groups allied with the Communist Party of the Philippines dub as the "Butcher" has been arrested only proves to one and all that the Armed Forces of the Philippines is still losing the propaganda war against those leftist groups that seek to undermine and destroy our democratic way of life… or at least what's left of our failed democracy, which our political elite is destroying from within.
But to tag Gen. Palparan as a "butcher" is already judging or convicting him in the eyes of the Filipino people. Whatever happened to "innocence until proven guilty?" Sure, there are many students that were lured into that falsehood that Communism gives one equal rights. But the whole truth is, Communism is a farce and where it started in Soviet Russia, it has now fallen down because it only showed that with the Politburo, some are more equal than others. And when the student realizes this… it is the Communists that make them disappear and they tell their parents that the military is to blame.
If at all, the Philippine government should study the case of Gen. Palparan very carefully for the simple reason that the military themselves want to know how deeply committed our government officials are in seeking the destruction of this cancer from within Filipino society. Gen. Palparan's only crime is that, he was extra efficient in destroying the true enemies of the state where they can be found. But the charges filed by the parents of the girls that disappeared have yet to be proven in court that it was the handiwork of Gen. Palparan. All these are mere allegations, including his being tagged as a "butcher" which unfortunately our desk editors also use against him.
Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima apparently opened her mouth too soon, when she said, "Flight means guilt" when asked about Gen. Palparan. Perhaps Sec. de Lima should explain to the Filipino people that if she truly believes in what she said that "Flight means guilt" then why was former Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson returned to the Senate when he came out of hiding for two years? What about Sen. Trillanes wasn't he also freed despite the fact that he led the Peninsula Hotel coup?
Again, I'd like to warn the military establishment to look carefully into the case of Gen. Palparan, knowing especially that the Communists use deceit in their fight against the AFP and this includes unnecessarily naming Gen. Palparan as a butcher. So will the military establishment allow itself to be defeated by Communist propaganda? Abangan!
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That Rep. Neil Tupas, chairman of the Committee on Justice in the House of Representatives is really seeking more trouble than he can chew with his continued investigation of the Judicial Development Fund. What he doesn't know is, he might open up a can of worms that could end up embarrassing the friends and allies of Pres. Benigno Aquino III because this fund was already there since Martial Law days. If you recall some years ago, right after the removal of then Pres. Joseph "Erap" Estrada, the allies of Danding Cojuangco, through then Rep. Gilbert "Gibo" Teodoro, Jr. filed an impeachment case against then Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. for misusing the JDF.
In fact I saw a paper that even tagged our present Cebu Governor Hilario "Jun Jun" Davide III as one of those involved in the misuse of the JDF. So my question is, will Rep. Tupas and his allies open the entire JDF for scrutiny or will we see him try to protect the friends of Pres. PNoy? We will be watching this investigation unfold where sleeping dogs lie. So how far will they go in this investigation or will they hide certain facts? Hmmm.
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