Showing posts with label GMA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GMA. Show all posts
US homes and businesses, another scandal for the Arroyos?
In the fading days of Pres. Gloria Arroyo’s term as president, another allegation of ill-gotten wealth is brewing for her family. Her son, Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, was reported to have failed declaring a P63.7 million property fronting San Francisco Bay in California. It was alleged this foreign property located at 1655 Beach Park Blvd, Foster City was named under his wife’s name in 2006.
“By omitting the US property starting in 2007, Mikey’s real property assets plunged from P90.7 million in 2006 to P27 million in 2007 and 2008.
All the business interests Mikey declared in his latest SALN were acquired when he was already congressman: president of Mikey’s Horseman Bar and Grill, 2006; director of LPG Auto Gas and shareholder in Los Manos Verdes Inc., 2007; and shareholder in U18 Properties Inc. and stockholder of the La Vista Investments and Holdings Inc. in 2008.”---Malaya (08/31/09, Files, V.)
Similarly, Dato, Gloria’s other son also bought a house worth P26.7 million in the golden state after he won as congressman in 2007. But this, he declared in his tax declarations.
These allegations are on top of local businesses that the Arroyos are reportedly engaged in. As usual, the first family has to answer with a denial. But won't they give their proof? The Filipino people need to know if there is any wrong-doing in these property purchases. With another investigation it will take time to know if all these accusations are true. (Photo Credit: ____) =0=
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Keeping a tally on extravagance
According to Daily Tribune, the following astounding expenses have emerged in the shameful travel of Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo last July-August 2008 to see Pres. Barack Obama.
The US delegation of Filipinos that included lawmaker(s) who just wanted to have a “photo-op” with the charismatic black US president numbered to about 65, explaining the humongous amount spent to underwrite the trip. Sen. Lito Lapid complained he did no have a chance to have a picture with Obama and rued over the poor ambience and service at Le Cirque Restaurant in NY.
The expenses below are just the tip of the iceberg that boggles the mind of the poor Filipinos back home. What the public doesn’t know may be wildly greater---and more deplorable. Except saying that there are rich congressmen who paid the dinners, Arroyo can't come up with a coherent explanation to justify the outrageous expenses. (Photo Credit: yummyinthetummyblog)
Waldorf Astoria Suite for GMA in NY..........…$3,500/ day (P168,210/day)
Waldorf Astoria Suite for Congressmen.........$950/day (P45,657/day)
(> 60 rooms were occupied)
Bobby Van Steakhouse, Washington, DC..........$15,000 (P750,000)
Le Cirque Restaurant, NY.........................$20,000 (P1,000,000)
"A congressional investigation must be immediately conducted on whether a series of criminal and administrative laws have been violated by the President not only during her recent travel to the US but also on her previous 50 travels since 2001."---- Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares. Daily Tribune (08/14/09)
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A $15,000 dinner tab in Washington DC adds more fire to GMA’s extravagance
It’s really easy to spend money when someone gets cash for a song. No matter how much Malacanang Palace says that not a single centavo come from the Filipino, when When Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo travels on official trips abroad, the expenses fall on the shoulders of taxpayers. She and her entourage don’t have qualms in the amount to spend for they think they are giving the Filipinos a big favor. In foreign land, they think of themselves as public servants who represent the best interest of the country.
With the estimated P8 billion already spent by GMA in her trips, there are ways to hide unbridled abuse and extravagance. Having a patron like Rep. Martin Romualdez to pay for a $20,000 dinner in their pricey splurge in NY’s Le Cirque Restaurant is a good way to confuse and divert attention. Stupefied by the irrational display of pomp and self-indulgence, New York Post can’t resist commenting on the GMA’s controversial meal about the time she declared national mourning for Pres. Cory Aquino.
Now it’s the Washington’s Post turn to tell another story. According to Roxanne Roberts and Amy Argetsinger, writers of the influential newspaper in Capitol Hill, Pres. Arroyo and her delegation dined on "lobster, steak and fine wines" in Washington and spent $15,000 for the meal on July 30, 2009.
In the column “The Reliable Source” they said an "unidentified woman opened a handbag stuffed with cash" and paid for the tab plus the sizeable tips for Arroyo and its bloated entourage of 65 people at Bobby Van's Steakhouse on 15th Street.
Surely these spectacular dinners are just the tip of the ice-berg. Many agree they are scandalous and deplorable when a third of Filipinos are languishing in poverty. So what more is there to say of corruption and abuse in the Pearl of the Orient Seas? (Photo Credit: Oustgloria) =0=
RELATED BLOGS: New York City's dining lesson for GMA: Le Cirque versus Elvie’s Turo-Turo Posted by mesiamd at 8/11/2009; GMA’s NY dinner and the discordant ritzy lifestyle of Filipinos Posted by mesiamd at 8/10/2009
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New York City's dining lesson for GMA: Le Cirque versus Elvie’s Turo-Turo
Elvie (L) is the lady culinary genius behind Elvie's Turo-Turo.
If Pres. Gloria Arroyo or her sponsor Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez didn’t want to spend hefty---$20,000 for a dinner in Le Cirque, they could have learned from Elvie, the owner of the Filipino Turo-Turo near 12th Street in First Avenue. The cooking expert had served New Yorkers for decades. The last time I talked with her, Elvie said her foodhouse was visited by Pres. Fidel Ramos when he came during a US official visit years ago.
I pass by Elvie’s to savor home cooking right at the center of New York City. While many of the Filipino eateries have folded up, this humble eating hole survives with the usual fare----pinakbet, tinola, laing, tocino, lechon kawali, sinigang, daing na bangus, longanisa, itlog na pula, lumpia, turon, ukoy, and lots of steamy white rice. The fragrant barbecue is good and so is gulaman at sago. Passers-by in the Eastside section of Manhattan drop by into the small food palace where every diner's hungry stomach almost always get satisfied.
ELVIE'S DELECTABLE FILIPINO FOOD
Sen. Miriam D. Santiago was right to say Le Cirque---the French restaurant where Arroyo dined in her last NY sojourn was “outlandish” for the Filipino budget. The classy food house was not just valued for the gastronomic delights it served, but for the people who patronized the place.
So, if one is a hungry visitor of the Big Apple with a huge entourage, in a late night dinner--- Le Cirque could not be as good as Elvie's Turo-Turo.
Not all will agree. There are those who worry about the protocols of dignitaries. But GMA and friends might have liked to be with the Pinoy restaurant proprietor and her team who serve hot delicious food promptly. Without pretenses, affable Elvie entertains with a wide engaging smile. In a mix of Tagalog, Bicol, and Visayan, she stands behind a steel enclosure teeming with Pinoy food, making her customers happy.
Elvie hails from a small village between Bicol and Leyte, bringing with her traditional Filipino hospitality to the dinner table. The Bayan Muna protesters who are averse to pomp and excesses will not complain if they eat in her plebeian enclave. The food she serves is basic and nutritious---at low price of less than $20 for two including soda.
If our Filipino guests from Manila demand to be classy, let them be. They can dine in a restaurant better than Elvie’s---like the Le Cirque. But then, look at the censure they receive when they go back home. A dinner price tag of $20,000 (P 1,000,000) from New York creates an uproar against over-spending and sparks accusations of "insensitivity" --- a source of embarrassment and national shame. (Photo Credit: gianuy; buddhadrinksfanta; chldrevolt; dennis and luba x4 )AFM) =0=
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GMA’s NY dinner and the discordant ritzy lifestyle of Filipinos
It was estimated the Philippines spent at least P8 billion in some 71 official travels President Gloria M. Arroyo made since she took office. Sen. Francis Escudero said the president went to trips local and abroad lasting for at least 130 days since 2001. Her meeting with Pres. Barack Obama last week that coincided with the death of ex-president Cory Aquino was her 16th US visit during her term.
Accusations of abuse, spending and extravagance are expected. It’s because the benefit derived from such official foreign travels cannot be accounted for with certainty. The public looks at them with suspicion and derision for they can’t see how these presidential jet-settings, numbering at least 16 in US alone, trickle down to benefit the country.
Filipinos had known how public officials and Malacanang friends scrambled to join GMA’s trips. Undoubtedly many people believed her companions were unneeded, but nonetheless became part of the entourage that combined business and pleasure. Who could forget the 56 congressmen asking to join a US delegation for an official visit but many openly wanted to watch Manny Pacquiao fight in a Las Vegas boxing match? Their shameful unprofessional behavior wasn’t far from what Imelda Marcos did during her time.
That’s why there is controversy about a supposed article regarding the July-August 2009 US visit of Arroyo by New York Post’s Richard Johnson. In the newspaper’s “Eat and Drink” section on August 7, 2009, it was written:
“The economic downturn hasn’t persuaded everyone to pinch pennies. Philippines President Maria Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was at Le Cirque the other night with a large entourage enjoying the good life, even though the former comptroller of her country’s armed services, Carlos Garcia, was found guilty earlier this year of perjury and two of his sons were arrested in the US on bulk cash-smuggling charges. Macapagal-Arroyo ordered several bottles of very expensive wine, pushing the dinner tab up to $20,000.”
So alas! A flag to put our leaders in attention! Even foreign observers are critical of how we spend government money. This doesn’t come as a surprise for they know of our penchant to borrow cash and use them that is incongruent to our means.
It is a simple lesson in arithmetic and corruption. The world sees how some of us live beyond our capacities. Isn’t it that our spending habits aren't compatible with our salaries and the lifestyle we live? Don’t we try to hide it by acting like those with less than a dollar to spend each day? Surely, one can argue, the Philippine president on her offical functions can't be tavelling like a pauper. She must keep the standards of foreign affairs to keep Filipino pride. But how come she goes abroad too often?
Back home however, palatial houses valued in millions are owned by our influential government officials and top military men in plush villages in Manila and the provinces. In their privacies, lavish parties are thrown by the noveau riche Filipinos. They ride in big cars which are difficult to maintain if they only bank on their honest incomes. And many go for vacations to America, Europe and Caribbean tagging along their maids and children for their usual rest and recreation.
So if no single taxpayers’ money is spent in travels of government officials abroad, where do they get their funds? How did they suddenly get so rich? The discordance of lifestyle breeds suspicion---The only way to disprove doubts is to be straightforwardly honest. Why is there only denials from the government and no disclosures of spending?
Even on tight budget, New Yorkers will say (including myself) it’s an expensive place to visit. Eating out in Manhattan with a hungry entourage using our currency back home is truly costly unless we dine at Elvie's Turo-Turo in Eastside somewhere in 12th Street and First Avenue. Without public accounting, many of us are convinced somebody sheds blood money to keep the jet-setting Joneses splurging in Waldorf Astoria or Times Square. (Photo Credit: Yummyinthetummyblog) =0=
RELATED BLOGS: Pres. Gloria Arroyo’s foreign travels questioned Posted by mesiamd at 6/28/2009; Another US trip for Pres. Gloria Arroyo Posted by mesiamd at 7/29/2009; Arroyo-Obama meeting: beholding the face of "god" & the desire to have a photo-op Posted by mesiamd at 8/01/2009
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GMA comes to Cory Aquino's wake
There was the necessity and perhaps the obligation. She needed to come for the wake of Pres. Cory Aquino. Against the discomfort of raised eyebrows and snide remarks, maybe, that's what Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo felt. After she arrived with her entourage on Wednesday, August 5, 2009 from her trip in the United States, she hastily went to Manila Cathedral at about 3:30 early morning to view Cory’s remains and condoled with the bereaved family. Days before, to honor the dead ex-president, she declared a 10-day national mourning.
The visit was politically charged. Accusing her of rigging the election, Arroyo was asked by Cory Aquino to resign at the height of the “Hello Garci” scandal. As far as the public can tell, it was a wound in both women's back which needed repair.
Despite irritations, GMA was politely welcomed by Cory’s son Noynoy Aquino and briefly, she stayed after a quick prayer in front of the bier. She only stayed for about 7 minutes.
Reports said, the president’s short visit interrupted public the viewing of Cory's huge adoring crowd. With other unspecified reasons, Arroyo's decision to come and leave early was more to give time for people in long lines to see Cory’s remains as the interment drew near.(Photo Credit: justgivemepeace) =0=
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Arroyo-Obama meeting: beholding the face of "god" & the desire to have a photo-op
There is unexplained elation in Gloria M. Arroyo’s “successful” meeting with Pres. Barack Obama. The president and her supporters show palpable delight, as if something big has been achieved after seeing the face of “god.” Whatever the achievement, the Filipinos are still scrambling to know.
If there is something uniquely surprising about the Filipino's expectation on the gains of meeting Pres. Obama, ask Sen. Lito Lapid. He said he would do anything to have a photograph with the most powerful man in the world---"I hope I’d be lucky enough to be chosen among the five that would be allowed to accompany the President when she meets Obama.” Such slobbering from a senator is odd.
Obama who is extremely popular in the Philippines sees that the county as the chief ally of America in Asia. In blurry terms, his statement that country will serve a “coordinating link” to the ASEAN countries is flattering. His conversation with GMA on regional security, the economy, foreign aid, and mutual cooperation may have pushed through, but the question is: how do their words become success for the country? What do their pronouncements mean? At best, if Arroyo achieved anything, not so many Filipinos understand.
That’s why in USA and in the Philippines there are murmurs of dissent. Fil-Am activists staged rallies in Washington and California to protest Arroyo’s corruption and human rights records. In Manila, Bayan members lambasted the president for a trip that they think won’t benefit the people. Many who disapprove of GMA took to the streets in a new wave of condemnation. There are those who are bitter to be reminded that the Philippines is still a “colony” and serves as an “errand” boy of America. (Photo Credit: Reuters/Jim Young; Reuters/ Romeo Ranoco) =0=
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GMA meets with Barack Obama
The meeting of Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo which is drummed up in the Philippines as "historic" occured Friday, July 31, 2009. In spite of high hopes of Filipinos that something big will happen to such a meeting, it barely made a stir in the US media.
Arroyo's and her coterie of 20 congressmen beheld the face of the US president and defended their travel with familiar justifications of advancing the diplomatic relationship of the Philippines with the US, an old time ally. Philippine authorities speak of a 45-minute talk on the economy, security, the Mindanao conflict and regional cooperation among Asian nations---something glowing that makes the trip look essential. Few disagree except fot the money to spend.
Yet, it is hard to quantify what benefits ordinary Filipinos will get from this recent US travel. In the fading days of her presidency, GMA is beset with poor popularity, charges of corruption, human rights violations, and a weak economy. With some gains, many look at the White House visit as another political move which combines government business with pleasure.
As before, many legislators and administration supporters scramble to join the travel wagon to be part of an official trip underwritten by taxpayer's money. Many of them include in their travel side trips to Las Vegas, tourist attractions, and shopping malls in various cities of America. It is unclear what this group of GMA companions will do after the Washington DC meeting with Obama. =0=
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Another US trip for Pres. Gloria Arroyo
In an astonishing display of enthusiasm to travel, RP president Gloria M. Arroyo left for a 4-city tour to the United States. In her 16th official trip to USA, a meeting with Pres. Barack Obama was scheduled on July 30. She boarded a commercial Philippine Airlines plane two days earlier and will be back on August 2, 2008
Accompanied by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, Philippine Ambassador to the US Willy Gaa, and a delegation of 20 congressmen, the president will meet with the American president on “peace and security issues.”
This foreign trip is the 72nd travel of GMA abroad, one among 41 countries she visited during her term. Her expenses have ballooned to an estimated P8 billion prompting critics to question whether such expense brings enough benefit to a country reeling in poverty. There are allegations that some of her trips with bloated claims of success have turned into "vacations" for her family, political allies, and friends.(Photo Credit: GMAnews.TV/ Galvez, J.) =0=
RELATED BLOG: Pres. Gloria Arroyo’s foreign travels questioned Posted by mesiamd at 6/28/2009
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GMA lauds her government for “strong” economy in SONA, but critics disagree
In spite of high joblessness that hovers to 27.9% and a hunger index of 23.7 percent of household (2008 SWS Survey,) the rising pressure for Filipinos to seek jobs abroad, and a poor rating in governance, Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo (GMA) told her people that the country enjoys a strong economy under her leadership.
The president's State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered last Monday, July 27, 2009 left the public thinking if what they heard was what they had been living. There had surely been gains in her leadership, but the stark economic hardship of Filipinos remained. GMA blamed her critics for the lack of appreciation to her accomplishments.
Praising the president in her last SONA was Speaker Prospero Nograles who according to the Daily Tribune, said, “The President’s Sona is tough in refuting her critics but it is also solidly based on real and factual achievements. Her Sona is undeniable proof that of all the Presidents that have come and gone, her administration is probably the most accomplished in the actual delivery of all her commitments in each of her Sona in the past nine years."
Nograles’ opinion was quickly junked by former Pres. Joseph Estrada saying, "Are we better off today than in 2001? In terms of moral recovery, we are now number 1 most corrupt in the world. In terms of economics, our foreign debt stands at P4 trillion, our farm output is half of what it was in 2000. We are now the biggest importer instead of exporter of rice" and "in terms of peace and order, there has been zero progress under Arroyo," he said, stressing that her achievements are in making the Philippines the most corrupt country; the second most dangerous country for journalists; a shabu exporter and the top importer of rice.---Source: Daily Tribune, (07/28,2009, Baldo, G.; Manalo, C.)
Theere is a widely disparate assessment by Arroyo and those who don't agree with her. It appears someone is lying again when a rosy picture of the country is put forth, while at the same time, others experience the opposite in their life. What is certain is the public can’t escape truth. Improvement of economic life, advancement, and prosperity remain unreachable to many Filipinos.
Manila Archibishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales warned the president to tell the truth. If only the “good news” GMA brought to the people was as truthful as the pompous dress she wore---like those of the lady senators' attires, perhaps, many would believe what they heard in the SONA was credible. (Photo Credit: Sunnexfor2; TCO3) =0=
RELATED BLOG: GMA told to tell the truth in SONA Posted by mesiamd at 7/27/2009
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GMA told to tell the truth in SONA
On the eve of Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo’s delivery of her last State of the Nation Address to the joint Congress on Monday, July 27, 2009, the Archibishop of Manila Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales advises her to tell the truth. The Catholic prelate believes that mentioning her accomplishments is as important as being straight with the mistakes and failures of the government.
In another vein, Sen. Francis Escudero challenges the president to tell the real situation of the country. The public has become leery over Arroyo’s honesty. UP teacher Randy David also predicts of the usual “boasting” of the Arroyo government in the SONA and urges citizens to assess Arroyo’s supposed economic accomplishments.
Since the start of the year, Pres. Arroyo has been dogged by poor approval ratings, the lowest among presidents for years. In spite of attempts to prop up her image, poll shows she has been suffering from lack of trust from the constituents she serves. In the final analysis, her achievements must show in progress and improvement in the lives of the Filipinos. (Photo Credit: lavegaskodak) =0=
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Government calls for MILF ceasefire before GMA’s SONA
In a waxing and waning way of handling the Mindanao separatist movement, the Philippine government again suspended its military offensive against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF,) about 5 days before Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo delivers her state of the nation address (SONA) on July 27, 2009.
Spokesmen from the administration are ecstatic over the ceasefire which they believe will allow about 300,000 civilians to return home to their farms.
But the heavily unpopular president with a poor approval rating was quickly criticized for using the ceasefire to prop up her image---- that her handling of the decades-old Mindanao rebellion had significant gains and in the right direction.
To air their grievances, a 15,000-strong protest-rally are being readied by oppositionists from Manila and other provinces to complain against President Arroyo's final State of the Nation Address (SONA).
“It’s all media-hype. I’m sure her decision will not change the situation in Mindanao. Undoubtedly, she is creating a situation that is favorable to her SONA," Political analyst Ramon Casiple, executive director of the non-government Institute for Political and Electoral Reform. GMANews.TV (07/23/09)
Many observers in the protracted peace process are cynical about the outcome of the conflict. The question of sincerity hangs. They see the same pattern of political maneuvers and hollow claims of peace gains that aren’t far from why the Israel-Palestinian problem has not been resolved for many decades. (Photo Credit: Manolet Santiago/ Malaya) =0=
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Pres. Gloria Arroyo still suffers from negative public approval
In a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) report covering June 2009, Pres. Gloria Arroyo scored dismally with a net of negative rating of (-)30 (26% satisfied and 56% dissatisfied.) This shows no improvement from her rating 4 months ago with (-)33% (26% satisfied and 59% dissatisfied.)
According to SWS, the recommended way of interpreting these numbers are as follows: +50 and above as "very good," +30 to + 49 as "good," +10 to +29 as "moderate," +9 to -9 as "neutral," -10 to -29 as "poor," -30 to -49 as "bad," and -50 and lower as "very bad." The picture on the president at this time is considered “bad.”
The drop in her popularity came in December last year when she was rated poor, but Malacanang Palace spokesmen attributed her performance to “perception.” Doubted by others, it had been said by her supporters that GMA would be better off being “unpopular” than not "excellent" in her job.
On its waning days, the administration thinks the president has been an “achiever.” It blames persistent malicious gossip and black propaganda as reasons for her unpopularity. (Photo Credit: AP) =0=
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Breach of trust in medical practice: perfume canister incident, MD’s sexual escapades & GMA's breast implant repair
A Sick Child Brought into the Temple of Aesculapius
Oil on canvas, c.1877 by John William Waterhouse (1849-1917)
We have learned a whole lot of errors in the medical profession. Once we read of the hideous perfume canister incident that was videotaped by doctors and nurses in Cebu to humiliate a suffering patient with a foreign body in his butt. Then we heard of that poorly trained plastic surgeon who brandished his bedtime sexual escapades with movie starlets in the You Tube, shocking the entire medical community. Now we have no less than the medical records of Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo (GMA) being pilfered and exposed by unauthorized personnel in the Asian Hospital.
All these are worrisome and paint a picture of an awful trend which tells that the privacy and ethics of the medical profession must be guarded and respected. Pres. Arroyo isn’t so popular, but there is no reason for anyone to break into her privacy. It is embarrassing to learn that in the Philippines, confidential data of the president’s health is easily laid bare by people who have nothing to do with her treatment.
If it were true that a certain Dr. Maria Niza Bermudez-Reyes, a resident trainee in OB-Gyn of Asian Center instructed three medical staff to access Arroyo’s records for reasons outside her line of duty, she violated professional confidentiality.
It could have been tempting and salacious for others like her to know if indeed, Arroyo had breast augmentation and implants decades ago. It could be a source of loose talk if they had them repaired in a hospital in Manila. Information like this could be leaked to make fun, humiliate, and extort money from anyone including the president.
But wherever the truth rests in this alleged violation of patient trust, a stronger safeguard to keep-out unqualified medical personnel must be done. Any wrong-doing must be meted with apt punishment. With the growing use of computers to keep medical records, one can imagine how fast data can travel on the wrong hands.
On the ethical and moral side, healthcare workers must be doubly conscious of the duty they have for those who seek their help and confidence. They have to remember, they too will one day be patients. (Photo Credit: www.mlahanas.de) =0=
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Oil on canvas, c.1877 by John William Waterhouse (1849-1917)
We have learned a whole lot of errors in the medical profession. Once we read of the hideous perfume canister incident that was videotaped by doctors and nurses in Cebu to humiliate a suffering patient with a foreign body in his butt. Then we heard of that poorly trained plastic surgeon who brandished his bedtime sexual escapades with movie starlets in the You Tube, shocking the entire medical community. Now we have no less than the medical records of Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo (GMA) being pilfered and exposed by unauthorized personnel in the Asian Hospital.
All these are worrisome and paint a picture of an awful trend which tells that the privacy and ethics of the medical profession must be guarded and respected. Pres. Arroyo isn’t so popular, but there is no reason for anyone to break into her privacy. It is embarrassing to learn that in the Philippines, confidential data of the president’s health is easily laid bare by people who have nothing to do with her treatment.
If it were true that a certain Dr. Maria Niza Bermudez-Reyes, a resident trainee in OB-Gyn of Asian Center instructed three medical staff to access Arroyo’s records for reasons outside her line of duty, she violated professional confidentiality.
It could have been tempting and salacious for others like her to know if indeed, Arroyo had breast augmentation and implants decades ago. It could be a source of loose talk if they had them repaired in a hospital in Manila. Information like this could be leaked to make fun, humiliate, and extort money from anyone including the president.
But wherever the truth rests in this alleged violation of patient trust, a stronger safeguard to keep-out unqualified medical personnel must be done. Any wrong-doing must be meted with apt punishment. With the growing use of computers to keep medical records, one can imagine how fast data can travel on the wrong hands.
On the ethical and moral side, healthcare workers must be doubly conscious of the duty they have for those who seek their help and confidence. They have to remember, they too will one day be patients. (Photo Credit: www.mlahanas.de) =0=
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Behind rumors of leaking breast implants, GMA is declared “healthy” with benign mammary & groin biopsy results
Almost coincident to the somber news that former Pres. Cory Aquino has abandoned all treatment against advanced colonic malignancy, Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo who was on self-quarantine for H1N1 flu underwent biopsies of breast and groin masses at the Asian Hospital which turned out to be negative. Malacanang Palace issued a statement that the post-menopausal president is in perfect health.
“According to the Palace official, the lumps were discovered “earlier” during her medical check up at the Asian Hospital before she went to Pampanga to visit her infrastructure projects in June 15, two days before she flew for her 13-day, five-nation visits that ended on Monday night.
“There is biopsy made, the result is negative. The President is in pink of health,” ----Press. Sec. Cerge Remonde. Manila Bulletin (07/03/09, Luci, C. M.)
The press release was also a repudiation of a rumor that the president had leaking silicone breast implants done in the 1980's. President Arroyo’s attending physician and gynecologist Dr. Maria Theresa Tangkeko-Lopez certified Pres. Arroyo’s clean bill of health, but didn't comment on the implants. Photo Credit: lasvegaskodak) =0=
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GMA’s ditch-low approval rating, her kiddie “payback package" for OFW's & a big store in Naga City rises
Negative (-30)President Gloria M. Arroyo gets the lowest satisfaction rating in 2008, much lower than the (-)9 she got the year before. The Social Weather Survey (SWS) result from the 4th quarter poll at the end of November is thought to be bad. It attests to the unpopularity of the administration that’s wracked by corruption and nepotism, believed to be worse than that of Ferdinand Marcos.
Unresolved issues like joblessness, floundering economics, the Bolante fertilizer scam, Euro generals money laundering case, unabated maritime disasters, journalist killings, charter-change controversy, poor education and healthcare, Mindanao secessionist problem, CARP extension, unimplemented cheap medicine law, and the big C (Corruption) noticed by watchers abroad are in the long list of problems that stun the public.
P1.4 trillion
It’s the 2009 national budget which is approved in the second and last deliberation in the senate. Notable in the budget are less allocations for the Department of Agrarian Reform by P3.1 billion, Energy P61 million, Finance 13 million, Local Governments P436 million, Justice P215 million, Armed Forces P75 million, Public Works P3.4 billion, Social Welfare P243 million, and National Economic Development Authority by P25 million. The budget cuts on certain services are allocated in other areas. A P10 billion economic fund is being considered, but no appropriations are set aside for the Office of the Press Secretary, the Philippine Tourism Authority and Kilos Asenso.
4,000SM, the large monopolistic mall-chain owned by business mogul Henry Sy, Sr. in the Phiippines, is making preparations to open its outlet in Naga City on March 2009. About 4,000 job-seekers are needed in the operation which is estimated to generate $12 million in wages and P40 million in taxes. Expected to compete with small stores of the area, SM may draw shoppers in neighboring towns.
The exact effects of such a huge business in the city of 160,000 people aren’t completely known. Will there be congestion in the city? Will money windfall benefit the Bicolanos? Will profits be carted away from the area and render the mom-and-pop stores struggling to survive? Did the Naga City officials do a thorough study on the cost-benefit of approving an SM store?
50,000As a result of the global economic crisis, the number of Filipinos abroad expected to be laid off has increased. Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo has laid out a “payback package” assistance for retrenched overseas foreign workers (OFW’s,) a tepid offering of skills training, scholarships, and measly P10,000 ($200) to start a “business” upon their return to the country.
15,000
Participants of the Manila’s anti-charter change (cha-cha) rally were larger than expected, according to Makati mayor Jejomar Binay, the president of the United Opposition. More protests against Cha-cha and other frustrating issues are on the works with broadened support from various organizations. (Photo Credits: gmaresign; doublefault2; arty; gmaresign=0=
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Big Mike Falls Sick: Bad Omen
Sportsman Big Mike recently fell ill while accompanying his wife on an official mission to Peru. The plane had to be diverted to Tokyo to unload Big Mike, causing Madame Gloria to miss the opening ceremonies of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation). Anyway, Madame Gloria got a consolation in the form of US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice's consuelo de bobo : "You are US' best friend". I do not know if this is an assurance that the US will not back any moves to oust Madame Gloria. I also do not know if this is an indirect message to those pushing the impeachment case as in, "Back off!" Is this an endorsement for "Cha-cha" (Charter change) so that Madame Gloria will have the chance to stay beyond 2010?
But anyway, these are all empty gestures by now. In two months time, Bush jr. and Rice will be out of office (no "Cha-cha" in the US; they do not dance that "tune"). So I do not know if the meal served to Madame Gloria was "siopao bola-bola".
But the Chinese will say that in feng shui that incident falling ill denotes bad luck is coming for the GMA (Gloria and Mike Arroyo) administration. This is what they said when then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher fell off the stairs after a testy meeting with Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping. Immediately, Hongkong's Hang Seng Index fell. The Chinese thought that incident meant Britain will soon bite the dust.
In Asian warfare, great importance is placed on the defection of former top lieutenants. In the West, a defector only has tactical value in the sense that some sensitive information can be gleaned. To Asians, it is more than loss of face or loss of legitimacy. The desertion of top lieutenants also signify that a dynasty is coming to an end. Good that JDV and FVR are not crying plots of assassination like the Bolantic Joke-Joke.
Does the failed Moscow caper of the "Euro generals" foretell the crumbling of one of the GMA administration's pillars?
"It was only diarrhea". It seems some system purging is coming.
The Goalkeeper and Sweeper of Malacanang
In soccer the task of the goalkeeper is to stop the opposing team from scoring goals, hence preventing them from scoring. Failure to score in soccer means the opposing team cannot win. A goalkeeper has many tools in his arsenal to keep the other side from winning. He can dive for the ball to secure it or block it with his body. Or he can punch or kick the ball out to prevent an attacking sequence. If needed, he will throw in his body just to keep the other side from scoring. Indeed, goalkeepers are heroic.
Of course, to make life easier for goalkeepers, other defenders will help in screening, blocking and tackling the attacking opponent. Probably the most important of defenders in soccer, apart from the goalkeeper, is the sweeper. In Italy, it is called the libero. The sweeper "sweeps up" the ball when the opponents breach the last line of defenders.
The word ombudsman is originally a Swedish word but it has already been integrated in the English lexicon. In its Nordic origins it is supposedly a government official tasked to investigate complaints of citizens against government officials and its functionaries.
In the Philippines, especially under the rule of Gloria and Mike Arroyo (the true meaning of "GMA"), the role of the ombudsman is the same as that of a soccer goalkeeper. That is, to prevent the people or the opposition from scoring "goals". The Philippine "goalkeeper" has also "tools" like sitting on complaints, filing weak cases, throwing the complaints out or simply finding that there is a violation but there is no culprit. Of course, like a goalkeeper, a GMA "ombudsman" should be able to throw in everything to keep any cases from prospering.
In the current "match", a new sweeper or libero was recently fielded by the team's coach who happened to be a self-anointed sportsman. Though rusty from a two-year "forced suspension" he was immediately fielded into the fray after a two-week "conditioning program" at the SLMC. Having been pronounced physically fit by the SLMC, he is now assisting mightily the "goalkeeper" in preventing any goals. Indeed, right in the first play, he immediately showed his "defensive prowess" by sweeping the ball out while at the same time shouting "No scam, no scam!".
Yes, how "heroic" indeed. From the corner of my eye I thought I saw his "coach" grin and nod to signify how well his favorite defender "performed".
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