[boni]

Originally Posted by Allegra

If that was the case, ganun ba talga ka incompetent sila pumatay ng tao?
They were all over the place , dami witness , may video , may text and fone calls pa yung subject.
Plus alam pa ng media, senate na dadating siya

di natin alam sir ika nga ni lozada hindi na cya yung nagtatanggol ng katotohanan but yung katotohanan na yung nagtatanggol sa kanya. but if dun cya sa cebu nag landing by the looks nd cya aabot ng manila.

[boni]

uy btw mga sir napanood nyo yung harapan sa abs-cbn? sa tingin nyo si abalos ba nagsasabi ng totoo? eh lumang tactic na yung ginamit nya eh. true sign ng taong nagsisinungaling.

[mistahglock17]

Originally Posted by MRV_G17

Lozada knows his days are numbered and him telling the truth might be the only clearance he'll present to Saint Peter to pass through the 'Pearly Gate'. While still alive, Lozada has to tell the truth as he knows that Saint Peter wont allow him to go back to life just to tell the truth.

hehehehe medyo nagising ako sa message mo bro. ngayon ko lang na-realized na, dahils sa hirap ng buhay, most of Filipinos (like me) are more focused on job making money. Trabaho kaliwa’t kanan para sa pamilya… nakakalimutan ko na yung ‘soul preparation’ pagdating ng time ng face-off with San Pedro.

Nice post bro!

Originally Posted by MRV_G17

He said, ‘I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house; for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, so they won’t also come into this place of torment.’

"But Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’

"He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

"He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.
.

Yung isang official sa DOJ dapat ipabasa mo ‘to sa kanya.
isang bulate na lang ang di pumipirma at naka-diaper na sya pagpapasok sa office kaya dapat nagpre-prepare na sya for his long jeorney hindi yung puro pagsisipsip sa Arroyo admin ginagawa nya.

…or maybe he has been to the pearly gates and was rejected by St. Peter? Maybe he was sent back to life by ‘taning’ so he can continue his ‘un-justice’ job.

[Allegra]

Saw Sec Romulo Neri kanina at UP
He gave a speech about oligarchs and why all the money is not tricking to where it is needed most
I was amazed he was brave enough to step in UP of all places
Then again , La Salle na yata at Ateneo ang pugad na nasyonalismo ngayon hehe
Nagpa pic pa nga mga taga peyups e

Kakaiba din yung SGs nya
There was one intense big dude in a black suit very pro , I'm guessing PSG w'c would be normal
But there was about 5 guys who looked.....I'll quote a friend of mine ," sino yan mga NPA na yan" hehe complete sa accessories naka tubao pa
Plus fit military guys in civvies
Then lots of cops , who ate all the food

He seems like a good man
I wish him luck

[antediluvianist]

I know Neri personally, having worked with him and been on foreign trips with him. He is like all of us - basically good but there are tremendous pressures, and he has to have loyalties to somebody.

It is sad that he and Lozada and many others are just pawns in the hands of the Chess Players - the Oligrachs who are presently IN power, versus those who are presently OUT of power but want to be IN. The Oligarchs/Chess Players are fighting for the entire wealth of this country - all the wealth of the government, all our taxes, the tremendous foreign borrowings, everything.

Neri and Lozada and others are just pawns and bishops and other pieces on the board. The dupes think something principled is going on. No, it's just a high-stakes chess game.

[Allegra]

Nilagay ko lang "he's a good man" because MIG might be monitoring the forum haha
Di ako anti govt!

In fact ,
I was inspired by Neri's speech!
That's my new goal , to be an oligarch

How many billions the monoplies telecom and power companies are raking in
Baliwala daw yung pera na kino-commission ng corrupt

Olats mag govt official , small time pala
W/c way to Wharton?
it's like The Godfather part 3
It's the respectable people who are more dangerous

Tumutingin na tuloy ako sa likod ko pag naglalakad ahehehe

[atmarcella]

How many billions the monoplies telecom and power companies are raking in

but these guys earn there money the honest way. they risked capital and raked in the rewards. i cant say the same about govt. people.

[Allegra]

Originally Posted by atmarcella

but these guys earn there money the honest way. they risked capital and raked in the rewards. i cant say the same about govt. people.

Honesty in maintaining a monopoly? Using influence and patronage
Ganun din , money is making it's way only to a few
Ganun naman ang description ng 3rd world
A few billionaires surrounded by slums

[atmarcella]

ah i see. what you mean is "the lobbyist". like the one presently hard at work now trying to dilute the cheaper medicines bill. well, even sa america meron din mga ganun.

[pogi]

Originally Posted by antediluvianist

Neri and Lozada and others are just pawns and bishops and other pieces on the board. The dupes think something principled is going on. No, it's just a high-stakes chess game.

I FULLY AGREE.
And why do I have a very strong feeling that Neri will be the running mate of Lacson come 2010.

Kamay na bakal + ekonomista = hhhmmmmmmmmm

[Allegra]

Originally Posted by atmarcella

ah i see. what you mean is "the lobbyist". like the one presently hard at work now trying to dilute the cheaper medicines bill. well, even sa america meron din mga ganun.

I dont know if they allow monopolies in America
Even Microsoft couldnt buy yahoo w/out being sued by it's competitors

while dito , I have to loan Meralco money to put up posts and transformers in my property and wait 5 years to get it back. W/.out interest

[pogi]

Originally Posted by Allegra

while dito , I have to loan Meralco money to put up posts and transformers in my property and wait 5 years to get it back. W/.out interest

And while you wait for 5 years, isa ka sa nagbabayad sa kuryenteng ninanakaw ng ibang UNGAS! And they call it "systems loss". PWEH!

And whatever happened to the refund of those consuming 300KW and up?

[crazy_hans]

Originally Posted by pogi

And while you wait for 5 years, isa ka sa nagbabayad sa kuryenteng ninanakaw ng ibang UNGAS! And they call it "systems loss". PWEH!

And whatever happened to the refund of those consuming 300KW and up?

tay, speaking of magnanakaw ng kuryente don't bother reporting it to them kasi gagawin kang pingpong ng police and meralco.

[cebupistol]

I think all of these dramas are crap.I do not think they were trying to liquidate him, that would probably be the worst idea ever made. Everybody knows he was flying in from HK. The most that we could assume was them trying to talk him out of it.he is being played around by both sides and i think he is also playing who gives the biggest amount. probably the 500t was nothing compared to what the others are giving him.come on, he was corrupt while he was in a government position, do you think he would just wake up one day and say he will be honest then?* he still needs to eat and have a good life.The fight with JDV and gloria all boils to money, who gets the biggest kickback.* JDV son has no business supplying the broadband deal as it is illegal considering JDV. but still, he was pushing it and when he lost, went public.* Do you think everybody was dealing honestly here?Ever since i was in high school, i still think people goes to politics for the money, nothing else and i still believe it now. Serving is just a good reason to earn more.

Originally Posted by Allegra

If that was the case, ganun ba talga ka incompetent sila pumatay ng tao? They were all over the place , dami witness , may video , may text and fone calls pa yung subject. Plus alam pa ng media, senate* na dadating siya

[Allegra]

As much as I detest the govt
Di ko maisip what keeps me annoyed at Lozada
Until I read Ms. Doyo's article
She's right
He testified coz he thought he was about to get whacked
He's not lily white himself
So he should quit being a whiny-weepy biotch



www.inquirer.net
Human Face
Rise to your full height


By Ma. Ceres P. Doyo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:28:00 02/20/2008

Rise to your full height

Open Letter to Jun Lozada

Imagine grown men bickering over undershirts and formal attire on nationwide TV while the nation was in the throes of war between good and evil, truth and falsehood.

While I have no reason to doubt the gist of the revelations of Rodolfo Noel "Jun" Lozada Jr. on the ZTE national broadband network (NBN) multimillion-dollar deal that implicated public officials and private individuals, and his alleged forcible abduction by police and airport officials; while I do not question his motive to "save my soul" and by doing so, also "save the soul of this nation," I have some observations to make of his behavior that tends to undermine his credibility.

I make these observations not to chip away at his credibility (why on earth should I do that and gain the ire of his fans?) but so that he does not further erode it himself.

Okay, the gravity and magnitude of his accusations have made us sit up and listen and act. Hundred million-plus dollars that translate into billions of pesos for "commissioners," big names, big players, big deal. But while listening to all these since Day One of Lozada's testimony at the Senate hearing, press conference and TV appearances in assorted venues, I could not help noticing chinks that I find annoying, disconcerting and exasperating. Things that make me want to say out loud to him: "Look, I believe you and want to believe you. Could you please do it well and right, in a manner that befits your dignity and the gravity of your revelations?"

I admit I can't help looking at the small stuff, but that's what the guys of TV's blockbuster "CSI" are looking at to get at the truth -- the small stuff, too, the minutiae.

On the television station ANC's "Harapan" [Face to Face], which lasted for hours and pitted him against those he has accused, I don't know why Lozada had to twit Philippine National Police chief Avelino Razon and Transportation and Communications Assistant Secretary Lorenzo Formoso III and others about their formal attire. Lozada was wearing an undershirt and seemed to be calling attention to it.

Razon was not amused. I could see his jaw tighten as he explained that he had to leave his wife at a social function in order to be at "Harapan." Not that he relished coming. Later, Formoso had his turn to snap back and say he also had an undershirt but he had been taught to face the public wearing the proper attire.

The debate had descended to that kind of talk with Lozada initiating it. They sounded like little boys in the schoolyard. Yeah, that was a brief respite from the hard stuff, but that the new national poster boy for truth initiated it was rather disconcerting. Please “naman.”

When you face men who have known another kind battle, men such as the retired military and police officers now serving as civilian officials in the government that Lozada faced in the Senate hearing, you must look them straight in the eye, with jaws tight, hand on the holster, ready to fire back. You cannot be limpy-wimpy with them. These men have fought battles in urban and rural jungles. Although I have not totally shaken off my martial-law-era military phobia (that's why I say no to a military junta), I have respect, grudging sometimes, for armed men who have to heed the call to battle.

I hope they also had respect for Lozada's tears at the Senate. Surely they too had shed tears for their slain comrades in the battlefield.

We all remember bank official Clarissa Ocampo who was key in getting former president Joseph Estrada convicted on plunder charges, not just with her say-so but with damning documents that supported her claim. She first strode into the Senate hearing wearing a mute bluish-grey suit and with the subtle glow of pearls. She spoke softly and carried a big stick, so to speak. She did not want to bask in public adulation and preferred to speak about what she knew only in the right forum. She held the hall in thrall. She was unassailable.

I am saying this so that would-be Lozadas would, after experiencing a heady ride on the crest of admirers, stop sounding whiny-weepy. Lozada had the “sikmura” [stomach] to participate in those deals and even say mea culpa for his past sins, he should not cry "me against the mob" on nationwide TV, he should stop projecting himself as an underdog. He should believe he has the upper hand.

I remember the time I was summoned to the Army general headquarters Fort Bonifacio for a hair-raising, closed-door interrogation by generals and colonels (I was the first among the women writers they summoned and with me was lawyer Alex Padilla who was sent by Jose W. Diokno). The first thing I said to them in crisp and clear language was: "Before I answer any of your questions, I want you to give me your names and rank." Aba, they all did, and I wrote everything down. With those names we were able to go to the Supreme Court to stop further harassment.

I was braver than I thought.

When fellow journalist **** Estella and I were seized by a group of gun-wielding military men at night (I was driving a car full of the anti-Marcos church publication "Iron Hand, Velvet Glove" and didn't know we were being trailed) and were about to be hauled off to the national police headquarters Camp Crame, we stood our ground because the arrest order did not bear our name, until Sr. Christine Tan, RGS and Fr. Ralph Salazar came to rescue us. I was ready to shout our names to the crowd that had gathered.

We were braver than we thought.

Lozada said he had no time to think about shouting for help when the men came for him at the airport. Well, okay. I think Jonas Burgos shouted when he was abducted.

My advice to Lozada: Rise to your full height, look them in the eye, your hand on the holster, ready to fire back. If you have to go down, go down with guns blazing. Stick to what you know first-hand. You must be braver than you think. The nuns should now get some sleep.

Send feedback to cerespd@info.com.ph.

[cebupistol]

Like i said, all of these are crap. you cannot believe everything hook, line, and sinker.

There are completely different motives for all of these including the lasalle brothers and those priests and i do not think anybody is doing this for the good of the country except what they could get in return.

don't get me wrong, i am a devout catholic but not a devout follower of the priests.

Everybody going into politics is in it for the money, nothing else.

[atmarcella]

from her "out of touch" daugther...

"On bringing donw my mother"
by Luli Arroyo

My family has never made money illegally, much less made money from government. My father has always steered clear of any action that might even cast doubt on my mother's integrity. Even when she was an undersecretary of the Dept of Trade & Industry, he could have had a lucrative career being on retainer as the lawyer of garment manufacturers and exporters--and though this was legal, my father opted not to take on these clients because it still raised an ethical question of a conflict of interest since my mother was in charge of the Garments & Textile Export Board. If at that time, my father opted not to make money even though it was legal because it might cast doubt on my mother's integrity, he will not do anything more so now that she is the highest officer of the land. Even today, you never heard him make money or "commission" out of the donations for the athletes in preparation for the SEA Games and the Olympics, because he made sure that the money went directly between the sponsors and the particular sports associations or athletes, and never passing through his hands. Obviously these accusations thrown at him by politicians are politically motivated, because he was fat and was rich to begin with, and made an easy target.

During the time of President Ramos I remember there was also some issue about a government bidding that was questioned by the losing bidder, but we all accepted that this was just sour graping by the loser. The only difference today is that the losing bidder sour graping is the former speaker's son, who thinks there is no ethical or legal problem going for government contracts which will pass through congress.

People say that there have been a lot of accusations thrown at my father, so these must be true since "where there's smoke, there's fire." My response is: Sure, if the fire was caused by ARSON. In other words, it was the arsonists who actually caused the destruction, then pointed to others to deflect blame from themselves.

So many times, the people who actually make money from whatever deals do so using my father's name even though he is not at all involved, and then when they get caught, they point an accusing finger at him while pocketing the money they made. I question the timing of this supposedly new revelation to something that has been scrapped--which only adds more of the same based on vague statements, fiction and creative embellishments on conversations the "witness" was not actually privy to--which comes after a change in leadership in congress, I suppose still part of the "valedictory" of the previous leadership.

Why do people want to destroy my mother? Because she has tried very hard to take out the institutionalized corruption, so the way they fight back is to try to destroy my family's reputation. This concerted effort to smear her reputation began the minute she resigned from the cabinet of her predecessor, and has gone on unrelented. Unfortunately many people don't understand this, that the corruption has been built up for at least two decades, and pervades not only government but society in general, and it will probably take at least that many years to wipe it out of our system, especially when those entrenched are fighting back and fighting dirty not to be unseated.

The reason the economy is doing well and foreign investors are back with billion dollar private investments, numbers we haven't seen in more than a decade, is that my mother has concentrated on the policy and on running the government and making the difficult decisions, and these are now bearing fruit, and all the next president has to do is to keep our course steady. But many of these politicians are either impatient, or want the old system back, or think that they can earn popular points by tearing her down.She hasn't concerned herself with how the media or the political plotters portray her. She has made the unpopular but necessary decisions for the good of the economy and the country.

===========

Some people have also said that our economic numbers are meaningless, that the 7.1% growth is a farce because the gap between rich and poor is bigger now. I guess they also base that assertion on what Lozada overheard from somewhere. Actually, even the most recent SWS survey they so love to quote, the survey on self-rated poverty says that the number who think they are poor has decreased from the last time they did the survey. Meaning, people really feel the effects of economic upliftment.

I want to add that these billion dollar private investors which are multinational companies that are happy with the policies of my mother, and these are a part of the reason they invest or increase their investments. None of them have complained that my family asked for "commission" , unlike complaints made during the past administration. This is what many of their global CEOs said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, during a dinner on the Philippines, where those who have already invested in the country even enticed others to do so. What these CEOs feared was that after my mother's administration the next president might change policies and might not understand the importance of her economic and fiscal reforms. She actually assured them that despite the rhetoric from those already running for president, that most of them want their investments and the jobs they generate to continue. Besides, she has done the difficult work of wrestling to get these economic and fiscal reforms institutionalized through legislation. All they have to do is reap the benefits of what we are already beginning to achieve in economic growth and social upliftment.

[isuzu]

Lozada probably talked because his shadow was haunting him. Pag may kasalanan ang isang tao, malamang iyan ang ginagawa. Hugas kamay.

BTW, I believe Lulu Arroyo. She is very down-to-earth, even falling in line to check in her luggage. She does not want her luggage to be carried by airport personnel, and she also refuses to use the VIP lounge in the airport.

I saw her once at a restaurant in Greenbelt with her friends. You could hardly notice her.

[CatsMeow]

With the circus going on at the Senate, it makes my vote for only one senator, last election, well and truly justified.

[Pepe G Boy]

I knew Luli when we were still in college. She is a very unassuming person. Very intelligent.

Its hard to be in the shoes of Luli. How would I try to defend my family from all intrigues? Do I just shut up and let the intrigues die down? Or do I retaliate in the best form that I know?

[saki1611]

Originally Posted by Pepe G Boy

I knew Luli when we were still in college. She is a very unassuming person. Very intelligent.

Its hard to be in the shoes of Luli. How would I try to defend my family from all intrigues? Do I just shut up and let the intrigues die down? Or do I retaliate in the best form that I know?

maybe luli is the remaining "Lot" in the family....

[astig007]

but... for s few times... "Lot" still caved in to his humanity. choosing the greener pastures, moving in closer and closer to S & G, until he was already staying inside.

[saki1611]

Originally Posted by astig007

but... for s few times... "Lot" still caved in to his humanity. choosing the greener pastures, moving in closer and closer to S & G, until he was already staying inside.

definitely true, yet still he was the reason God preserved S & G until he left.

[atmarcella]

maybe luli is the remaining "Lot" in the family....

she's just clueless.....

With the circus going on at the Senate, it makes my vote for only one senator, last election, well and truly justified.

ill vote for one when the time comes that each represents a region. for the time being who do they represent? the philippines? and who does the president represent? the philippines also? 25 people representing 1 country. dont you think that is too much?

[atmarcella]

nice.

Neri-Jun is Right
By Antonio C. Abaya
Written on Feb. 18, 2009

As promised, let me analyze the 10th ‘Afraid’ in the document said to have been written by Jun Lozada in October 2007, to explain why his friend Romulo Neri did not divulge the details of his (Neri’s) conversation with President Arroyo regarding the sordid ZTE broadband contract. (See my article ‘Neri was Afraid….’ [Feb 16, 2008] in which I wrote that it was really a Neri-Jun avatar that was speaking in that document.)

Wrote Jun in that document: (Neri-Jun) “is afraid that the public may not know the extent of corruption in this country and may wrongly believe that they can cure corruption by simply replacing Arroyo with another person. He is afraid that the public may overlook the systemic and institutionalized nature of the source of corruption in this country, that the people will again opt for regime change without concern or a plan to correct the root causes of corruption in the country…that people may not realize that it is not bringing Arroyo down that is difficult, it is establishing a new order that is the difficult task….”

I dwelt on this 10th ‘Afraid’ last Friday in a workshop organized for mass-com and journalism students at the Lyceum University . Let me expand on it in this essay.

If one were to examine the complexion of the anti-Arroyo forces that have been clamoring for her resignation since 2003, one sees that they are made up of three main contingents: the trapos under deposed (later convicted of plunder, but hastily pardoned) Joseph Estrada, the Communist movement, and the military mercenaries.

During the rolling agitation in 2005-2006, the three groups combined their forces to oust President Arroyo. But without the participation of the middle classes, they could not generate sufficient public outrage against her, and their demos and rallies fizzled out.

The middle classes, who were the shock troops of EDSA I and EDSA 2, were largely out of the picture, preferring to stay on the sidelines, partly because of their distrust of the three groups above, and partly because the economy has been doing well in the past four years and they did not want to rock the boat. And also partly out of extreme disappointment that EDSA 1 and EDSA 2 did not result in any meaningful changes.

My own three children, who took part in EDSA 1 and EDSA 2, gave notice to me and my wife in 2003 that if there was going to be an EDSA 3, they would stay home and sleep or watch their DVDs or surf the Internet.. The same apathy must have infected hundreds of thousands of middle class homes in Metro Manila.

In 2007-2008, the situation was/is not any different. The strongest opposition bloc – victors in the 2007 senatorial elections - remains the unattractive trapos led by Joseph Estrada and Jejomar Binay, now augmented by the ousted Speaker Jose de Venecia, none of whom generate much sympathy from among the middle classes. The Communist movement, ever massaged by the complicit media, have not yet realized their irrelevance in the 21st century.

And the military mercenaries – financed by Erap in 2003, 2005 and 2006 – dug their own graves by staging a foolish rebellion last November at the Peninsula Hotel, the fourth luxury hotel that they have inexplicably seized. (The others: Manila Hotel in 1986, the Intercontinental in 1989 and the Oakwood in 2003. Military madness seems to recur every three or four years).

And yet – Neri-Jun is right in their caution - these are the self-proclaimed messiahs who would have seized power if President Arroyo had been overthrown between 2003 and 2007. No wonder the middle classes have refused to get involved….until Jun Lozada came along.

Suddenly the middle classes are stirring. They have finally found a champion around whom they can rally, who is neither a trapo nor a Communist nor a military mercenary, who seems to be a reasonably honest person though admittedly not a candidate for sainthood, a technocrat-bureaucr at with a conscience, a self-effacing intellectual who has a genuine love for his country and an abiding admiration for Jose Rizal.

Is this the beginning of the end for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo? Perhaps. But it would take more revelations and more public anger to bring that about. And it would need a major tipping point to push her over the edge, such as a decision on the part of Romulo Neri to finally tell all that he knows about his boss. But will he?

In the 10th ‘Afraid’, Neri-Jun is “afraid that people will again opt for regime change without concern or a plan to correct the root causes of corruption in the country….that people may not realize that it is not bringing Arroyo down that is difficult, it is establishing a new order that is the difficult task….”

Neri-Jun is right. Except for the Communist movement, there is no political group in this country that has articulated a vision for a new order to replace the rotten old one. But the Communist vision – Joma’s Maoist new order – is totally unacceptable to the middle classes: judging from the shining example of Maoist China (1949 to 1979), no free elections, no freedom of expression, no freedom of assembly, no freedom of worship, no private property, no private enterprise, BUT monopoly of power for the Communist Party (CPP) under the Leninist concept of ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’( operational up to the present).

Variations on the Communist vision have been proposed by such luminaries as Boy Morales (agrarian reform secretary under Erap) and Dodong Nemenzo (UP president during Erap’s watch). But Morales was co-founder of the National Democratic Front, the political arm of the CPP, while Nemenzo was an associate member of the politburo of the pro-Soviet Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP). Even if they claim to have left the Party, their vision of a new order will always be colored by their Communist past.

Even the rejectionists under the late Popoy Lagman, who had rejected the Maoist revolution of Joma Sison during their schism in 1991-92 and had formed a rival faction, (led by Sanlakas), opted for another failed Communist model, the Sandinistas of Nicaragua.

Whether pro-Soviet or Maoist or Sandinista, the Communist vision of a new order is totally unacceptable to the middle classes. So also is the prospect of an endless game of musical chairs among the predatory and unprincipled trapos, whether Lakas or Kampi or Pwet ng Masa or NP or LP or LDP or KBL. The political class under all disguises has failed the people of this country and do not deserve to remain in, or aspire again for, power.

It is not surprising that not one of the seven or eight presidential wannabes has articulated a vision for establishing a new order, which, as Neri-Jun noted, is the more difficult task than overthrowing President Arroyo. If they now scramble to do so, it would not be convincing since they would just be responding to a newly perceived deficiency which they had overlooked all these decades.

As for the military mercenaries, the less said, the better. Having rented out their idealism to Erap, not once but several times, they really have nothing significant to say.

So, given the stark moral emptiness of the Philippine political landscape, is there any reason for Romulo Neri to break his silence and divulge all the sordid details that he knows at first hand about corruption in high places, and thereby cause the House of Arroyo to come crashing down?

We can only appeal to his patriotism. Neri can take some comfort from the fact that if President Arroyo were forced to step down, the constitutional successor would be Vice-President Noli de Castro, who is neither a trapo nor a Communist nor a military mercenary, and has no known - to me, anyway – connections to any of the above.

He may lack social pedigree and a dynastic fiefdom, as Jun Lozada himself describes himself, and he definitely has no vision of a new order. But we have to make do with what we have. And who knows, if given the right inputs from the right advisers, he may yet craft and articulate the parameters of that new order, between 2008 and 2010?

At any rate, he couldn’t possibly be any worse than the pedigreed Arroyo or the fake sovereign of the squealing masa - and convicted plunderer - Erap. If the middle classes, the business and professional communities, civil society, the non-Communist labor unions, the Churches and the idealistic elements of the military were to support this constitutional process, it would be a painless, bloodless solution to our dilemma.

Of course, the pedigreed and dynastic presidential wannabes will resist such a scenario since it would threaten their presidential ambitions in 2010 if De Castro were to turn out to be a reformist leader in the next two years. But what can these presidential wannabes complain about? They are either for or against the constitutional process. If they are against, then they have no business occupying, or running for, any public office.

One last point. There are media reports that Sen. Panfilo Lacson met with Jun Lozada six times before/after Lozada went to Hong Kong, and at least once with Romulo Neri in December 2007. If true, does this mean that the Neri-Jun avatar has found in Sen. Lacson that someone with the mystic vision of that elusive new order? Lozada’s millions of new fans are entitled to know.