By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS I have lost track counting the number of somersaults that President Aquino and his spokesmen have performed on the issue of whether he wants to stay in Malacañang after his term ends on June 30, 2016. To save myself further aggravation, I decided to “like” President Aquino’s Facebook Page which was
By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS FACED with overwhelming opposition to a Charter Change to allow President Aquino to extend his term beyond 2016, Malacañang has backtracked and assured the public that he is not supporting changes in the Constitution in the last two years of his presidency. Press Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr and Deputy Presidential Spokesperson
By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS TAKE note that the Social Weather Stations survey showing a 16- point plunge in net satisfaction for the Aquino administration was conducted on June 27 – 30, 2014. From 45 percent last March, satisfaction for general performance of the Aquino administration dropped to 29 percent in the June survey. This
By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS FINALLY, President Aquino will speak to the people of the Philippines on the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program or DAP today, Malacañang announced. Today is exactly two weeks after the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision declared as unconstitutional Aquino and his Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad pet project. Malacañang sources said
By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS WE wish these three reports were April Fools Day jokes: One, Spinbusters saying goodbye. In Its April 1 entry titled “Silly blog concedes writes 30”, the media watchdog wrote, “There’s no going around it, beating around the bush, and running in circles. With bitterness, sadness, and deep regret, we have decided
By ELLEN TORDESILLAS NOW we know there is a problem with Malacanang’s communication system. Whether Malacanang knows that is a completely different matter. Two letters that later on became of national, even international, importance did not reach President Aquino. The first one was a letter from the late Jamalul Kiram III sent in 2010 in
By TESSA JAMANDRE PRESIDENT Aquino and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak are set to meet in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 27, when Aquino visits Malaysia in his first foreign trip for 2014, a highly reliable foreign affairs source said. Missing from the agenda, however, will be the setting up of a consulate in Sabah,
By ELLEN TORDESILLAS CHINA on Friday reminded President Aquino it had fought on the side of the Allied Powers against fascist Japan and Germany in World War II, after Aquino likened China’s encroachment into the South China Sea with Adolf Hitler’s hegemonic moves in World War II. In a press briefing, China’s Foreign Ministry
By ELLEN TORDESILLAS SENATOR Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., one of the three senators charged with plunder before the Ombudsman in connection with alleged anomalous use of Priority Development Assistance Fund, related Monday an incident that took place in December 2012, a few days before the conclusion of the impeachment of ousted Chief Justice Renato Corona.
By ELLEN TORDESILLAS PRESIDENT Aquino told an impressionable bunch of students from Miriam College that he will not be putting on more pressure on his cabinet members concerned that they would suffer burn out. This is what he said last Tuesday: “The Cabinet is very hardworking, they’re very dedicated. You can’t ask anything more of
