Category Archives: Government

Government, Media

Presidential Palace: None Of President Aquino’s Statements Should Be Taken Literally

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Abaya, left, and Aquino; long lines at MRT
Abaya, left, and Aquino; long lines at MRT

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Time is running out for Philippine President NoyNoy Aquino and his Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya.  The Filipinos are eagerly awaiting the day — on January 1, 2016 — when both men will have themselves run over by a train. It was a promise made by Aquino in 2013 if, by the end of 2015, the serious problems plaguing Metro Manila’s mass transportation, particularly the MRT (light railway) are not resolved.

In a desperate attempt for damage control, Aquino’s communications secretary Herminio Coloma came to the rescue today saying that none of the president’s statements should be taken literally.

“He was merely joking,” Coloma said, “just like when he makes statements and claims about the accomplishments of his administration.”

“When the president says something like ‘the Philippines is the New Darling of Asia,’ or ‘the Philippines will soon become a First World Country,’ we should not take him seriously.”

The statement from the presidential palace comes as a disappointment to many who were gearing up for a great, televised spectacle come January 1st.

Government, Law Enforcement, Politics

Philippine Elections Commissioners Resign En Banc

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imageMANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – In Japan, elected political leaders –prime ministers  included — step down when they cause an embarrassment to their country. In the Philippines, appointed government officials resign en banc.

Minutes  after the Supreme Court  issued temporary restraining orders (TRO)  on two Commission on Elections (COMELEC) rulings disqualifying Senator Grace Poe from next year’s presidential election, the commissioners tendered their simultaneous resignations. They could not bear the embarrassment handed to them by the highest court of the land.

As a result of the TROs, Poe’s name would remain in the 2016 ballot.

Last week, the COMELEC, sitting en banc, issued a ruling disqualifying Poe on citizenship and residency grounds. Earlier, two divisions of the electoral body issued similar rulings.

The COMELEC was widely criticized for issung the ruling at a time when the Supreme Court was on holiday recess, making it almost impossible for Poe to file a petition for TRO before  the 5-day period within which the senator could do so before the order becomes final and executable.

COMELEC was also accused of partisanship by favoring the Aquino administration’s anointed presidential candidate, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.

Because of the mass resignations of the commissioners, the 2016 presidential elections in May could be postponed indefinitely, virtually extending the current term of President Aquino.

Brilliant planning by the Aquino administration that should warrant a Japanese-style resignation?

Stay tuned!

 

Government, Politics

Donald Trump: Thumbs Up To Obama’s Plan To Deport Undocumented Immigrants Beginning In January

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imageWASHINGTON, D.C. (The Adobo Chronicles) – In a rare show of bi-partisanship, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump today embraced President Barack Obama’s plan to deport tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants beginning in January.

Undocumented families in the U.S. could be rounded up and deported , according to a report that has shocked immigrants rights’ advocates and provoked condemnation from Democratic presidential hopefuls.

The Department of Homeland Security is preparing for raids that would see hundreds of recently arrived immigrants deported, according to a report in The Washington Post.

Citing anonymous sources, the report said that adults and children “would be detained wherever they can be found and immediately deported”.

The operation would focus on people who entered the US from its south-west border since the start of 2014, many of whom are assumed to be escaping gang violence and institutional collapse in Central America. It would also focus on people who have already been ordered to leave by an immigration judge, according to the Post.

The White House would not confirm if the Obama plan was meant to replace these undocumented immigrants with the 10,000 Syrian refugees that the president had previously announced would be allowed into the country.

“Finally, Obama has come to his senses,” Trump said, emphasizing that “the deportation of undocumented immigrants and creating a border wall to prevent illegal immmigration have always been part of my campaign agenda.”

However, Trump said that the Obama administration’s deportation announcement does not go far enough.

“We need to do more.  We need to also deport  Americans — especially those running for public office — who have divided loyalties between  America and their foreign place of birth or lineage,” the real estate mogul stated.

Trump was obviously referring to his closest rival in the 2016 U.S. presidential race, Senator Ted Cruz, who was  raised in Texas but born in Canada to a Cuban father.

Upon learning of Trump’s comments, Cruz told The Adobo Chronicles: “Look who’s talking.  Here’s my challenge:   I will self deport if Donald does the same.”

Trump was born to a German father and Scottish mother.