Corona’s dollars, anti-US militants

MANILA, Philippines – Last Tuesday, April 17, the Supreme Court was expected to decide on whether or not to allow public disclosure of the dollar accounts of impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona.

It’s been two months, after all, since the justices, voting 8-5, stopped — through a temporary restraining order (TRO) — the Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) from submitting to the impeachment court the dollar accounts of Corona.

Prosecutors appealed that decision, but the High Court has been dilly dallying on the matter.

In fact, meeting en banc in Baguio this week, the justices decided to again postpone their final verdict on the PSBank TRO to June 26, a month from now.

What’s happening?

A source tells Rappler at least 7 justices who have consistently sided with the Chief Justice asked for the postponement. They probably felt that affirming the TRO would be quite an unpopular move at this point given that the impeachment trial is on a break.

And the minority in SC, on the other hand, didn’t mind resetting. They figure a TRO is better than a permanent injunction, says a lawyer who has contacts in the SC.

That’s justice for you, Philippine style. – Rappler.com



Anti-US militants and General Pershing

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines – The symbolism is not lost on Leftist militants.

On the day they end their protest caravan that brought them to several cities in Mindanao, they find themselves in the middle of a plaza named after an American general who led a bloody war of attrition against inhabitants of the island at the turn of the 19th century.

General John “Black Jack” Pershing was a major in the US Army when he was sent “to suppress the insurrection” in Mindanao and Jolo in 1899. He also saw action in Lanao during the Filipino-American war and was a war hero in the American colonial war in Cuba before he was assigned to the Philippines.

Pershing was also the regimental quartermaster of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the US Army which was immortalized by the late reggae master Bob Marley in his signature song “Buffalo Soldiers.” Marley described the regiment as a US army unit which took in Cuban slaves to fight for America.

Members of the Patriyotiko Mindanao kicked off their protests against continued presence of American troops in the island on April 15 in this city. They were joined by their fellow militants from Davao City in Cotabato City where a brief scuffle ensued allegedly involving a still unnamed soldier who punched a woman protester in front of the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division in Awang, Maguindanao.

The protest caravan also brought them to the cities of Koronadal, Pagadian and Ipil before finally winding up in Zamboanga City. The protesters who claimed their numbers swelled to 4,000 arrived in Zamboanga City Wednesday evening, April 18.

The Philippine and US governments will hold joint military exercises in Glan, Sarangani, in June as part of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the two countries.

Glan, along with Zamboanga City, is one of the earliest settlement areas of the American occupation troops in Mindanao.

The first batch of Thomasites actually arrived in 1907 in what is now Kiamba town in Sarangani. – Rappler.com