Police General "Kidnapped" by Ball Pens and Notes Wielding Men

By MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

What is the difference between South Korea’s Danwon high school Vice Principal Kang Min-gyu, 52, and pork barrel scams alleged conspirators Janet Napoles, Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and Ramon Revilla?

GENERAL AND MEDIA MEN - Police two-star General  Manuel Barcena
  (2nd from left) recently rekindled and renewed old ties with media practitioners
of Pangasinan in a luncheon at the seafood restaurant Silverios in the city.
 Barcena, a PMA class 1981 classmate of Chief PNP Allan Purisima, was in
Dagupan  to attend the homecoming for the Top Chief of Police (COP) challenge
shooting competition with former police chiefs of the city as one of the draws in
 the month long Bangus Festival. According to Dagupan COP Supt. Chris Abrahano
 those who responded to the invitation were Police Director Barcena; Police Chief
Superintendent Noli G. Taliño, Deputy Director, Special Action Force; Police Chief
Superintendent Francisco Manalo Jr. (retired); Police Senior Superintendent Mariano
Luis M. Verzosa Jr. (retired); Police Superintendent Ditz Quijardo (retired); and Police
Superintendent Romeo M. Caramat Jr. 

Kang committed suicide by hanging himself with a belt on his neck on a tree because of the shame where a ferry that carried 476 passengers mostly students under his watch capsized. Among the passengers, 202 as of press time have been saved.

274, son of a gun, have been feared drown.

What’s the difference between former Army general Angelo Reyes and former police chief Avelino Razon (who is incarcerated now at Camp Crame for malversation in connection with the alleged bogus repair and maintenance of 28 police armored vehicles to the tune of P358.58 million in 2007 and 2008),plunder accused Generals Carlos Garcia, Jacinto Ligot, and Lt. Col. George Rabusa, and Supt. Dionesio Borromeo, former Dagupan City chief of police ( who is jailed at Muntinlupa after he was accused of allegedly protecting a trillion of pesos worth of illegal drug shabu laboratory in La Union), and Euro Generals?

Reyes who was fingered to be involved in hundreds of millions of pesos of “paba-on” shot himself to death because he could not bear the shame the accusation being hurled to him by the media and senators of the Republic.

Except for Kang and Reyes, the rest have the gall to tell us: “Just see you in court”

Inquirer's Scribe Mea Culpa on Plagiarism of PMA Story

By GABRIEL ORTIGOZA, Ph.D

ELK GROVE, California – A senior journalist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) apologized Monday to this writer after being accused of plagiarism on her article about a beleaguered cadet of the Philippine Military Academy.

Philippine Daily Inquirer's senior correspondent Cynthia Balana

 This writer, a former military professor of PMA, sent an e-mail to PDI on May 2, 2014 and suggested to acknowledge their source of information and give proper credit to whom it should be given.

 On May 5, 2014, Cynthia Balana of PDI sent an e-mail apologizing for not acknowledging this writer as one of her sources in her article: CHR: PMA Cadet Cudia not guilty of lying, should be granted diploma. The controversial article was published in the Inquirer’s April 30, 2014 issue.

Bible-Quoting Top Cop Assigns in "Wild West City"

By MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

I was hooked recently reading Bob Woodward’s hard covered 237 pages “Maestro: Greenspan’s Fed and the American Boom. One of the excerpts in page 110 of Woodward, my favorite author where my latest collection of his book is Obama’s War, said: “Greenspan noted that the (news) reporting had changed, that reporters were more aggressive and often competent in economics. When he had been President Gerald Ford’s economic adviser in 1975-76, he told the committee, “You should just feed them (media men)  pabulum (soft digestible food- MCO) and they pretty much accepted it. That clearly has changed quite dramatically”.

NEW CHIEF OF POLICE – Police Superintendent Charlie D. Umayam replaced early this April P/Supt. Rodrigo Castro as the chief of police of the 86 villages San Carlos City, Pangasinan. Umayam, a native of Aguilar, Pangasinan, was assigned at the Police Regional Office-1 in San Fernando City, La Union before he was whisked at the mammoth city. Umayam, known to be a religious and with his Bible prominently displayed on his table, is a product of the Philippine National Police Academy Class of 2000. 

I could not agree more. But here in the Philippines many media men and women are just like the gullible pabulum eater of Greenspan.

They just write what they had interviewed with their source. They did not clarify deeply on the matter.

Media practitioners should study or read voraciously about economics (what’s the advantages of a strong peso, a weak peso?) and law. They don’t satisfy themselves to be mechanical where what those politicians told them they accepted it as gospel truth. They should be searching and judgmental in their interview with their source. A lot of these politicians are pinheads whose statement needs to be exposed, too.

***

One of the anecdotes I encountered about Philippine media’s idiocy was a press conference in San Carlos City, Pangasinan.

It was about the case of a lost P9 million owned by the city government. The one in custody said she was held up (robbery) inside the Land Bank of the Philippines branch in the city.

For the maximum appreciation of the anecdote, please allow me to define the words “Prima Facie (spell “patsi”).  Prima Facie denotes evidence that – unless rebutted – would be sufficient to prove a particular proposition or fact.

MAYOR: Si Cashier ay kinasuhan ko na dahil may Prima Facie, si Mr.A at si Mr.B ay kinasuhan na rin dahil may Prima Facie.

 MANILA RADIO ANNOUNCER (with husky voice): Anong klaseng report ito! Kinasuhan niyo na nga iyong tatlo, pero bakit si Prima Facie hindi niyo kinasuhan? Sobrang lakas naman niya ata dito sa ciudad niyo!

PH should be careful in military accord with US - PH Senator

By MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

MANILA, Philippines – Whether it is an expanded armed forces cooperation or a return of the United States military bases in the country, a Philippine senator said government officials should practice prudence when it enters into a treaty with the United States.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano (Center) is one of the intelligent minds 
of the Philippine Senate. He is a presidential hopeful. Cayetano
 is flanked here by Pangasinan Governor Amado T. Espino (Left) and 
Congressman Leopoldo Bataoil (2nd District, Pangasinan).

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said  whatever agreement the country enters with the Americans, the most important thing would be for the Filipinos to know the details first, and the benefits the Philippines would get in hosting the U.S armed forces in the country.

“We know the purpose of the facilities is for the protection of the U.S interest. But we have to articulate our interest to them, too. If the agreement is not naturally helpful to us but only for the Americans, what’s the need to host them in the country?” he posed.