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‘Atrocious logic’: Guanzon hits Comelec nemesis Ferolino over Marcos ruling

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‘Atrocious logic’: Guanzon hits Comelec nemesis Ferolino over Marcos ruling

Feb 11, 2022 Dwight de Leon

‘There is no law punishing non-filing of ITR? Why was BBM convicted then? Ang bright-bright n’yo naman,’ says retired Comelec commissioner Rowena Guanzon, in reaction to the ruling on an anti-Marcos case

MANILA, Philippines – Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner Rowena Guanzon did not mince words when she reacted to the dismissal order written by her former colleague on a consolidated disqualification case against Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Guanzon had mandatorily retired from the poll body in early February without having resolved her public rift with Commissioner Aimee Ferolino, whom she accused of deliberately delaying the release of the ruling on the case so that Guanzon’s vote will not count.

While Guanzon made public her separate opinion and vote to disqualify Marcos Jr. before her retirement, it eventually did not matter, as the ruling was released on Thursday, February 10, or over a week after she had left the Comelec.

On a string of social media posts from Thursday night to Friday morning, February 11, Guanzon did not hold back in calling out Ferolino, the ponente or designated writer, over her “atrocious logic.”

“Ferolino’s resolution is a must-read for lawyers and non-lawyers. Atrocious logic. It is fraught with grammatical and typographical errors,” she tweeted.

Guanzon also took exception to the finding that Marcos Jr. did not commit a crime involving moral turpitude when he failed to file his income tax returns in the 1980s, when he was vice governor then governor of Ilocos Norte.

The ruling read, “The failure to file tax returns is not inherently wrong in the absence of a law punishing it. The said omission became punishable only through the enactment of the Tax Code. Moreover, even the 1977 NIRC (National Internal Revenue Code) recognizes that failure to file income tax is not a grave offense as the violation thereof may be penalized only by a fine.”

Guanzon questioned the logic in such a statement, noting that Marcos Jr. was convicted by the trial court and the Court of Appeals for his repeated non-filing of income tax returns.

“There is no law punishing non-filing of ITR? Why was BBM (Bongbong) convicted then? Ang bright-bright n’yo naman (You guys are so smart),” Guanzon added. Aside from Ferolino, Comelec Commissioner Marlon Casquejo signed and certified the ponencia promulgated by the Comelec’s 1st Division.

Guanzon also posted a lengthy take on the 1st Division ruling on her Facebook account, saying Ferolino “chose to turn a blind eye to the circumstances surrounding Marcos Jr.’s offense.”

The ruling read, “The failure to file tax returns is not inherently wrong in the absence of a law punishing it. The said omission became punishable only through the enactment of the Tax Code. Moreover, even the 1977 NIRC (National Internal Revenue Code) recognizes that failure to file income tax is not a grave offense as the violation thereof may be penalized only by a fine.”

“Ferolino argued that Marcos Jr. did not voluntarily and intentionally violate the law. Is he stupid that he did not know that he should file an ITR? Hindi ba Oxford graduate daw siya (Didn’t he claim he graduated from Oxford?” Guanzon quipped, referring to controversies surrounding the former senator’s tertiary education.

Reporters have reached out to Ferolino’s office for a reaction, but she has yet to issue a statement as of posting time.

Ferolino has declined to grant interviews with the media since she became on the receiving end of Guanzon’s public tongue-lashing in late January, and said she wanted to maintain her “dignified silence.”

But in internal letters that leaked to the press, Ferolino was unafraid to fight back, telling Guazon she was not her subordinate, and accusing her of destroying the credibility of the Comelec.

“I am asking you to please stop conditioning the minds of the people that there is a delay because there is none,” Ferolino had told Guanzon in a January 31 letter.

Guanzon had claimed a politician was trying to influence Ferolino on the ruling, hence its delayed release, but Ferolino insisted it was due to COVID-19 setbacks, and the complexity of the Marcos case. – Rappler.com

Joma denies rumors of death

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Joma denies rumors of death

Michael Punongbayan, Janvic Mateo – The Philippine Star February 9, 2022

MANILA, Philippines — Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria Sison last night denied rumors that he had died.

Sison, who celebrated his 83rd birthday, sent a photo to The STAR showing him holding a planner with his schedule for the week.

“I am still alive. And I am celebrating my birthday today. Those spreading the rumors that I am dead are liars,” he said.

“I have no life-threatening illness, only some inflammations on the legs due to rheumatoid arthritis the other day and yesterday (Monday). These go away in only two to four days after medication,” he added.

Sison maintained that he is in good health, and that he is set to deliver two separate lectures in the coming days on fascism before and after World War II and on the 2022 elections in the Philippines.

“I will also introduce by Zoom the screening of Paloma Polo’s El Barro de la Revolucion in Spain. This is about the current people’s war in the Philippines,” he added.

The military has refused to issue any statement on information circulating on social media regarding Sison’s supposed death. Even Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he has no information on the matter when asked if such online reports that started circulating last Monday are true.“Maybe because there is no confirmation, no evidence, so we’ll leave it at that,” Lorenzana told The STAR yesterday.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) also said it has no data on Sison’s alleged demise and would not comment on such unverified information based on internet or online posts.

Sison founded the CPP in December 1968 with the New People’s Army (NPA) as its armed wing, which started the now decades-old insurgency in the Philippines.

He fled to Europe in self-exile in 1987 soon after peace talks with the government of then president Corazon Aquino failed.

Sison has since stayed in the Netherlands.

Apart from the war on drugs, the current administration is trying to put an end to the CPP-NPA through both military and non-military initiatives.

President Duterte formed and chairs the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) where the military is still launching offensives against the communist rebel group while encouraging surrenders and trying to address issues supposedly being exploited by the CPP, including poverty and the alleged lack of government projects and programs in the provinces.

No confirmation

Earlier, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said that the rumor that Sison is already dead has not yet been confirmed.

“There is no confirmation on this. But we know he is already frail and is hard of hearing,” Esperon said in a text message to The STAR.

Even as he denied the claims, one of the spokespersons for the NTF-ELCAC celebrated Sison’s supposed death.

Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Marie Badoy said it is one of the strategies, and even a magic trick of Duterte, to have the founder of the CPP dead during the end of his administration.

“Biro n’yo, na-deds si Joma bago matapos ang termino ni PRRD. Eh si PRRD kaya ang chair ng NTF ELCAC. Ang laki naming kunsumisyon kay Joma. Strategy namin para ikamatay nya. Lol,” Badoy said in a public Facebook post, referring to the popular acronym of Duterte.

“So na-end talaga ni PRRD ang halimaw na naglikha ng Communist Armed Conflict sa Pilipinas. Magician talaga boss ko. Kaya ko sya labs, alam nyo? Dami kong na-witness na magic nyan,” she added in a post timestamped last Monday night.

It has to be noted that Badoy was given a gag order by Esperon in April last year for their gaffes in red-tagging community pantries that sprouted during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Esperon ordered Badoy and now retired military general Antonio Parlade to desist from speaking regarding the community pantries after criticism from various sectors over their red-tagging claims. – Romina Cabrera, Artemio Dumlao

All the Pastor’s Women: The Big Eight in Quiboloy’s clique

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All the Pastor’s Women: The Big Eight in Quiboloy’s clique

By: Danny Petilla – Philippine Daily Inquirer /February 06, 2022

LOS ANGELES — What is it about women that disgraced Pastor Apollo Quiboloy has decided to make them a big part of his religious empire?

All of Quiboloy’s lieutenants facing a host of criminal charges with him in the United States are women.

Felina Salinas, Teresita Tolibas Dandan, Guia Cabactulan, Helen Panilag, Marissa Duenas, Amanda Estopare, Bettina Padilla Roces and Maria de Leon are all facing serious legal trouble for helping Quiboloy build his alleged criminal enterprise in the United States, according to the US Department of Justice.

Quiboloy and his female associates were described by Judge Cormac Carney, chief judge of the Central District of California, as part of a “dangerous and powerful criminal organization” that engages in child sex trafficking, human trafficking, bulk cash smuggling, money laundering, forced labor and immigration fraud.

Hawaii operations

But the “appointed son of God” calls them his “miracle workers,” a select few who have earned his trust.

To the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), however, these women are Quiboloy’s accomplices in the elaborate human trafficking and fraudulent charities operation that has raked in millions of dollars for his megachurch the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name (KOJC).

Known as Sister EngEng, Salinas is the leader of Quiboloy’s operations in Hawaii. Described as the most loyal of Quiboloy’s followers, the 51-year-old Salinas was arrested by US immigration authorities at the Honolulu airport after they found gun parts and $335,000 cash in a private jet before they were to fly back to the Philippines on Feb. 13, 2018. She declared only $40,000 of the sum.

Money flow

The usually talkative Quiboloy was silent as federal authorities charged Salinas with lying to federal authorities during that day’s operation, according to the FBI.

Cabactulan, 61, is in federal jail awaiting trial. She is the alleged leader of KOJC’s operations on the US mainland, tracking and reporting money raised by its hundreds of “volunteers,” preparing sham marriages and faking immigration documents.

Dandan, 59, is Quiboloy’s trusted international administrator in the KOJC and managed Quiboloy’s fake US charity, Children’s Joy Foundation (CJF).

Duenas, known in KOJC circles as MD, is the church’s 43-year-old administrator in Van Nuys, California, who prepared fake immigration documents for their workers coming to the United States from the Philippines.

Panilag, 56, of Davao City, is another of Quiboloy’s trusted asssociates. She oversees KOJC’s fundraising operations around the world.

Known as Lui, the 72-year-old De Leon is the oldest of Quiboloy’s accomplices. She owns Liberty Legal Document Services in Koreatown, Los Angeles. She is said to be the KOJC’s document forger for sham marriages.

Nicknamed Kuki, Roces, 48, handled financial matters and made sure the money collected by KOJC’s “miracle workers” are kept flowing back to Philippine-based banks mostly through Banco de Oro, MoneyGram and Western Union.

Estopare, 50, made sure that money collected in the United States are funneled into Quiboloy’s accounts in the Philippines. She is Quiboloy’s trusted associate in the US East Coast and is based in Norfolk, Virginia.

All these allegations were culled from the FBI and US court documents.

“He (Quiboloy) is a diabolical wolf in sheep’s clothing. The wealthy charlatan poses as a minister of righteousness,” said Cedric Fisher of the Truthkeepers, an organization tracking down religious cults around the world.

Extradition

The US authorities have not yet formally requested for Quiboloy’s extradition and Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra had said there would be no special treatment for Quiboloy from the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“The DOJ, through the Iacat (Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking), will perform its mandate under the law, regardless of the persons involved,” Guevarra told reporters in November last year.

The Iacat monitors and oversees the strict implementation of Republic Act No. 9208, or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.

“We have an existing extradition treaty with the US. We also have an existing agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters with that country,” Guevarra said.

He said a 2020 case for rape, child abuse, ill-treatment filed against Quiboloy had been dismissed by the Davao City prosecutor but is under review by the DOJ.

In a bind

By placing Quiboloy on its Most Wanted list, the FBI is upping the ante against President Duterte’s administration, sending signals that they want the 71-year-old pastor extradited to face trial in the United States.

These legal troubles facing Quiboloy are also putting the President, his close friend, in a bind since the administration is staunchly against human trafficking.

If he publicly shows his support for Quiboloy, he is in danger of violating his government’s own policy which has been lauded by the US Department of State in the past.

But right now, Duterte is of little use to the beleaguered Quiboloy.

If just one of his co-indictees in the United States decides to help federal authorities and testify against their leader, Quiboloy and his supposed divinity will be tested if indeed he can stop these mounting troubles.

—WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH

International observer mission launched to monitor 2022 polls

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International observer mission launched to monitor 2022 polls

By: Daniza Fernandez – Reporter / INQUIRER.net /February 07, 2022

MANILA, Philippines — The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) launched an international observer mission (IOM) on Monday to monitor this year’s elections.

The IOM will provide independent monitoring until the confirmation of elected candidates in June, stressing the need for such amid the “worsening human rights situation” under President Rodrigo Duterte’s rule and the “widespread corruption and violence present in the past Philippine elections.”

“Whether or not we will have clean and honest elections is uncertain given various problems that our limited time may not be able to cover. Suffice it to say that the 2022 elections in the Philippines are important in defending whatever remains of our democracy,” said Danilo Arao, a member of election watchdog KontraDaya, during a virtual launch.

ICHRP chairperson Peter Murphy explained what the situation on the ground would look like, saying the observers will be bringing recording devices with them.

“Basically, it looks like a foreigner is there close to the voting place in the company of other Filipino observers and with a recording device either a notebook, a camera, or both, and a microphone, a way to record a voice as well,” explained Murphy who experienced being an observer.

“In my experience, it’s unusual, a little bit unusual to see a foreigner present but it helps, it gives some confidence that there’s other eyes on the situation,” he added.

Murphy and Arao stressed that an international observer could offer a “protective presence,” should human rights violations occur during their monitoring.

“The capacity to report to the international media is an important protection to highlight anything that’s happening and therefore, hopefully restrain anything further happening. And of course, if you’re present, if an observer is present in a situation where there’s victims and there are responses already, they can provide some kind of protective presence,” Murphy pointed out.

“Bringing to light these violations to the international community would be very, very significant because we need to bring to the greater public’s attention what’s happening in the country,” Arao said.

The campaign period of national and local positions for the May 9 elections will start on February 8 and March 25, respectively.


‘Iwasan ang manloloko’: Angelica Panganiban’s tips on how to choose 2022 elections bets

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‘Iwasan ang manloloko’: Angelica Panganiban’s tips on how to choose 2022 elections bets

By Catalina Ricci S. Madarang – February 2, 2022

“‘Wag na tayong magpapabudol!”

This was the message of a voting awareness video a youth organization released on February 1 for the coming national elections.

The video starring actress Angelica Panganiban was posted by Youth Public Servants, a non-profit organization that promotes good governance and democratic citizenship.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=external&v=695550851484225

It was captioned with: “Ilang beses na tayong nasaktan, beh. Dapang-dapa. Wasak na wasak. ‘Wag na tayong magpapabudol! Iwasan na natin ang mga manloloko.”

In the nearly two-minute clip, Angelica used “hugots” or satirical remarks about painful heartbreaks and likened the lessons she learned from these to how she will choose her election bets for 2022 polls.

“Naloko ka na ba ng pagmamahal sa maling tao? Yung akala mo gold medalist ka na, tapos fake news pala,” Angelica said in the video.

“Nako, nako. Don’t me. Marami akong entries. Alam niyo naman di ba?” she added.

Throughout the clip, Angelica mentioned giving her all, including her hopes and dreams, to someone who only hurt her in the end.

The actress also said that she even defended this person to her friends.

Angelica did not mention any names in the video.

“Ninakawan ako ng pag-asa at pangarap. Huy! Sus! Para kang nag swimming sa kalsada, alam mo iyon? Wasak na wasak ang puso ni Nasty Mac. Minahal ko e,” Angelica said.

“Pinagtanggol ko pa nga sa mga friends ko. Pero wala, nga nga. Mambubudol pala,” she added.

At the end of the video, Angelica gave tips on how they can choose their bets for 2022 polls as she reminded them to vote wisely.

“Kilatising mabuti ang mga manliligaw. Halughugin ang bio-data simula high school hanggang college. Alamin at tignan ang character references. Wag magpapabudol at wag sa magnanakaw,” she said.

As of writing, the voting campaign video garnered more than 671,000 views.

It has so far earned over 35,000 reactions on Facebook wherein 24,000 were heart emojis, 9,900 were likes and over 660 were laugh emojis.

The video also circulated on Twitter and Reddit.

Some personalities later praised the message of the campaign online.

“Itong video mula sa Young Public Servants at tampok si Angelica P. ay tumpak!!! Ipamahagi!” artist Bart Guingona said on Twitter. 

“Tama!! Relate kami diyan! Wag papaloko!” actor Marco Alcaraz added on the Facebook comments section.

Some Reddit users also lauded the script which did not mention any names of the candidates.

“The good thing is there is no single mention of any names. Yung message talaga na tigilan na ang pagiging t*ng* dahil you deserve better. Saka syempre walang names pero wag sa magnanakaw,” a Reddit user said.

“It’s just reminding the public to use all the metrics they have to judge a candidates worthiness. Don’t believe in empty promises and instead fact check their respective achievements and goals,” another online user commented.

The national elections will be held on May 9, 2022.

The campaign period for national positions will start from February 8 to May 7.

Meanwhile, the campaign period for the House of Representative seats and local positions will start on March 25 and end on May 7.

Senate panel finds Duterte accountable for ‘complicity’ in ‘plunder’

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Senate panel finds Duterte accountable for ‘complicity’ in ‘plunder’

By: DJ Yap – Reporter / Philippine Daily Inquirer / February 02, 2022

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate blue ribbon committee on Tuesday accused President Rodrigo Duterte of complicity in “one of the biggest plunders of the Philippines’ coffers in recent history” that involved his friends and appointees in the government’s multibillion-peso pandemic supply deals with Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. in 2020 and 2021.

The panel chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon said Duterte “must be held accountable” for betrayal of public trust, a ground for impeachment that was not specifically recommended in his committee’s report.

Gordon’s committee released its partial report recommending criminal charges, such as graft and plunder, against several people, including Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, the president’s close Chinese friend and former Presidential Economic Adviser Michael Yang, former Budget Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao, and several Pharmally executives.

“The nation has been betrayed. While millions are unemployed, have become poorer and hungrier, are desperate even for just a glimmer of hope, what this administration has done is to exacerbate the already execrable and hopeless state the people are all in. None can be more unforgivable,” the report said.

The Senate panel has been investigating allegations of corruption in the P11.5 billion worth of contracts for pandemic supplies won by Pharmally, most of which was coursed through the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) then headed by Lao.

The committee said the acts of “malfeasance, misfeasance, and/or non-feasance” by government officials in cahoots with Pharmally officers were consummated “under the nose of the President.”

“The amounts involved in the dirty transactions were enormous, producing a stench that would have been impossible to ignore in Malacañang,” it said.

“The President as Chief Executive should have known what his appointees and friends were doing,” the Gordon panel said.

“If he did not know prior to the Senate investigation, then it certainly came to his attention when the hearings were underway, and instead of investigating the matter or supporting any such investigation, he chose to defend and protect those closest to him who had dipped their fingers into the coffers of the nation,” it added.

A digital copy of the committee report’s executive summary was provided to Senate reporters on Tuesday night, but the full report was not immediately accessible.

Graft, estafa

It endorsed plunder cases against Duque, Lao, and Overall Deputy Ombudsman Warren Rex Liong, who used to be a director at the PS-DBM.

Plunder charges were also recommended against Pharmally executives led by its Singaporean president and chair Huang Tzu Yen and Filipino executives Linconn Ong, Mohit Dargani, Twinkle Dargani, and Krizle Grace Mago; Yang, who is based in Davao City and was said to be Pharmally’s guarantor and financier; and his close associate Lin Weixiong.

The panel recommended graft and corruption charges against all of them.

It also recommended estafa or fraud charges against Mago and Mohit Dargani; frauds against the public treasury and similar offenses against Lao and Liong; perjury against Yang, Ong, Mago, Mohit Dargani, and Lin’s wife, Rose Nono Lin.

Liong, Jorge Mendoza, and Mervin Ian Tanquintic were also liable for falsification of public documents for their admission that the PS-DBM approved inspection reports even before the delivery of China-made medical supplies.

Alleged offenses

The report also sought Yang’s deportation over his alleged offenses, including tax evasion, and his declaration as an undesirable alien for immediate deportation.

The report enumerated alleged offenses committed by the President:

• The appointment of Yang, a foreign national, as his “economic adviser” in 2018, which allowed the businessman to introduce many Chinese suppliers that transacted with the government and “in the process enriched himself immensely.”

• Accepting an undercapitalized corporation owned by a Taiwanese fugitive (Pharmally’s Huang) with proven ties to Yang.

• Seeking to discredit the Commission on Audit (COA) which had flagged the anomalous transaction and making threats to prevent it from functioning.

• Trying to discredit the credibility of the Senate by “publicly attacking, maligning and disrespecting” a coequal branch of government.

• Ordering the issuance of a “patently illegal” memorandum preventing his Cabinet members and other officials from attending Senate hearings.

• Refusing to run after his appointees despite calls from the public and the Senate to compel their attendance in the hearings and failing to hold them accountable for “one of the biggest plunders of the Philippines’ coffers in recent history.”

“The most troubling question remains—why was the President so quick to defend those closest to him once their names were linked to the anomaly and then so eager to discredit the Senate investigation, prevent his appointees from cooperating, and absolve them of any liability?” the report said.

President’s behavior

“Unfortunately, based on the President’s own behavior, one cannot help but conclude that he was aware of, allowed, and condoned the misdeeds of his closest associates and appointees,” it said. “For this, he must be held accountable.”

There was no immediate comment from Malacañang.

Duque told the Inquirer that the report still had to be affirmed by the entire committee.

“Nevertheless, if the blue ribbon adopts the recommendation, we will wait for the action of the appropriate tribunal,” he said.

He promised that “we will fully cooperate” with the court process “as we have nothing to hide.” “It is unfortunate that the panel turned a blind eye to the truth that was revealed during the Senate blue ribbon hearing that all procurements for the country’s COVID-19 response were made through the PS-DBM, the agency purposely tasked to undertake such activities. We at the DOH were not part of the activity as we were focused on the medical side of the pandemic response,” said

The Senate investigation was triggered by the transfer of about P42 billion in the Department of Health’s pandemic response funds, which was flagged by the COA for lack of supporting documents.

The Gordon panel had also unearthed several alleged irregularities, including findings that some batches of the face shields procured from Pharmally were substandard, had tampered production dates, COVID-19 test kits nearly expired when delivered and falsified inspection reports of the goods, among others.

Pharmally grabbed the single biggest chunk of contracts despite having a paid-up capital of only P650,000.

RELATED

Senate panel wants graft, plunder raps vs Duque, Lao, Pharmally execs over pandemic deals

House panel recommends estafa raps vs Pharmally execs over pandemic supplies

Pharmally’s total tax deficiency stands at P6.3 billion, says expert

—WITH A REPORT FROM TINA G. SANTOS 

Dexter Doria’s Grand Slam for Memories of Forgetting performance

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Dexter Doria’s Grand Slam for Memories of Forgetting performance

By Mila Astorga-Garcia
The Philippine Reporter, January 21, 2022

When veteran actor Dexter Doria won the two most prestigious Philippine movie industry awards – the 2021 FAMAS and 2021 Gawad Urian – for Best Supporting Actress, after being just a nominee for her outstanding performances in the last 40 years, people were just so happy for her.

Celebrations for the grand slam win had barely started when another milestone for Doria – a third award for Best Supporting Actress in the same movie – was announced, this time given by Gawad Tanglaw.

Congratulatory messages from colleagues, friends, family and fans just poured in through social media. Among the most thrilled were her high school classmates belonging to the University of the Philippines Preparatory School Class of 1965,– a closely knit group — who wanted to celebrate the multiple wins with Doria, in characteristically unique style.

Why not a movie screening of the film Memories of Forgetting, where classmates could enjoy the movie together with popcorn and drinks – just like during the high school years when friends would hie off in groups to some theatre in Cubao or elsewhere especially after Saturday physical education classes?

With Covid, however, and class members residing in various parts of the world, it had to be an online event, just as the reunions of this class during special occasions have been conducted, mainly through Zoom.
A date was quickly set for the event by the class president Eric Marquez, who was able to make arrangements with Director Jay Altarejos in Manila. The latter so graciously agreed to facilitate the movie screening, with himself, Doria and over 20 Prep 65 classmates and some family and friends in attendance.

So on January 9, 2022, 9:00 pm in Toronto , 6:00 pm in Vancouver, and January 10, 10. am in Manila, Memories of Forgetting was screened before an audience, excited not only about being able to watch the film together, but to share comments and ask questions after.

The movie was brief, but the ensuing conversations were nothing but. All in all, responses were positive and encouraging for the movie portraying the challenges of true gay love in a still conservative environment, as manifested in the constant agony of the lovers. And Doria’s role and brilliant performance, though brief, became the movie’s tour de force. (See the movie review of TPR writer Lui Queaño on page 22. Queaño, also theatre and film script writer, watched the movie with the class.)

“The one actor that stood out in the film was Dexter Doria as Yvonne. Her portrayal of a mother suffering from an early sign of Alzheimer’s [disease] in the film brought out her acting prowess brilliantly,” Queaño says in his review.

Doria, confides that she and everyone involved in the film were quite happily surprised how Yvonne’s role, as portrayed, gave out such an indelible emotional presence to the viewers, that scenes she appeared in became the defining moments of the film.
Doria explains that Altarejos had just lost his mother and was still grieving during the making of the film. She said he wanted to do something to honor his mother’s memory, and in so doing, his love for his mother was somehow reflected in some of the most poignant scenes in the film – as when the son danced with his mother with gentleness.

As for Doria’s high school classmates, they gave her rave reviews for her acting. “Impressive.” “An award-worthy performance.” “Understated brilliance.” “Luminous presence.”

“Well done.” “Bravo x 3.” “Great acting.” “Your performance stands out.” “Loved your subdued acting.”

To all these accolades, the slightly surprised but graciously appreciative Doria could only say to her critics, a heartfelt “Thank you.”

Dexter Doria as Nana Didi in DDSerye

Shortly after her double win for Best Supporting Actress for 2021 in the prestigious FAMAS and Gawad Urian Awards — and before her third win for the same award in Gawad Tanglaw – Dexter Doria got an offer to play a real life volunteer role in the Leni Robredo presidential campaign.

The veteran actor said she was honoured to be offered to participate in a cause she believed in. For the good of our country, I am excited to do it, Doria told The Philippine Reporter in a brief phone interview.

Now, Doria takes on the role of Didi, in DDSerye, an online video series where she appears as a public school teacher who enlightens her students about martial law and related issues, and the importance of discerning fake vs. real news.

In her articulate, animated conversational manner, certain to make her online students awake, wide-eyed and ready to capture her interesting bits of information, she easily displays her penchant for comedy or drama to emphasize her points, with the help of appropriate visuals.

She says she wants to help correct the disinformation in social media, as when she debunks the claim of supporters of another presidential candidate that the martial law years were the golden age of the Philippines.

“I want to help this way, to help enlighten people to discern what is true or not true…I want to help our country now,” Doria tells The Philippine Reporter.

In her show’s introduction, she confesses that she was appalled at the pervasiveness of fake news in social media about so many things going on in the country today. That was the reason, she says, DDSerye – was created.

“This is all a volunteer effort,” she says, yet she works hard with her creative team to check on facts in the script, and other tasks.

The three-time 2021 Best Supporting Actress winner of three prestigious film awards hopes people will follow her show, which has already come out with two episodes as of this writing. She encourages her viewers to send questions and comments to her which she says she will research on and deliver to them only fact-checked information.

Already Nana Didi and DD Syerye are receiving positive feedback on social media: Some posts read:

“The Philippines needs more vlogs like this. Can’t wait for the next episode.”

“A celebrity using her voice for good.”

“Nana Didi, it’s your time to shine, More to come; love it.”

“Mabuhay ka, Nana Didi!”

“Salamat po for sharing your knowledge and wisdom… God bless you and your family and all of us and our whole country, the Philippines.”

There’s a new Miriam Santiago in town and she’s got some brutal zingers for the presidentiables

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There’s a new Miriam Santiago in town and she’s got some brutal zingers for the presidentiables

ANCX Staff | Jan 26 2022

Prof. Clarita Carlos is becoming a favorite guest on talk shows, and these sample zingers will tell you why

“Por dios por santo, 75 na ako. I want a better Philippines for my grandchildren. Don’t you wish the same?”

If you were an up-to-no-good student back in college, hers was most likely the class you often skipped. But if you’re a serious spectator of the current pre-elections circus, a guest appearance of the esteemed Dr. Clarita Carlos in one of the current affairs talk shows is not to be missed. 

The political science and international relations expert always tells it like it is, and seems to care little who gets smacked when she states the brutal truths. She talks like she’s just about had it—after all, she’s already in her 70s—but like a good prof she’s always still willing to explain. The lady’s always a good watch, no matter the state of her Internet connection—just like in her most recent guest stint in Teleradyo’s SRO program where the topic revolved around the recent interviews of the May 2022 presidentiables. 

With the professor’s strong-worded opinions and insightful remarks, viewers have suggested she should be in the panel that will grill—or probe, as Prof. Carlos prefers it—the presidential candidates in a public debate. “Kung gusto nyo pong mabawasan ang candidates, dapat po ksama sa panel si Prof. Carlos!” went a Tweet. “Cguradong the following day merong magwi-withdraw hahaha!!!” 

Because of her sharp opinion and no-holds-barred way of speaking, not a few have said she reminds them of the late Miriam Defensor Santiago. And just like MDS, the lady is equipped with the necessary smarts and experience to back up the bravado. She is an expert on Philippine politics and government, political psychology, political theory and methodology, among others. 

She was formerly a professor of Political Science at the University of the Philippines, and is the Executive Director of the Center for Political and Democratic Reform Inc, a non-government, non-profit, policy-oriented academic think tank that provides scientific expertise to policymakers, institutions, and organizations in both public and private sectors.

ICYMI, here are ten spicy, sizzling quotes from Prof. Carlos’ recent appearance on SRO. We’re sharing it here so you make sure you don’t miss any of her guestings ever again. 

On why debate is an important part of the election process

“[In watching a debate], you don’t even need to be superior. You just need to be very intelligent to find out, ito bang taong ito nagme-memorize lang ng isang script, or following yung sinasabi ng consultants niya? Which is dangerous because ibig sabihin, in a crisis situation—every two days, there is a crisis—is this person going to just rely on her or his innate intelligence or the lack of it? This is what we’d like to see in a debate.”

“Ang debate pagandahan ng arguments. Maski mag-memorize ka ng Oxford dictionary, if it is not there it is not there. Parang talino.” 

On her suggestion to include experts in the panel probing presidentiables

“Kasi talagang ipupruweba mo: Do you really have what it takes [to be president] or dapat magtinda ka na lang ng maruya dyan sa tabi? I always say that to exaggerate and make a point. Lider ka nga e. Dapat nage-excel ka. You have to be exemplar of something, otherwise you have no place there whatsoever.”

On candidates choosing to present their plans directly to the voters instead of doing media interviews

“I will not buy that. Hello? Saang kuweba ka ba nanggaling na ayaw mong sakyan ang social media? Kung gusto mo doon ka na lang sa Plaza Miranda o sa Liwasang Bonifacio. Magdiskurso ka sa sarili mo doon, umulan, umaraw. Is that what you want to do? Anyone who says that, please kill yourself already.”

“Tutal nag-present kang maging lider sa amin, please magbasa ka ng kaunti. Kung hindi, umatras ka na. Por dios por santo, 75 [years old] na ako. I want a better Philippines for my grandchildren. Don’t you wish the same?”

Her advice to presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos:

“If I were Bongbong [Marcos], tanggapin mo that there were military and police atrocities [during Martial Law] kasi documented yan e. It’s not anything contrived or imagined. Ang dami kong colleagues, classmates sa UP, they just disappeared. Their parents could not even grieve properly. So tanggapin mo ‘yan. Then make a categorical declaration [that] ‘these things will not happen in my administration.’ How difficult is it to say that?”

Her thoughts on historical revisionism:

“I don’t know what historical revisionism means. Every storyteller has a story to tell. There is no one Edsa [People Power] story. There are 100,000 Edsa stories. Yung nagtitinda ng peanuts diyan, syempre may istorya din siya…Kanya-kanyang istorya. But when you have an array of stories like that, which story…are you going to accept?

“You as reader, you as the watcher, you will have to make a determination: which story am I going to lean to? You will lean on the story which is provided with data. Saan ka naman magli-lean? Sa tsismis?”

On the format of Jessica Soho’s presidential interview:

“With all due respect to Jessica Soho… Okey yung mga cute-cute na ganyan for entertainment purposes. Siguro sa 100 percent, [puwede mga] 20 percent yan. You’re going to war with a country tapos ‘In one word, could you describe how to deal with this crisis situation?’”

What she thinks of candidates not attending presidential debates and interviews:

“That depends. Kung hanggang May 9 hindi ka sumipot, talagang hindi kita iboboto. Ayaw mo bang ipakita ang kabobohan mo o natatamad ka lang? Two thousand days ka magiging presidente e yan lang interview natatamad ka. Hello?”

Her message to presidential candidates:

“We do not denigrate anyone. What we’re telling you guys is since you have applied to be the president of the Republic of the Philippines, better prepare to be one. If you have not read, please start reading. Kawawa kaming 110 million Filipinos na magsa-suffer sa kabobohan ninyo.”

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