Jamby Madrigal for President in 2010 - by Rain Barnido

three-cornered presidential contest: jamby, nick perlas and JC

2010-03-21T22:57:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing that Jamby Madrigal had made good her promise to seek the Presidency in 2010. I thought my prayers would never be heard and that the Gods had fallen deaf, failing to listen to my supplications.

At the very least, even if she loses, Manny Villar will definitely have the head ache of his life and this will certainly boost the chances of Noynoy Aquino to win as President.

Jamby leads in UP mock elections

2009-09-17T23:15:00.000-07:00

Yey! Our good senator is gaining ground among our country's intellectuals. No less than students of the University of the Philippines gave her a thumbs up as a top choice for President.

Jamby’ takes fourth lead in UP mock elections
| More ( MANILA TIMES

Opposition Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero has emerged the top choice for the presidency of University of the Philippines students, according to the results of a campus-wide mock election.

The mock election was initiated by the Alpha Sigma Fraternity, which tallied the votes of 3,156 undergraduate students in 18 different colleges of UP-Diliman, which make up around 10 percent of the campus’ more than 22,000 undergradu;ate students. Voting was conducted from September 8 to 15.

Escudero, a UP alumnus and member of the Alpha Phi Beta fraternity, garnered 690 votes, constituting 21 percent of participating students. He was followed by Sen. Manny Villar, another UP alumnus, with 365 votes, or 11.6 percent, and Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino 3rd, with 278 votes, or 8.8 percent.

Meanwhile, 267 students, or 8.5 percent of the participants chose to abstain.

Simoun Salinas, spokesperson for Alpha Sigma, said the mock election aimed to inspire awareness among UP students regarding the looming national elections. The event also highlighted the 47th anniversary celebration of the fraternity.

Logistics head Marc Aquimatang said the results of the mock election more or less reflected the disposition of UP students, considering that most college students fall within the voting age of 18.

At the bottom rung of the mock election results were Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro with 51 votes (1.6 percent), former President Joseph Estrada with 35 votes (1.1 percent) and Sen. Panfilo Lacson with three votes (0.09 percent).

Davao City supports Jamby Madrigal for President

2009-09-08T03:47:00.000-07:00

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has thrown his support behind Senator Jamby Madrigal after she paid him a short visit over the long weekend.

Duterte hasn't formally announced his support but the word is that this will be done at a proper time.

POLITICIANS coveting the presidential seat on 2010 will be given nothing but support, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday.

In his program, “Gikan sa Masa para sa Masa,” Duterte said presidential wannabes who came here since the Kadayawan to see the mayor were all friendly visits.

The latest of them was Senator Jamby Madrigal who came to see the mayor last Saturday. “She did not make final plans yet,” he said in the vernacular. “So I simply listened and she didn’t make herself clear on whether she is asking for help,” he said.

Duterte recalled Senators Mar Roxas, Chiz Escudero and Bong Revilla came during the Kadayawan and talked about their interest in running for the presidential seat.
Senator Noynoy Aquino also met with Duterte in a closed-door discussion at the Marco Polo Hotel on Thursday. He said Aquino has not yet decided if he would really run. But he advised Aquino there is a strong need to organize his camp if he is eyeing for a national campaign.“There was no commitment for him to run and no commitment from me to support,” he said.
“The most I could really offer is the support. Just that. No politics,” the mayor said.

A believer writes to JM for President Movement

2009-08-29T15:10:00.001-07:00

We believe that the good Senator will respond to this letter writer as we believe that the questions posed are of utmost importance. The Jamby Madrigal for President Movement surges ever forward!

Dear Senator,

First of all, I am informing you that I was not able to post comment on your post on "Makabayan Party, Launched" even if I have tried for at least three times.

Your Makabayan Party has caught my attention. I am now trying to review your past pronouncements and actions, efforts to get information on it have been scant because of small business, small financial, professional and personal mostly administrative problems taking so much of my time. The little information I have on you gave me an impression of you as somebody having an image of being nationalistic.

Still I am attracted because among the 2010 presidential candidates, only you seem to:
be radical;
be open to all spectrum of political orientations;
have participated in rallies like former Vice President Guingona Jr., which were attacked by the
GMA police;
be uncompromising in stance on corruption;
have been bridging the psychological-social gap between the rich and the poor;
have a kind of nationalism more on the idealistic than on the pragmatic;
and have been providing big support to soldiers resisting the GMA infected government.

I am just wondering ma'am on what you think of the following issues:
continued control of the Americans on our military and foreign affairs from the 1900s till now;
continued control of the Chinese on our economy since the 1900s till now;
open market versus protectionism;
our nationalism compared with that of respected nations like France, Germany, Finland, Israel, Japan and Vietnam.
GMA pending corruption cases;
GMA desaparecido cases;
GMA handing over to foreigners our Sabah, Spratleys and other vital assets;
and the Philippine Baseline proposal by Sen Trillanes and the handling of it by GMA.

I am concerened ma'am because until now, I have not seen anybody who could lead us Filipinos to recover our whole nation for us. I want somebody who is not the least of all evils but a leader not just presidential but leader under any circumstances, who could rally us all to resist and break the clutches of evil.

If I have found one, then I may be recharged to channel my little energy that I have towards that person.

Good luck and may God be with you.

Respectfully yours,

José Miguel García

Greyhound racing is EVIL

2009-08-28T19:41:00.001-07:00

pepper lunch greyhound meat pepper lunch greyhound meat pepper lunch greyhound meat pepper lunch greyhound meat pepper lunch greyhound meat pepper lunch greyhound meat pepper lunch greyhound meat pepper lunch greyhound meat pepper lunch greyhound meat

Senator Jamby is against greyhound racing and is going to get international support from others who are also against greyhound racing.

Here's a website that is devoted to fighting the evils of greyhound racing:

source: http://www.greyhounds.org/gpl/contents/entry.html

The work of the Greyhound Protection League is dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of gentle, trusting greyhounds killed in the prime of life during the 80 years of pari-mutuel dog racing in America. The primary purpose of this website is to bear witness to the tragic history of the racing greyhound so that the world will never again be lulled into silence, ignorance or indifference.

The unbridled expansion of dog racing during the 20th Century spawned a greyhound breeding frenzy that culminated in the death of tens of thousands of uncompetitive greyhounds every year. As expendable by-products of the racing system, the sacrifice of these young lives was considered acceptable in the interest of state-budget deficits, gambling profits and free market enterprise; but not to everyone . . .

Founded in 1991, the Greyhound Protection League was the first organization of its kind to break the silence and speak out nationally against the atrocities inflicted upon racing greyhounds. GPL is a national, non-profit, all volunteer organization committed to protecting racing greyhounds from exploitation, mistreatment and abuse. Our work is pursued both on the front lines and behind the scenes through the valiant efforts of dedicated volunteers across the country, each of whom is also involved in the hands-on greyhound rescue movement.
In addition to our educational and investigative work, GPL is dedicated to all aspects of greyhound welfare, including the use of our financial resources for special-needs adoptions and emergency hauling expenses for the relocation of at-risk greyhounds.

For nearly two decades GPL has been the primary source for well-researched information about the internal workings of the greyhound racing system. Our in-depth investigations and exposés revealing the seamy underbelly of dog racing have altered the perception that greyhound racing is a harmless spectator “sport” to the blunt reality that greyhound racing has been responsible for incalculable animal suffering and the routine killing of thousands of young, healthy greyhounds each year. The League’s fact-based revelations about what goes on beyond the glitz and glamour of the grandstand has put immense pressure on the racing industry to reform and focus on the welfare of the greyhound racing dogs who are the very life-blood of industry profits.

Fate has brought us full circle. In 21st Century America, it is the racing industry itself that is facing a death sentence for failure to deliver a winning performance in the economic arena. Changes in societal values, competition from other forms of gaming, media exposés and pressure from the humane community have all taken their toll.

However, complacency is not in order; numerous tracks and breeding farms remain in operation. Reduced breeding numbers have not eased the burden on adoption groups and the shuttering of a track puts hundreds more greyhounds at risk. With accountability for dogs exiting a track remaining the single most elusive element in the racing system, the Greyhound Protection League will continue its vigilance and the pursuit of justice and a decent life for every greyhound.

Sen. Jamby Madrigal invocation for former President Cory

2009-08-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

We ask the Almighty, at this time of national mourning for Corazon C. Aquino, to look kindly upon a people who are bereft, as Mrs. Aquino's family is bereft, because of her passing.

Time, it is said, heals all wounds; this has been a time indeed when, the rancor of yesterday has been replaced by the words of personal esteem addressed to Cory Aquino's kith and kin, and through them, to the nation, by those with whom Mrs. Aquino had differences on fundamental political questions in the past.

It is meaningful for a nation to see erstwhile detractors cast off the recriminations of the past, in human, and humane, tribute to Mrs. Aquino, of whom no one could ever deny, that her lone ambition was to keep faith with her husband, and the manner in which he had consecrated himself to our nation.

This chamber is not the same one, in its physical sense, as the one Mrs. Aquino's husband was a member of.

But it is, in the spiritual, the legal, the idealistic sense, the same one as Ninoy served in and in which Noynoy serves today, he, to whom this chamber and an entire country has expressed such solidarity these past mournful days.

And so it is in memory of, and with imperishable affection for, Cory Aquino, wife and mother, President and moral compass of a country, that we address the Almighty today.

May this noble chamber never surrender, may it never be suppressed; may we all, in the fullness of our own lives as servants of the people, be able to depart with the joyful and serene knowledge Cory had at the end of her hers -that she had done a people proud, and done God's will.

Cecile Zamora Van Straten... You are going DOWN!

2009-08-25T22:49:00.000-07:00

Livid. That is one word that would describe Senator Jamby Madrigal after she learned that Cecile Zamora Van Straten was at the center of spreading pictures of an alleged bracelet of yellow beads that had her picture on it.

Senator Madrigal is quite certain Cecile Zamora Van Straten posted the picture of the beads as a comment in Chuvaness.livejournal.com and hid herself behind a pseudonym.

This blogger, who is poor imitation of bryanboy, had the gall to post the comment on her own blog without even ascertaining whether the alleged bracelet was true or not.

She's a paid hack who is using Philippine Star to promote her husband's restaurant, Pepper Lunch -- which should be renamed Pukefest Lunch, because the lunch they serve looks like vomit.

Senator Madrigal warns that Pepper Lunch serves food that she wouldn't even think of feeding her dogs. It would be the height of cruelty to animals if they had to eat double dead cows, diseased pigs, and prion laden sheep as well as monggo sprouts that were grown in Cecile's own toilet at home.

Emphasize the Yuck in TeppanYUCKY!

Cecile will never in a million years approximate Bryanboy, who Jamby believes is far better than Chuvaness.

Madrigal wonders why people even bother with Chuvaness' fashion advice as it really comes from bad fashion sense and people who don't know better just mistake her bad fashion sense for adroitness.

Take this endorsement in her blog of shoes that people wouldn't even wear in the 80's -- a period in which Cecile is stuck in.

Where does she get her ideas? Is she channeling Cyndi Lauper, Bjork or Prince?

Earthling Bigot

2009-08-24T16:02:00.000-07:00

There is a common perception that most bloggers are stupid and opinionated people with nothing else to do.

Among the more bigoted and true to stereo-type bloggers is one who calls herself Earthling.

Whoever she is, doesn't understand that the same freedom that allows her to write her insipid and trying hard to be sosyal blog is the same freedom that allows us to expose the wrongdoings that happen in society by way of actually posting pictures of the offensive behavior.

In this case, it was Maui Taylor's nude photographs. We suspect that DJ Mo Twister originally had the pictures uploaded as a way of getting back at Taylor.

If this were a question of morality, we would like to take up the issue of the Catholic Church's view on unwed mothers with Ms. Earthling and from this point, the BIGOTRY will be quite clear.

From what I gather, AC/DC journalism is also UNETHICAL and a repugnant blight against those who claim to serve the profession.

Senator Jamby to call for permanent closure of Embassy club

2009-08-24T15:19:00.001-07:00

We've heard that Senator Jamby Madrigal rejoiced over the recent closure of the Embassy Super Club which, apart from hosting all sorts of shady characters, has also been a hotspot of criminal activities.

Senator Madrigal wants the club permanently closed so that it will no longer lead to the corruption of the country's youth.

It is said that the money that flows through the shabu tiangges of Mandaluyong is but a drop in the bucket when compared to the oodles of cocaine money that changes hands between dealer and user. And this is why fights break out and people get hurt.

Here is an excerpt from the Manila Bulletin article on the closure of Embassy:

The Taguig City government ordered Friday the immediate closure of a popular disco bar at the Bonifacio Global City, following the stabbing and serious wounding of a customer by a club habitué and the alleged escape of the suspect in connivance with three employees.

Taguig City Business Permits and Licenses Office head Jeff Minglana said the Embassy Super Club and Embassy Cuisine at the Fort Strip will remain closed “until such time that a full investigation on the incident by proper authorities is conducted and completed.”

Minglana said he was directed by Mayor Sigfrido Tinga to serve the closure order on the club based on the complaint of the stabbing victim.

Minglana said the stabbing happened in the premises of Embassy Cuisine at about 1:30 a.m. last Tuesday, Aug. 18. The alleged connivance between the bouncers and
the suspect reportedly facilitated the escape of the assailant.

Taguig police chief, Sr. Supt. Camilo Cascolan, said the victim was a 34-year-old businessman whose name was withheld for security reasons. His alleged attacker was identified as a certain “Kilikan Jimenez.”

Tim Yap may find himself in the limelight. We gather that Senator Jamby Madrigal is already preparing to launch a full investigation into the goings on at the Embassy Super Club in Taguig -- which, by the way, is the bailiwick of Senator Alan Peter "Aw Aw" Cayetano.

Apart from Yap, Senator Madrigal is also going after Chuvaness aka Cecille Zamora Van Straten. Being a publicist and known promoter of the superclub, Cecille aka Chuvaness reaped the ire of Madrigal for being at the center of spreading pictures of a bracelet which was allegedly distributed during Cory Aquino's funeral.

Despite being the niece of known opposition congressman Ronaldo Zamora, Madrigal promises to make Chuvaness eat her laptop for spreading lies which have damaged her credibility as a Presidential candidate.

To quote Madrigal, "Cecille ought to know that she cannot hide behind her Uncle's fat, flatulent ass! I'll get her, if that is the last thing I do."

Madrigal denies that she had given away bracelets during the Cory Aquino funeral and said
that it may have actually been her detractors who gave away the bracelet with her picture on it.

Jamby Madrigal, the dragon slayer, goes after Enrique Razon Jr.

2009-08-19T16:47:00.001-07:00

After dealing a crippling blow to Senator Manny Villar, Senator Jamby Madrigal is now going after another huge dragon of corruption and the new target is Enrique Razon Jr., the Chairman and President of ICTSI.

Razon's name has frequently cropped up in a number of scams involving President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, which include the NBN ZTE debacle.

We applaud Senator Jamby for this move, for if anyone can teach these bully billionaires a lesson, it is you. Pretty soon, these corruptors and grafters will all go down!

Razon on Senate probe: No comment

August 20, 2009 03:20:00
Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Businessman Enrique Razon JR. Wednesday declined to comment on calls in the Senate for a probe of the contract awarded to his company, Monte Oro Resources & Energy Inc., for coal mining exploration in Catanduanes province and on allegations made by Sen. Jamby Madrigal.

“I’m not going to make a statement on that,” Razon, a close ally of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, said in a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer Wednesday.

Madrigal on Tuesday said that the awarding of the coal contract to Monte Oro was “lutong macaw” (predetermined) and a display of crony capitalism.

Monte Oro is owned by Razon through Sureste Properties.

Monte Oro’s wholly owned subsidiary is a member of a consortium that won a 25-year franchise in 2007 to operate the national grid system of National Transmission Corp. (Transco) with a bid of $3.95 billion.

Probe to push through

The sale of Transco assets has been described as the biggest privatization in Philippine history.

Madrigal Wednesday said the Senate inquiry into how Monte Oro was able to bag a controversial coal mining contract in Catanduanes would push ahead even if the owner of the “crony corporation” said he had abandoned the project.

“The bare denial by Monte Oro Resources Inc. and its subsequent insistence that it has abandoned the project site is immaterial,” the senator said, noting that the issue was how Monte Oro got the contract.

“Did it use its influence with Malacañang to get the contract? This issue only proves that Arroyo cronies are alive and kicking,” said Madrigal, who sought an inquiry into the issue by the Senate environment and blue ribbon committees.

Madrigal, who chairs the Senate environment committee, was reacting to Razon’s statement that his company had abandoned its search for coal in Catanduanes as early as last year.

The Catholic Church and various groups are opposing the awarding of 7,000 hectares of land in the province to Monte Oro, saying that no public consultation was made.

Palaca: Shed light, not hit

Malacañang Wednesday grudgingly supported Madrigal’s resolution seeking an inquiry into the awarding of a coal operating contract without public consultation to Monte Oro.

Gary Olivar, economic presidential spokesperson, said he hoped that the move would help shed light on the issue.

“This is an independent move of a member of an independent branch of government. We have to assume that the senator planned her investigation with only the best of motives in mind,” he told reporters in a briefing.

Olivar said that so far oversight over such matter was being “adequately handled” by the Department of Energy.

“If the senator feels differently about that for good reason, and she wants to launch her investigation, she’s certainly fit to go ahead,” he added.

“This is what we can say to the senator: ‘We hope you’re on this to shed light, not hit.’”

Olivar said the contract awarded to Monte Oro had become a big issue “because of allegations that one of the principals has political connections. But as far as I can see, that aside, these are the things we encounter every day every time there’s a mining proposal.”

Illegal

In a statement, Madrigal insisted that the awarding of the contract to Monte Oro was “illegal” because no public hearing and no environmental impact assessment were undertaken.

The contract also violated the Renewable Energy Act, which seeks the sustainable development of alternative energy resources, according to Madrigal.

“This has got to stop,” she said. “The cronies of Ms Arroyo should be investigated and if proven guilty, they should be prosecuted by the law.”

For her part, Sen. Loren Legarda said there was a need to find out the real score behind the controversy as she stressed that coal was “one of the biggest polluters.”

“Does this project have an environmental impact assessment before exploration was done? Are they now mining coal or not?” Legarda told reporters. With a report from Christine O. Avendaño

Jamby Madrigal's rectitude against dog racing proven once more

2009-08-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

This article is a telling sign that the proponents of legalizing dog racing in Cebu have connections with narco politics in Miami.

By blocking the dog racing bill, our senator Jamby is also stopping the incursion of Miami narcotics and gambling mafias from Miami who are looking for fertile ground for their cruel sport. Talk is that the Miami drugs and gambling mafia are eyeing Cebu because of the lower cost of operations as well as the number of very "friendly" politicians there.

Greyhound Racing Suspended in Rhode Island; Racing Opponents Eye Florida
By Michael J. Mooney in Florida, Politics, SportsThursday, Aug. 13 2009 @ 8:56AM

"Wouldn't you rather pet me than bet on me?"
Last weekend, greyhound racing was suspended at Twin River, the only active track in Rhode Island. The track is bankrupt, in part it says, because of the cost of dog racing.
The state assembly there is trying to revive the moribund industry, but the track has let go all 27 greyhound-related employees.

If the stoppage sticks, Rhode Island will join New Hampshire and Massachusetts, which both recently ended racing. (The ban in Mass goes into effect in 2010.)

But as New England goes fronton-free, racing opponents look again to the Florida, the Mecca of dog racing in this country.

"As long as dog racing continues in the Sunshine State, thousands of greyhounds will suffer terribly," says Christine A. Dorchak, Esq., president of Grey2K, the largest anti-dog racing lobby in the country. Grey2K is based in Massachusetts, but keeps full-time lobbyists in Florida.

I wrote about the state of the industry (and that beautiful black greyhound you see here) in a May cover story you can read here.

"At tracks from Jacksonville to Miami to Pensacola, greyhounds live confined in small, stacked cages for long hours each day. When allowed out to race, they face the risk of serious injury. Recently, a dog named Birthday Toy was electrocuted while racing at the Sandford-Orlando track. Another dog named Jawa Spock was euthanized two days later at the Palm Beach Kennel Club after falling and breaking both of his back legs," Dorchak told me.

An employee at the Florida Kennels (who asked to remain anonymous) said that some trainers and kennel owners are, in fact, preparing for an influx of New England dogs to Florida this fall.

These are truly troubled times for the dog racing industry.

Senator Jamby Madrigal scores a victory for women's rights

2009-08-18T21:53:00.000-07:00

Senator Jamby Madrigal scored a crucial victory for women's rights with the signing of the Magna Carta of Women.

THE Magna Carta of Women, which prohibits discrimination against women and recognizes, promotes, and protects their rights, was signed into law Friday by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The signing of Republic Act (RA) 9710 was held at Malacañang’s Rizal Hall at 10 a.m.
Present during the signing ceremony were Senators Jamby Madrigal, Ramon Revilla Jr., and Juan Miguel Zubiri; congressmen led by Speaker Prospero Nograles Jr.; officials of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) led by chairman Myrna Yao, and representatives of women’s groups and non-government organizations.

According to Yao, the Magna Carta of Women will protect women from all forms of violence, including those committed by the government.

“It also provides for mandatory training on human rights and gender sensitivity by all government personnel involved in the protection and defense of women against gender-based violence,” she added.

Villar is going down, down, down!

2009-08-16T21:46:00.000-07:00

Senator Manuel Itik-itik Villar must have choked when Senator Jamby Madrigal resumed her hearing on the C-5 investigations.

Villar made a potshot against our Senator Madrigal and said that the hearing was in aid of election. And this is perhaps only because he has found someone who has more money than he does and has a bigger team on the ground. Senator Madrigal is a real threat to Villar, and he knows it, and this is why he is shivering in the knees right now.

Villar ‘modus operandi’ bared in Senate probe
By Maila Ager
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 10:17:00 08/12/2009

Filed Under: Politics, Graft & Corruption, Laws
MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 4) A “modus operandi” that allegedly multiplied the profits by companies owned by Senator Manny Villar and wife Las Pinas Representative Cynthia Villar has been exposed at the resumption of the Senate investigation into the alleged anomalous construction of the C-5 road project in Paranaque City.

Testifying at the Senate committee of the whole on Wednesday, Senator Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal revealed how the couple used their corporations to get a P3.5-billion loan from the Central Bank.

She said Adelfa Properties and Link holdings Inc. owned by the couple bought three lands owned by Enrique Factor, Maria Rodriguez, and Iluminada Rordiguez for P11 million, P11.3 million, and P18.7 million, respectively.

But after only 10 days, Madrigal said, the lands had been mortgaged to the Capitol Development Bank, also owned by the couple, for P100 million except for the third land, which only cost P81.5 million. Senator Villar was congressman at that time.

She noted that the amount approved by the bank for the first two lands was 10 times of the original price while the third land was four times of the original amount.

After two and a half years, however, the bank declared bankruptcy in 1999 and availed of an emergency fund amounting to P3.5 billion from the Central Bank using the lands as collateral.

But these lands, Madrigal said, were also sold by Villars’ corporations to the government when the C-5 construction passed through these properties.

“Nanganak ng nanganak ng pera para sa korporasyon ni Villar. Nakakagulat, paano nila ginawa ito [It earned money for Villar’s corporations. It’s shocking how they did it],” she said.

She branded this modus-operandi as the “grandfather” of the Legacy scam.

“Ito yata ang lolo ng Legacy scam. Tulad Legacy scam maraming tao ang napinsala [This is perhaps the grandfather of the Legacy scam. Like the Legacy scam, many were adversely affected],” Madrigal said.

The Senate committee of the whole has resumed its hearing on the ethics complaint filed against Villar over the alleged anomalous construction of the C-5 road extension project in Paranaque City.

Nine senators, including complainant Madrigal, were present when the committee headed by Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile began a little past 10 a.m.

Villar has repeatedly denied the allegation. Both Villar and Madrigal have declared their intention to run for president in 2010.

But Enrile noted that until now, Villar has not yet indicated his intention to participate in the proceeding.

Villar and his colleagues in the new minority group in the Senate agreed to boycott the proceeding, saying the rules of the committee were designed to pin down the respondent.

“There’s nothing that will prevent them from participating. They are welcome to participate but we can’t compel them to participate,” he said.

Escudero reiterated his call for the respondent to use the opportunity to answer the accusation being thrown at him and to shed light on the issue.

Senator Jamby Madrigal's Presidential campaign gains ground

2009-08-11T00:59:00.000-07:00

We, the believers of Senator Jamby Madrigal's Presidency, do hereby declare our support for her upcoming electoral race in 2010 and pledge to campaign for her.

We're a small group but we are also committed to the causes espoused by Senator Madrigal. We want an end to corruption and want to see Senator Manny Villar torn from the roster of Senators. We want to see real progress in our country's environmental conservation and preservation efforts. And most of all, we want an end to animal cruelty and salute her stand against dog racing!

Here is Senator Madrigal's statement.

At long last, I have reached my decision.

During the month-long break and in the silence of my two-week retreat, I came to realize that the path I should take would be to serve my country in a greater capacity.

This I do, not out of personal ambition, but to share a vision that has been honed by my family’s more than 100 years of service to the country.

My grandfather, Kapampangan hero and martyr Jose Abad Santos, has inspired me since childhood. From his heroism I learned true courage. From his example I learned the true meaning of integrity and justice. Dacal pung salamat, Ingcong Senseng.
My grand uncle – Pedro Abad Santos, founder of the Socialist Party of the Philippines whose love for the Filipino farmer cannot be measured – taught me the true meaning of conviction and palabra de honor.

My paternal grandfather, Bicolano Senator Vicente Madrigal, taught me how to love God and country. He inspired me to pray the rosary daily in devotion to Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia. Abuelo, dios mabalos!

Thank you for being my inspiration.

During my term as senator, I have never compromised the people’s welfare for personal gain. My voting record in the Senate speaks for itself. Where others have faltered, I have been decisive. I voted no against the E-VAT and other anti-poor tax measures. I also voted against the JPEPA which would result in loss of jobs and income to our farmers, fishermen and the poor in general. I was the sole dissenting voice in the Senate against the Anti-Terrorism Law in defense of human rights.

I continue to fight corruption with neither fear nor favor, be it the President of the Philippines or a colleague in the Senate because they have used their positions for personal gain to the detriment of the Filipino people.

I continue to fight for the rights of the vulnerable and the downtrodden: women, children and our indigenous brothers and sisters. After languishing in Congress for over a decade, the Magna Carta for Women was finally passed under my chairmanship. In defense of our children, I passed the Anti-Child Pornography Law.

I continue to fight for the rights of our indigenous brothers and sisters who continue to be victims of illegal logging, mining and greedy corporate interests.
Panahon na upang makabawi ang Pilipino! Panahon na para ang gobyerno naman ang mamuhunan sa taongbayan!

Many have asked me to be an agent of change. Although I find the task daunting, I now choose to face the challenge squarely. I believe I am an agent of change because I have the resources to run a campaign without being indebted to vested interests.
My goal is selfless service, pure and simple. I will pay my debt only to the country. This country has given me so much and my gift to our people is to change their lives for the better.

Hindi ako magbabayad ng anumang utang na loob kundi sa sambayanang Pilipino. Sa aking paniniwala, ito ang tanging paraan upang matigil ang korapsyon. Ito ang tanging paraan upang makabawi tayo.

Nagpapasalamat ako sa ating mga kababayan sa inyong pagtitiwala.

Gusto ko ring pasalamatan ang aking mahal na Tita Chito na naniwala sa akin.
Salamat kay Juday sa kanyang malaking tulong at kay Presidente Estrada sa pagpili nya sa akin na mapabilang sa senatorial slate ng oposisyon noong 2004. Nagpapasalamat din ako kay FPJ at Susan Roces sa kanilang suporta.

Kung hindi dahil sa inyo, hindi ako naging senador.

Lastly, I should also thank PGMA, with whom I worked briefly when she was senator and vice-president, for showing me what NOT to become.

The country has been good to me and my family and this is my way of giving back.
Today, I cross the Rubicon. I am certain in my decision to run for the presidency of the Republic of the Philippines and file my candidacy without hesitation on 30 November 2009.

And to those of you who may question my personal motives, I have none. My only goal is plain and simple. Simple lang ang layunin ko -- ang maglingkod nang tapat sa inyo.
Panahon na para makabawi ang Pilipino!

31 July 2009
City of Makati

Presidential Candidate Jamby to help Brian Gorrell find DJ Montano

2009-08-04T23:10:00.000-07:00

Brian Shane Gorrell has finally found a very powerful ally in the person of Senator and Presidential Candidate Jamby Madrigal.

We overheard Senator Jamby that she will help Brian Gorrell bring the elusive Delfin DJ Montano to justice.

Oh Yes!

We heard that she had known about Gorrell's plight but had only recently decided to help him go after Delfin DJ Montano, whom some other bloggers say, is continuing to victimize other people.

DJ Montano STOLE over $70,000 from Gorrell. Borrowed and refused to pay is another way of putting it but, if that is the case, the debt should have been settled by now.

Just as she called a hearing on the Hayden Kho-Katrina Halili sex tapes (and vowed to go after the drug pushers of Kho -- who was said to have stolen his private stash of sex tapes), Senator Jamby Madrigal intends to hold a hearing in aid of legislation on the case of DJ Montano.

She plans to subpoena not only DJ Montano, but also Tim Yap, Celine Lopez and even Raul Manzano to shed light on Brian's accusations of drug use in high society. And she has vowed to have them arrested immediately for contempt if they do not show their faces at the Senate during her hearing.

In the meantime Brian, hold on. Justice is coming! Here is Brian's story and it angered Jamby so much -- the Third Sex now has a POWERFUL defender!

Jamby knows how to speak in Portugese, French, and other tongues

2009-08-04T19:08:00.000-07:00

Senator Jamby Madrigal will be a great speaker for the country, especially with non-English speaking countries of the first world.

Here's an excerpt from the column of Rina Jimenez David.

AT ONE point during the meeting between visiting East Timorese parliamentarians and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Sen. Jamby Madrigal, Madrigal addressed the visitors directly and began to speak in fluent, flawless Portuguese.

The visitors all smiled and were visibly pleased that one of our legislators could converse in one of their national languages (the other is Tetum, also Tetun, the indigenous language). Filipinos in the room initially thought that Madrigal was speaking in Spanish, which for Filipinos of her background and origins was not so unusual. But it soon became evident that she was speaking the language of East Timor’s former colonial power.

It turns out that Madrigal had lived for some years in Portugal as a young woman, training in dressage (competitive horse training and riding) and there had mastered the language.

The Senate President took the chance to vent his feelings of frustration that “the Filipinos chose to give up on Spanish,” adding that if we had only persisted in studying and mastering this foreign tongue, then Filipinos would have been integrated into the Spanish-speaking world, with which we share many common qualities especially our religious roots.

DJ Mo Twister talks about Jamby Madrigal

2009-08-04T18:13:00.000-07:00

DJ Mo Twister is really asking for it and he's going to get the shock of his life.

The lecherous, foulmouthed, oompa-loompa DJ has made fun of Jamby and this blog for calling him Villar's paid hack -- which is TRUE.

His denial is coming out of his nose because it is so true that he is taking money from Manny Villar to say all those good things that politicians want to be said about him.

DJ Mo Twister shouldn't be a DJ, he should be a JUKEBOX! Put money in his pocket and he'll sing any kind of crap you want!

Senator Jamby Madrigal to combat dog racing bill

2009-08-04T06:14:00.000-07:00

Senator Jamby Madrigal is one with dog lovers in the Philippines and elsewhere in the world.

It escaped our attention but Senator Madrigal has vowed to oppose a bill legalizing grey hound racing in Mandaue town, Cebu. She has struck a mortal blow against the bill that proposes to legalize a very addictive form of gambling which is also very cruel to dogs.

This has also dealt a severe blow to a province whose voters were said to have been responsible for electing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo -- the biggest benefactor of all the jueteng operations in the Philippines. They're temerity to espouse such a measure that promotes animal cruelty and immorality must have been doused with cold water, making them realize that their affiliation with the President won't mean a thing as they'll need Senator Jamby's go ahead in the senate to have the measure passed.

Jamby was so right in saying, “Hindi lang ako tutol sa animal cruelty pero pati na rin sa bill na nagsusulong sa sugal [I am not only against animal cruelty, but gambling as well].”

“Sa greyhound racing, pag hindi sila nanalo, pinapatay sila. Cruel talaga [In greyhound racing, the dogs are killed if they lose. It’s really cruel]."

Jamby is a long time animal lover as well as a lover and protector of the environment. She even owns a greyhound which, she explains, is among the best dog breed to own because of their intelligence and energy. To dramatize her point, she even brought Prasad to the senate so that reporters could see what a greyhound is.

Madrigal has the support of Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Iglesia ni Kristo, budhists, Muslim fundamentalists, and even atheists with a humanitarian streak.

Senator Madrigal, to drive home her point, said that Greyhound racing is in the same league as cockfighting, horse fighting and other such sports which harm animals for the sake of entertaining people.

Madrigal is probably the most humane among the senators and truly deserves our support as we continue call for her to run as President.

DJ Mo Twister to face Senate inquiry for spreading porn

2009-08-04T01:34:00.000-07:00

DJ Mo Twister may soon be facing a vortex of controversy after his name reportedly cropped up in several discussions on the Hayden Kho-Katrina Halili scandal being investigated by Senator Jamby Madrigal.

Madrigal is reportedly keen on cracking down on Twister for being at the center of several indecent and pornographic videos featuring a number of Viva Hotbabes.

The videos are still circulating on the internet and are to the mind of Senator Madrigal, still polluting the minds of the youth who eventually find them using Google.

We support moves by Senator Jamby to haul DJ Mo Twister to the Senate so he can be questioned regarding his role in not only in starring in a number of pornographic videos, but also in spreading more sexually explicit and highly scandalous pictures and videos on the internet.

We believe this will help Senator Jamby even as she perserveres in passing her Anti-Pornography law which seeks to require all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to install available technology, program or software to ensure that access to or transmittal of Child Pornography will be blocked or filtered.

Senate Bill 2317 is by far the strongest deterrent to pornography and pornographers like Mo Twister who willfully exploits women for his personal gain.

As if he hasn't sexually harassed his colleague DJ Grace Lee enough with questions about whether she enjoyed having her ass groped on their morning show today on Magic 89.9, Mo Twister is also suspected of releasing a number of graphic and sexually explicit videos on the internet in a bid to propagate his faltering showbiz career -- which was marginal to start with.

Take for instance the much sought after alleged Brian Revilla-Maui Taylor pictures, which some say was Twister's way of getting back at Maui Taylor for spuring his sexual advances.

DJ Mo Twister is Senator Villar's new puppet

2009-08-03T15:08:00.000-07:00

DJ Mo Twister is Villar's paid hack and it lends a new meaning to Twister, as in twisting up facts about Villar. As his media ally, he has been contracted to serve up a tornado of blatant deceptions for the perpetrator of the anomalous road construction projects such as the C-5 which our dear Senator Jamby will continue investigating.

We've heard of radio anchors on AM stations receiving payola for attacking or promoting certain political personalities, but it's the first time we've encountered information that 89.9 Disc Jockey Mo Twister is taking money from Senator Manny Villar.

Yes dears!

The shrimp and shrimp paste smelling Twister is a paid hack of Villar C-5 at taga!

The idea may be to spice up Villar's otherwise bland image and they may be going in the right direction.

DJ Twister is a foulmouthed little cretin who pimps his co-hosts and has even starred in a number of Rated-R films which are now all over the internet. This whirling dervish of immorality and all things against public decency should be banned from radio.

We just wonder if DJ Mo will add anything good to Senator Manny Villar's image, being his LOUD MOUTHpiece, since he's such a bad father to his kids (some of which, for some reason, don't even know HE is THEIR father).

Previously, we thought Villar only bought reporters at the Senate but apparently, he has decided to go shopping in the Talipapa for dregs like Mo Twister.

Oh my god!

As if it weren't enough that he started paying lowlife tabloid reporters and TV reporters from non-ranking/non-rating stations.

Our dear senator was right in calling the denizens of the Senate Press Corps PATAY GUTOM and Villar had to get the worst of the PATAY GUTOMS... MO TWISTER.

Jamby Madrigal denies hiding cousin charged with estaffa

2009-08-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

Senator Jamby Madrigal is now hunting down the blogger Kontra Politikang Bulok (www.kontrapolitikangbulok.blogspot.com/) posting bounced checks purported issued by her cousing El Rey Madrigal Bicharra.

The alleged bouncing checks were doctored using Photoshop and were digitally manipulated.

Senator Madrigal says her cousin never issued the checks and much less denied transactions with a cellphone saleswoman in Davao City.

Madrigal said that it could be very possible that her cousin El Rey Madrigal Bicharra is a victim in a ploy to blackmail her into stopping her investigation into Senator Manny Villar's anomalous C-5 road project and could even be a ploy hatched by Lolit Solis together with Hayden Kho's drug dealer friends.

Jamby Madrigal declares she is running for President!

2009-07-30T23:33:00.000-07:00

This blog said it first and said it best. Our GREAT SENATOR JAMBY MADRIGAL IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT!

‘I’m running for presidency’—Jamby Madrigal

By Maila Ager

INQUIRER.net

First Posted 12:14:00 07/31/2009

Filed Under: Inquirer Politics, Eleksyon 2010

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 3) Senator Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal has announced she will join the 2010 presidential race as she vowed to “faithfully serve” the nation.

“Today I cross the Rubicon. I am certain in my decision to run for the presidency of the Republic of the Philippines,” Madrigal said at a press conference in Makati Friday.

She said her goal was to serve the nation faithfully.

"To those of you who may question my personal motives, I have none,” Madrigal said. “My only goal is simple—to faithfully serve you.”

She said she would file her certificate of candidacy on November 30.

“It’s time for the nation to recover,” Madrigal said, adding she had no intention to settle for a vice presidential candidacy.

But her declaration was immediately met with criticism by former congressman Gilbert Remulla, spokesman of the Nacionalista Party being headed by Senator Manny Villar.

"She now joins the ranks of Eddie Gil and Atty. Ely Pamatong in making Philippine elections a colorful democratic practice," Remulla said in a statement.

"Her declaration is also a vindication for Senator Manny Villar. We have said all along that the C-5 issue is politically motivated. The candidacy of Senator Madrigal confirms that," he said.

Madrigal simply shrugged it off.

"It’s okay. I’m not spoil sport,” she said.

Madrigal has filed an ethics case against Villar, a real estate magnate, for allegedly benefitting from the construction of the C-5 road extension project in Paranaque City.

At the press conference, Madrigal said she has reached the decision to run for president after a month-long break of Congress and during "the silence of my two-week retreat."

"This I do, not out of personal ambition but to share a vision that has been honed by my family's more than 100 years of service to the country," she said.

"Many have asked me to be an agent of change. Although I find this daunting, I now face the challenge squarely," she said.

Madrigal said she has the resources to run a campaign without being indebted to interest groups.

"My goal is selfless service, pure and simple. I will pay my debt only to the country. This country has given me so much and my gift to our people is to change their lives for the better," she said.

But Madrigal, member of Partido Demokratikong Pilipino, could not say yet under which party she would run and who would be his runningmate.

Jamby to file case vs Gov. Carrion for reopening of Marcopper Mines

2009-07-14T23:00:00.000-07:00

Senator Jamby Madrigal's unrelenting fight for the enviroment may make it necessary to file a case against Marinduque Governor Bong Carrion for pushing for the re-opening of the Marcopper mines.

The destruction of the main river in Marinduque and six sub-river systems has been particularly deleterious to the livelihood of fishermen and farmers, many of whom have pending damage suits against Marcopper.

Two years ago, protesting farmers and fishermen supported by environmental groups demanded payment for the destruction caused by the 1996 calamity and reiterated they would oppose any move to reopen the mine, which operated for about 60 years and discharged more than 200 million tons of waste into the bay.

All riverine life in Marinduque has been slaughtered by the waste dumped by Marcopper and the levels of arsenic, cadmium, and copper are high, with agricultural land and sources of drinking water contaminated.

Local officials are also demanding quick reparation for the damage to the environment, along with more than a billion in taxes left unpaid by the shuttered company and its beneficial owner, Placer Dome Inc., a Canadian mining company.

It was under Bong Carrion's term as governor in 1996 that the Marcopper mine accident happened. The re-elected governor of Marinduque was said to have purposely neglected checking up on the operations of the Marcopper Mines in exchange for a generous donation to his campaign funds.

Carrion, who is a known womanizer who loves latching himself on to rich women, is going after the pipe dream of reopening the Marcopper mines just in time for the 2010 elections.

Why Jamby doesn't want DENR Secretary Lito Atienza confirmed

2009-07-13T03:31:00.000-07:00

In the Manila Standard column “In the line of fire” by Fel Maragay published on July 7, the columnist asks why Senator Jamby Madrigal has not called for a confirmation hearing for Environment Secretary Lito Atienza.

“Despite the inroads made by the Environment Department in performing its mandate tasks under his stewardship, why is Atienza’s confirmation still hanging at the Commission on Appointments more than two years after he was appointed to his Cabinet post? Are there complaints and objections to his appointment? You will not believe this, but do you know that the CA’s committee on environment and natural resources, chaired by Senator Jamby Madrigal, has not yet called or held any confirmation hearing on the Atienza appointment up to this day. Many are wondering why, including Senate President and committee chairman Juan Ponce Enrile. In view of this, it is wrong to say that Atienza has been repeatedly bypassed by the bicameral Commission. It is only when the concerned committee fails to endorse a Cabinet appointment after a hearing or series of hearings that the same can be considered bypassed upon the adjournment of Congress.”

I suppose that this is just as well as the country’s environmental conditions are definitely worsening.

Just today, the DENR is meeting with officials of Marinduque in a bid to re-open the Marcopper mines. The sweetener in the deal is that the DENR will not be averse to the clean-up of the 26-kilometer Boac River, which sustained the worst damage when the Tapian mine tailings pit collapsed on March 24, 1996 and discharged millions of liters of contaminated waste into the river system and then on to the Philippine Sea.

This, of course, is not to mention the state of the Pasig River in Metro Manila which reeks of the DENR’s incapability under Atienza’s leadership to clean up the environment.

Jamby charges Villar

2009-07-06T22:41:00.000-07:00

Jamby launches Makabayan Party

2009-07-05T16:28:00.000-07:00

Senator Jamby's is the secret dark horse in the 2010 Presidential derby.

Other candidates may tout billions of pesos in campaign funds, but Jamby has the largest grassroots based political party.

Called Makabayan, the party is made up of people from the CDE class which includes squatters or informal settlers and members of the communist movement of the Philippines.

This is already an advantage as the other candidates vying for the Presidency in 2010 will be immediately blocked from campaigning in squatter areas and territories held by the communist rebels.

Jamby loves Ariel Querubin for Senator!

2009-06-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

Yes! She does in a big way, all the way.

She'll be hollering for Ariel Querubin for senator, forever!

Our dear Senator Jamby Madrigal is giving Ariel Querubin her all out support as he seeks a seat in the Senate. The good senator has given our hero and

soon-to-be Senator Ariel a virtual blank check upon which he can write

whatever amount he will need to win a seat in the Senate in 2010.

The good senator commanded her vast political network to support Ariel Querubin especially after learning that Lintik na Itik Senator Manny Villar had thrown his support behind Danny Lim. She said that anyone getting support from the most corrupt senator in Philippine history ought to be defeated in the polls.

Querubin was said to not only have thanked Senator Jamby but seconded her observation that he was more deserving of the honor of serving as a senator. Mas mautak ako kay Lim, said Querubin and we agree!

Everything will be paid for and no expense will be spared to assure his victory in 2010. Tarpaulin printers will be busy 24/7, video production outfits will churn out hours and hours of video material, printing presses will be stamping out millions of fliers, and even IT experts will be summoned to fill cyberspace in a bid to inundate the entire country with Ariel Querubin’s propaganda.

And why not?

Querubin was the commander of the 1st Marine Brigade. He received the military’s highest honor in 2002 for the most exemplary heroism and sacrifice displayed in combat — the Medal of Honor. As a lieutenant colonel, he commanded a Marine battalion landing team that engaged an estimated 300-strong, fully armed band of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in a 24-hour gun battle in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte from March 18 to 19, 2000.

Though outnumbered and facing heavy artillery fire, his forces succeeded in breaking the last line of defense of the rebel stronghold, resulting in the capture of Camp John Mack, the MILF’s most strategic staging area for operations.

As co-founder of the military fraternity Young Officers’ Union (YOU), he and his men joined about 3,000 rebel troops in the bloodiest coup attempt against the Aquino administration in December 1989. They were imprisoned but later pardoned and reinstated in the service in 1995, after retired general Fidel Ramos, who was elected president in 1992, granted amnesty to military rebels.

Senator Jamby intimated that Querubin’s defiant stance against the corrupt regime of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in February 2006 was actually more heroic and more deserving of adulation. The good senator said that she hated making comparisons, but if she had to, she would probably say that General Danny Lim couldn’t hold a candle to the bravery, gallantry, and genius of Ariel Querubin.

It was a hush-hush issue but Senator Jamby said that Ariel Querubin was certainly much better looking than Danny Lim. It was said that Ariel’s fierce eyes reminded her of James Dean and the devilishly delicious smile haunted her.

“No wonder he has so many women.” She was said to have remarked, giggling like Judy Ann Santos.

This is probably why our good senator has issued orders to the keepers of her enormous wealth to open the gates of her vast treasury. The words were, “I’m giving him everything he wants, however he wants it, and whenever he wants it.”

Who could blame her for supporting such a manly man’s bid for political glory?

If Ariel dear wants a TV, he’ll get the latest and largest flatscreen TV. If his detention cell is a bit uncomfortable and lacking in amenities that befit a hero of his stature, deck it out in all the fine appointments of a luxury five star hotel. Spare no expense to make him comfortable, could be Senator Jamby’s orders, and as the servants of the Pharaohs say, “So it is ordered, so it shall be done.”

And anyone who dares strike at Senator Jamby’s newest darling after Senator Antonio Trillanes, will be dealt with severely.

Senator Jamby to hang Soozyhopper by his tongue

2009-06-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

Being the blight of her existence, Senator Jamby Madrigal is going to wage an all out war against Soozyhopper whom bloggers have unmasked as Raul Tuazon Manzano.

Comments from anonymous people in other blogs have described Raul Tuazon Manzano as "the biggest drug addict in Manila and also a pedophile,he puts ruffies in the drinks of his young male friends and when they wake up, they are naked in bed with him. Many of this young boys are sons of his friends."

The reason why Raul Tuazon Manzano was able to get so many lurid and juicy bits is that he had the help from one insider from the gucci gang.

Senator Jamby doesn't bury hatchets, unless it is in somebody's back and Raul better be aware because the good senator has the NPA's sparrow unit on her side.

Certainly, Joma Sison himself won't be averse to helping our good Senator with an order commanding his comrades in the field to spare one .45 caliber bullet.

Dodie Puno's yacht

2009-05-31T18:01:00.001-07:00

Perhaps as the Hayden Kho sex tape controversy unfolds, we will start seeing more personalities surface in the hearings.

Drugs are not within the scope of Senador Jamby's committees but perhaps, with the cooperation of other senators, the people whose names keep coming up as possible illegal drugs suppliers of Hayden will be exposed in the Senate.

Dodie Puno is one of two names making the rounds as one of those possibly involved in supplying ecstacy to Katrina Halili.

The deal supposedly takes place in his yacht, in plain view of other members of the Philippine showbiz firmament.

The yacht, it is said, is also used to fetch massive drug hauls from ships passing through the smuggling lanes near Cavite and possibly up further north near the shores of Ilokandia.

Which makes us wonder if it is at all possible that Dodie Puno also deals with Mikey Ablan, another name circulating as the drug supplier of Hayden Kho. Ablan is said to be the grandson of Congressman Roque Ablan Jr., who was formerly at the head of the PDEA -- the country's anti-illegal drugs police.

One other name linked to Puno is Gretchen Barreto, whom showbiz wags say is amorously involved with Puno.

Puno is a lawyer by profession and is a member of the prominent Puno clan. Of late, co-clan member DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno is a Vice Presidential candidate in the making.

Now, it seems the Puno's may be going head to head with the Cojuancos on two fronts.

First, we all know that Gretchen used to be the girl of Tony Boy Cojuanco.

But, secondly, we also have to account for Gilbert Gibo Teodoro (married to Congresswoman Monica Louise Prieto of Tarlac) whose Presidential ambitions may wane and eventually find him settling for Vice President. In this case, we might have Gibo slugging it out politically with Ronnie Puno.

On one hand, we have Dodie slugging it out with Tony Boy and then Gibo slugging it out with Ronnie.

Sex, drugs, and politics. A heady and high mix.

We urge Senator Madrigal to get to the bottom of this!

Who is Mikey Ablan? Who is Dodie Puno?

2009-05-29T03:36:00.000-07:00

The Philippine Star documented our Senator Jamby Madrigal's brave but unfortunately fruitless attempt to get Hayden Kho to say who his drug dealer is.

Sen. Jamby Madrigal, who chairs the committee on youth, women and family relations, vowed to dig deeper into the drug issue that she said may be hidden beneath the lurid details of the sex video scandal.

Kho told the committee that he and Halili were high on drugs during their sexual encounter that was caught on video. He said the supplier of the drugs was an influential person and known to many celebrities.

But Madrigal, who chairs the committee, failed to convince Kho to name the alleged drug supplier.

“Yes, this guy is very, very powerful, he knows the generals who can have me killed anytime,” Kho said. He said he also fears for the safety of his family.

He said the alleged supplier could also be the one who bought the sex video files for P2 million and had them distributed.

At the hearing, Jamby said that she already had information regarding the identity of the the big time drug dealer who supplied Hayden with the drugs and intimidated the Doctor into giving him the sex tapes.

The blog, New Philippine Revolution, gives clues to the identity of the drug dealer who is said to have been a boy friend of another FHM covergirl -- just like Katrina Halili.

Here is an excerpt from that blog:

Now, let me tell you that there are three (3) names under the PDEA watchlist and this drug supplier of Kho is the member of the Asian drug triad. He gets his ecstacy pills straight from abroad through couriers that pass thru the VIP airport passage.

He's not "old" as what Madrigal believes, but in his middle thirties. He's a son of a retired PNP general. He's the one who reportedly killed a former junior golf champ sometime late 2002 and continues to operate his illegal drug trade through his Pasig city residence.

He operates through his circle of friends, and these people are the same ones which Richard Brodett and the infamous "Alabang Boys" used to deal with.

Now, both Chua and this Rosario reportedly know this person, and has dealt with him several times before, according to sources from PDEA. He was the one who brought those sex tapes because of Katrina Halili, whom this person reportedly wanted to go to bed with.

This drug dealer also used these tapes to extort money from Belo and Kho. There were reportedly "feelers" and "pressures" coming from this dealer, that he'll release the tapes if Belo or Kho refuses to give him money. Belo reportedly resisted and that's why the sex tapes leaked out.

Now, again, who is this big-time drug dealer?

Another hint---he's very close to a legislator who supports charter change moves and once dealt with the wife of this legislator. The wife of this legislator reportedly used drugs (ecstacy and shabu) before. The wife continues her illegal drug use since this day. She was reportedly a party-goer before and gets her drugs from bars. The legislator also uses drugs.

There's reason for Kho to feel threatened since this drug dealer is "malakas" and "well connected" in Filipino society. The backer of this dealer is a legislator who's afraid of being jailed after this administration.

Now, in the halls of the 5th floor, one name is being spoken in not so quiet whispers. And that name fits in with the description given by New Philippine Revolution.

Perhaps it is the reputation of this one person that has kept Senator Jamby from forcing Hayden to divulge the name of the drug dealer. Jamby is not a fearful person, having undergone rituals that have rendered her invulnerable to bullets and bolo attacks, but perhaps would just like to make sure that Hayden will stand by whatever he says and not fold when things get a little to hot.

In the halls of the senate, as I've said, at least two names keep cropping up.

One name is Mikey Ablan. He is the grandson of former PDEA Chairman and now congressman Roque Ablan Jr.

Powerful and armed with a deadly reputation, Mikey is said to be the one also supplying drugs to the Alabang Boys. Compared to Brodett and the other Alabang boys, he's a wholesaler big volume dealer.

Most probably, he gets his supply of drugs from the wide smuggling lane in our country's shores up north in Ilokos.

No one can touch him, it is said. Not even the President of the Philippines, it seems.

He is well known among the well heeled denizens of Makati as well as the artista crowd that rubs elbows with them.

Another name that keeps on cropping up is Dodie Puno who of late had been linked to Gretchen Barreto. Dodie is a member of the well-respected Puno family who fathered a child by beauty queen Alma Concepcion.

The Puno's have a Vice President in the making in Ronnie Puno, who is currently the DILG Chief. They once had Dong Puno, also, who was at some point a powerful broadcaster and head honcho of ABS-CBN.

Sen Jamby fights on against the corrupt Villar!

2009-05-26T13:00:00.000-07:00

Statement of Sen. Madrigal on the Filing of Remulla Ethics Complaint

As usual, nang-aagaw eksena na naman ang mga alagad ni Senator Villar. This is a harassment case filed by a proxy. I welcome this case as an opportunity for me to prove that he is indeed a land grabber. Unlike his master Senator Villar, I will submit myself to the jurisdiction of the Senate Committee on Ethics. Also, unlike his master, I am not afraid to face my peers. It is unfortunate that Gilbert Remulla is allowing himself to be used by Senator Villar who did not have the courage to personally file this case against me. Kung inaakala ni Senator Villar at ng kanyang mga alagad na ako ay matatakot sa kanilang harassment, nagkakamali sila.

Katrina Halili finds an ally in Senator Jamby Madrigal

2009-05-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

Women and children have always had an ally in Senator Jamby Madrigal, even as far back to the time when she was still a Presidential Adviser of the Estrada Administration.

In the midst of all the controversy surrounding the sex tapes of Dr. Hayden Kho and Katrina Halili, we can expect Senator Jamby to rise to the occasion and get at the root of the matter.

As Chair person of the Senate committee on youth, women and family relations chairman, she will lead the inquiry in aid of legislation.

She has already authored The Magna Carta for Women which will also provide enabling mechanism for the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Certainly we can expect our good senator to continue fighting for women's rights, especially that of Ms. Halili who apparently has suffered greatly after falling victim to sexual predation.

Everybody who supports Senator Jamby and her fight for women's rights should keep tuned to ANC on Thursday as the Senate begins its hearings on the Hayden Kho sex scandals.

I shall certainly be watching for my idol Senator!

Go Sen Jamby! Give 'em hell!

Who want's fried duck?

2009-05-22T02:45:00.000-07:00

Hurray! Jamby's complaint vs. Villar goes to trial!

2009-05-22T00:58:00.000-07:00

This is certainly a triumph for justice and a big loss against those who dare to commit corruption.

This article has been reposted here from the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Villar to go on trial for C-5 road diversion

By Michael Lim Ubac, Christine Avendaño
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:25:00 05/22/2009

MANILA, Philippines—The vote was unanimous.

The Senate acting as a committee of the whole Thursday said there was a “prima facie case” to support the charge of ethical violations filed against Sen. Manuel Villar in connection with the purported double funding and diversion of the C-5 road extension project.

All 12 senators at the hearing, including the presiding officer, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, voted in the affirmative, thus authorizing the committee to go on to the next step—the public trial or adjudicatory hearings.

Villar and the other five members of the minority did not attend the hearing, having earlier decried the purported one-sided nature of the proceedings.

Enrile said Villar could not be compelled to attend the yet to be scheduled trial.

The original ethics rules would have compelled Villar to attend the trial under pain of being cited for contempt, Enrile said.

“But that was removed from the rules at the behest of the minority members,” he said.

‘Ganging up on me’

At a press conference held hours after the voting, Villar told reporters he was not surprised by the majority bloc’s decision.

“I did tell you earlier that I was willing to bet I would be adjudged guilty,” he told reporters in Filipino.

Villar, one of the senators aspiring for the presidency, said he was saddened just the same. “But that’s life. They ganged up on us,” he added.

On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel predicted that Villar would be “hanged” by the majority.

In a text message following Thursday’s voting, Pimentel said: “The known world condemned Galileo centuries ago when he said that the world was spherical. The world was wrong then. The Senate committee of the whole is full of holes [and] is also wrong today despite a majority vote.”
Pretrial ordered

Enrile ordered the holding of a preliminary conference among the concerned parties right after the committee of the whole voted to adopt the resolution read by general counsel Johnmuel Mendoza finding “credible, substantial evidence” to warrant a public trial.

He directed the general counsel, special counsel and secretariat of the committee to meet “between now and Monday” behind closed doors to tackle pertinent issues.

A report on the result of the preliminary conference, which is akin to a pretrial in criminal proceedings, is expected to be submitted to the committee at a hearing set on Tuesday.

In the eight-page resolution, the committee noted that despite being informed on May 11 of the scheduled preliminary inquiry on May 14, Villar “neither appeared … nor responded to the charges against him.”

It said Sen. Jamby Madrigal had provided documentary evidence in support of the charge against Villar, “and without any responsive pleading or controverting evidence from the respondent, it appears that there is substantial credible evidence to support” the allegations against him.
These are:
• That Villar caused the realignment of the C-5 road extension project to benefit properties registered in the names of corporations owned and controlled by him and his family.
• That he is in a conflict of interest position when he failed to divest himself of his interests in the corporations whose properties were acquired by the government for road right-of-way for the Las Piñas-Parañaque link road.
• That he made an insertion of P200 million in the General Appropriations Act for 2008 when the project was already covered by an appropriation for the same amount in the same law.

Madrigal said her evidence consisted of maps, deeds of sale and certified true copies of documents, as well as testimonies of witnesses.
“I don’t care for a vindication. In the end, it’s the Filipino people who should be vindicated because if a senator indeed committed such corruption, he does not deserve, or even run for, higher office … We have to spare the nation of a president like that who will continue to condone corruption,” Madrigal said.
Not guilt or innocence
Senators Madrigal, Rodolfo Biazon, Jinggoy Estrada, Edgardo Angara, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, Richard Gordon, Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda and Gregorio Honasan said their vote had nothing to do with the guilt or innocence of Villar.
Legarda said there was a “reasonable basis to continue” with the trial after a careful study of the evidence.
But she said her final vote would be based on her “conscience, not the dictates of party, politics or personal interest.”
Madrigal said she voted to prove the veracity of the complaint she had filed. “I will stand by the evidence here,” she said.
Biazon voted “as a result of my examination of the pieces of evidence” presented by Madrigal’s lawyer, Ernesto Francisco, during last week’s preliminary inquiry.
Biazon said this would allow the public a chance to “examine what this issue
is all about.”
Zubiri said the trial would afford Villar the proper chance to refute the allegations.
“Let it be stressed that this vote is not tantamount to pronouncing the guilt of the respondent,” Zubiri said, adding that “testing the truth through careful examination of the pieces of evidence is a very crucial action.”
Estrada said he voted for a trial “although I have some doubts as to how Senator Villar may be liable for some acts that may be without his direct participation and beyond his control.”
But the case needs “deeper scrutiny and thorough study, and the participation of Senator Villar is necessary to bring out the truth,” Estrada said.
Gordon said Villar owed it to the public to give “an adequate explanation as to what actually happened.”
“It would appear that upon serious perusal of the presentation of the facts
as well as the laws that have been quoted, there will be prima facie evidence
against Senator Villar,” he said.
Roxas said the committee was only after the truth because the charges lodged against a fellow senator were serious enough to test the credibility of the entire Senate.
He added that the final resolution of the case would be scrutinized by the public.
Lacson, Angara, Aquino and Enrile did not explain their votes.
Aspirants, too
Villar pointed out that those who voted for a trial were presidential aspirants like himself—Roxas, Legarda, Gordon and Lacson.
Another aspirant, Sen. Francis Escudero, was absent in Thursday’s proceedings. “This is just a confirmation of what I’ve been telling you—that I won’t get justice in this hearing,” Villar said.
He also said that among the senators who voted that he be fully investigated were “the complainant” (Madrigal) and “the first to accuse” him (Lacson).
Villar to go on trial for C-5 road diversion

This is why he will not participate in the trial or send a lawyer, Villar said.
“I won’t attend because I don’t recognize this proceeding,” he said.
Invite him as ‘friend-senator’
But if he will be invited as “a friend-senator,” and not “as part of the committee hearing,” he will attend, he added.
Villar said he would continue to defend himself in the media and the public, but that his actions were not meant to disrespect the Senate.
“I love the Senate as an institution,” declared the former Senate president. “I led the Senate and defended it during the times its independence was challenged.”
Villar also thanked Estrada for saying he had doubts about Villar’s liability:
“I’m thanking Senator Jinggoy for those statements. I know he had difficulty in this vote. He was following the line of the majority, and I know in his heart he knows what the truth is.”
Prima facie case
Prior to the voting, Angara simplified the meaning of “prima facie case” for the benefit of the public.
He said a vote of yes meant that “you are convinced as a reasonable doubt that there is really a ground to believe that [Villar] committed the violations.”
In effect, Angara said, the committee as a whole was applying to the Madrigal complaint the same standards applied to preliminary investigations in criminal cases, which require a mere finding of probable cause before a case can be filed in court for trial.
But to convict, the judge—in this case, the senators—need to establish after the trial that the offenses charged were committed “beyond reasonable doubt,” Angara said.

Declaration of Abandonment Bill

2009-03-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

Declaration of Abandonment Bill

Senator Jamby Madrigal, chair of the Committee on Youth, Women and Family Relations expressed her elation for having the bill on the Declaration of a Child Legally Available for Adoption signed into law today.

"Being a human rights advocate most especially that of children makes this development a personal victory. Every little step we make leads us to helping uplift the lives of these abandoned, neglected and surrendered children for adoption," she said.

This law seeks the transfer of cases involving the "Declaration of a Child Legally Available for Adoption" from the Family Courts to the DSWD, thereby changing the nature of this proceeding from judicial to administrative and reducing the period before the child may be considered abandoned to a maximum of three months from the original minimum of six months.

"These children live in a bleak, desperate world made more tragic by laws which hinder their chances to find a fresh start in loving homes. As a legislator, I must do everything I could to try to demolish the legal obstacles that prevent orphans and the abandoned to secure what we take for granted," she said.

At present, children are only considered abandoned if they have been deserted by their parents for six straight months. In the meantime, these children are in danger of fending for themselves in the streets and are vulnerable to drug addiction, crimes and sexual trafficking.

The law seeks to remove legal handicaps in existing laws that prolong the neglect of these children. It facilitates early placement of abandoned children by giving the DSWD the authority to issue a certification declaring the child legally available for adoption as a prerequisite to all adoption proceedings. The law limits the period for the child to be declared legally available for adoption from almost three years in court proceedings to less than two months.

According to Sen. Madrigal, this is a landmark law for children's rights advocates like herself who believe that the Filipino children are the hope of this nation. "Every child has a right to a family. Let us not deny them that by removing legal handicaps," she emphasized.

PRESS STATEMENT OF SENATOR JAMBY MADRIGAL ON BICOL CARAVAN AGAINST THE BALIKATAN MILITARY EXERCISES

2009-02-26T22:15:00.000-08:00

PRESS STATEMENT OF SENATOR JAMBY MADRIGAL ON
BICOL CARAVAN AGAINST THE BALIKATAN MILITARY EXERCISES
Legaspi City, Albay

Dios maray na aldaw sa indo gabos.

I add my voice to the call of the many fearless Bicolanos in opposing the RP-US Balikatan military exercise. We must push the Arroyo administration to protect our people from further foreign military intrusion. The rest of the country must emulate your example.

Let me be clear and straight: the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement must be abrogated. It is a one-sided agreement filled with duplicity. It is an agreement that only serves America's hegemony. These Balikatan exercises, born from the VFA, have no place in the present time as the world moves towards peaceful conflict resolution and negotiations, and not provocation and bellicosity which these war games essentially encourage. The presence of US troops only puts our country in peril.

Moreover, the Balikatan is an exercise in sheer futility; inutile and irrelevant at a time of global economic recession. The money spent for these war games could better be spent on the indigent Bicolanos' needs. Bombs and bullets should be converted into books and paper for school children. Tanks should be transformed into ploughs. Marching soldiers replaced with farmers' subsidies.

Pending the outcome of the Senate's review of the Visiting Forces Agreement, I call for the suspension of all Balikatan exercises to prevent additional injury to our country and people. Our local governments, too, must be well advised not to extend servile hospitality to those who continue to defile our country's sovereignty.

Rizal said that there are no slaves where there are no tyrants. We are presently held captive by two tyrants - our own government and the United States. The latter extends hegemony worldwide to protect its interests while the former acts as its ever willing and loyal lackey.

The task is simple: let us cut the chain that has bound us for more than a century! Let us cut the chain that strangles our sovereignty!

PRESS STATEMENT OF SENATOR M.A. MADRIGAL ON PAMALAKAYA

2009-02-24T00:17:00.000-08:00

PRESS STATEMENT OF SENATOR M.A. MADRIGAL ON PAMALAKAYA

Senator Jamby Madrigal welcomed the members of the militant fisher folk alliance, Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) as they docked at the breakwater near the Philippine Senate grounds this morning.

PAMALAKAYA held a 10-boat fluvial parade from Bacoor, Cavite to the Philippine Senate to present to Senator Madrigal, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, the fisher folk legislative agenda that include their call to stop the dismantling of fish pens, fish traps and mussels aquaculture structures in Manila Bay.

The fisher folks accuse the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and local government officials of misinterpreting the December 18, 2008 Supreme Court Ruling ordering concerned government agencies to coordinate the clean-up, restoration, and preservation of the water quality of the Manila Bay. It was, according to the group, a "cloak to justify the intention of the DENR to get rid of the structures in order to give way to the construction of R-1 Expressway Extension Project of the Philippine Reclamation Authority.

The 7-km R-1 Expressway Extension will involve the reclamation of 7,500 hectares of submerged public lands and mangrove areas.

"I personally went to Bacoor and Binakayan towns in Cavite two weeks ago to inspect the supposed implementation of the Supreme Court Order to clean up Manila Bay. I was appalled at how the involved government agencies are exploiting the Manila bay clean up order to destroy the livelihood of the fishermen living along the coast of the bay!" exclaimed Madrigal.

Sen. Madrigal went to Bacoor Cavite on board Philippine Coast Guard boat from the ferry terminal at the Mall of Asia. She witnessed the "clean-up operation" of the DENR and the dredging of sea sand in Cavite.

In a dialogue with the residents of Bacoor, she was told of the P4.3 billion R-1 Road Extension Project that, the residents claimed, resulted to the diminished fish catch and destruction of remaining corals and mangroves in Bacoor Bay (part of Manila bay in Bacoor town). The road project is also being blamed for the flooding in Bacoor and nearby coastal towns in the province.

Madrigal lauds Enrile for approval of Magna Carta of Women bill

2009-02-02T21:02:00.000-08:00

Madrigal lauds Enrile for approval of Magna Carta of Women bill

Sen. Jamby Madrigal, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Youth, Women and Family Relations, today paid tribute to "the decisive leadership" of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile for the approval on second reading of the proposed Magna Carta of Women Wednesday night.

"The proposed Magna Carta of Women Law has been languishing in the Senate since the 12th Congress and I attribute the approval of this bill to the decisive leadership of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile who is not afraid to reckon with the various pressure groups opposing this bill," Madrigal said.

Madrigal said various groups which she described as "right-wing Catholic forces" have succeeded in blocking the passage of the bill in Congress for the past seven years.

"This is a very important bill because it guarantees the basic rights of women and provide them with necessary protection against discrimination and abuse," Madrigal said. "This is milestone legislation in defending the human rights of the poor women who have no access to proper healthcare, who are marginalized and victims of discrimination and abuse."

During its session Wednesday, the Senate approved on second reading Senate Bill No.1701 also known as the "Magna Carta for Women" which aims to protect Filipino women from all forms of gender discrimination and abuse.

The bill was sponsored on the floor by Madrigal's committee. The bill was authored by Senators Pia Cayetano, Edgardo Angara, Panfilo Lacson, Ramon Revilla Jr., Richard Gordon, Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Manny Villar, Loren Legarda, and Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

Madrigal lauded Enrile for presiding over the Senate sessions "with dispatch, efficiency and a statesmanlike conduct" which she said enabled the chamber "to approve vital legislation, such as the proposed Magna Carta of Women, that will benefit the majority of the Filipino people."

Enrile said the approval of the proposed Magna Carta of Women was part of Congress' effort to revise the discriminatory provisions against women in various laws existing in the country.

"These include some provisions of the Family Code that pertains to a husband's decision prevailing over the wife's disagreements involving conjugal property, and in cases of parental authority and legal guardianship over the person and property of a common child," he explained.

"There are also provisions in the Labor Code and the Revised Penal Code that will be amended, such as the provision covering night work prohibition for women workers, and the Anti-Rape Law which defines marital rape and its penalties. The Revised Penal Code's articles on concubinage and adultery, where women can be easily charged with adultery, will likewise be amended.

The provisions allowing for polygamy, early and arranged marriages, and unequal inheritance for women in the Code of Muslim Personal Laws will also be amended," Enrile added.

Sen. Pia Cayetano, principal sponsor of the measure, said that "the bill seeks to boost the government's commitment to uphold the human rights of women especially, small farmers and rural workers, fisher folks, urban poor, women in the military, migrant workers, indigenous people, Muslim women, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and solo parents."

The proposed Magna Carta of Women enumerates the rights of marginalized women such as the right to food security and productive resources, housing, decent work, employment, livelihood, credit, capital and technology, education and training, and right to information and social participation. It also provides that the Commission on Human Rights can now oversee and hear complaints of discrimination against women.

Madrigal pointed out that the most important aspect of the bill was that it will define in the law the meaning of "discrimination," thus making unlawful all forms of discrimination against women. "Many Filipino women continue to suffer discrimination despite the enactment of pro-women laws, like the International Bill of Rights laid down by the UN in its general assembly on the Convention on the Elimination on all Forms of Discrimination Against Women", Cayetano said.

Legarda, a co-sponsor of the bill said the measure will lay down the policies that will enable women to actively participate and contribute to our national development.

Zubiri, on the other hand, said gender equality is always on top of the international agenda. "The approval of this bill will strengthen gender equality and empowerment of women in the Philippines," Zubiri said.

JAMBY'S ADVISE TO KA SATUR: GO ON THE OFFENSIVE

2007-03-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

JAMBY'S ADVISE TO KA SATUR: GO ON THE OFFENSIVE

This is just an appetizer of things to come. As i have said time and again, the anti terror law which Mrs. Arroyo is now using, is the most scheming and dangerous piece of legislation passed by Congress. It disregards with impunity constitutional guarantees. This is martial law with a de facto civilian and military junta in control. Pinoy Big Brother, Arroyo style.

I shall raise this matter before the Human Rights Committee of the Inter parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva and amend my earlier complaints before the UN and the People's Permanent Tribunal in the Hague to include this incident. Justice and democracy are dead in the Philippines.

I advise ka Satur to sue the Leyte Judge and the public prosecutor for their malicious acts. They should be removed from office for this injustice.

After Ka Satur, the military will now seek the opening of bank accounts and wire tap all conversations. Let this be a warning of things to come.

INTERNATIONAL COURT TO TRY GLORIA TODAY

2006-10-31T10:39:00.000-08:00

INTERNATIONAL COURT TO TRY GLORIA TODAY

Senator Jamby Madrigal is now in the Hague, The Netherlands at the invitation of the Peoples Permanent Tribunal to give a report on the human rights problems in the Philippines and observe the indictment proceedings today (3:00 p.m. Manila time) against Mrs. Gloria Arroyo.

This international court, convened by jurists and persons of proven independence, is the same tribunal that indicted former President Marcos in 1981 for crimes against humanity.

As a Filipino and human rights advocate, it is my duty to bring the issue of human rights violations in the Philippines in all forums and ensure that repression and oppression will come to end, Madrigal said in an earlier statement.

She will be joined by relatives and survivors of human rights victims, the Public Interest Law Center, Peace for Life, Philippine Peace Center, IBON Foundation, United Church of Christ in the Philippines and the Ecumenical Bishops Forum.

The Peoples Permanent Tribunal is an international body that examines and judges complaints regarding violations of human rights and rights of peoples that are submitted by the victims themselves or groups representing them.

The tribunal was founded in June 1979 in Italy by law experts, writers and other intellectuals. It succeeded the Russell Tribunals I and II or the International War Crimes Tribunal which held two sessions in 1967 to expose the war crimes committed against the Vietnamese people.