“If we live, we live like kings.
If we die, we take a great many with us.
That is Sing Wah.”
– Kung Fu, the Legend Continues
P50M additional was given to senators who would convict then Chief Justice Renato Corona. This was stated by Senator Jinggoy Estrada in a recent privilege speech. He further added that that “was provided in a private and confidential letter memorandum of the then chairman of the Senate finance committee.”
| SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY! Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider! Learn more |
The then chairman of that committee was Senator Franklin Drilon.
In the same speech, Estrada also had words for the Commission on Audit (COA), his fellow senators, the House of Representatives, and the media.
“Why the propensity for selective reporting? Why are some pieces of information released while others are kept?”, Estrada had to say about the COA’s supposedly incomplete report. The chairman of the COA is Grace Pulido-Tan.
Estrada used the word “hypocrite” to refer to his colleagues who didn’t seem to wonder why administration allies weren’t taking as much flak as he and others were, with regards to the pork barrel issue. He further went on and questioned why known allies such as Congressman Neptali Gonzales III, who supposedly had his own questionable uses of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel, according to the COA report, were apparently not being highlighted as much as he or other lawmakers belonging to the opposition, like Juan Ponce Enrile or Bong Revilla have been. He also criticized fellow senator Teofisto Guingona III for putting repeated emphasis on his name during the Senate investigations.
Estrada also took to task the media for “there being a serialized and obvious concerted effort to demonize him along with other members in the Chamber.”
A copy of the full privilege speech is here.
Looks like Jinggoy is finally learning what it feels like to be on the side opposite of the sitting president. He is realizing only now that daang matuwid isn’t so straight when you’re not in the same political party as Benigno Simeon Aquino III (BS Aquino). Big deal; critics of the administration have known this for years.
With regards to his pronouncement regarding the additional P50M, a question needs to be asked: what was he doing sitting idly by while Corona was being hammered and subjected to such indignity?
Do Jinggoy’s pronouncements in his speech make his involvement in the pork barrel issue, if any, less severe? Do his statements absolve him of the charges of misuse of public funds that he faces? They shouldn’t. Remember that just last month, Jinggoy was quoted as saying that “it is not up to the senators to decide whether an NGO is bogus or not.” In other words, he couldn’t care less where his pork, which is still public money no matter how you look at it, goes.
All this laglagan and bistuhan (Filipino terms for people outing each other’s dirty laundry) only really serves to reinforce the fact that PDAF is really a political tool more than anything. The Executive branch wants its way from the Legislature, who is supposed to be a co-equal branch of government? Show them the money and dangle it as a prize!
Malacañang, for its part, doesn’t seem too alarmed. It “respects” Estrada’s “desire to voice his opinions concerning the issues he raised in his privilege speech.”
According to presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, “What is important at this point are the ongoing investigations (on the pork barrel scam) and that it is the evidence that will determine where accountability lies.”
In other words, dig up more evidence on non-allies, and keep your political friends safe. Like it’s always been done. Everybody is guilty except us. Life goes on in the pigsty called the Philippines.
Or maybe Malacañang will come to “amicable arrangements” just to keep their names from being dragged further into the pork barrel mess. Either way, the Palace can no longer ignore that they have been complicit to the PDAF issue’s being persistent.
As always, stay tuned for the next episode in this “only in the Philippines” political thriller/telenovela…
[Photo courtesy: GMA 7 ]
А вы, друзья, как ни садитесь, все в музыканты не годитесь. – But you, my friends, however you sit, not all as musicians fit.
50 million pesos for each of the senators seen impeaching then Chief Justice Corona is a lot of bribe money. Only three senators with a conscience decided to acquit. So it is true… the defense lawyers saw what was coming. Foul!
“Do Jinggoy’s pronouncements…” tama ba yung Egnlish? Di ba dapat “Does Jinggoy’s pronouncements…”?
Ser sa tagalog. Ung paksa jan eh ung PRONOUNCEMENTS ni Jinggoy. Hindi si JINGGOY.
Mali na nga english grammar mo, di ka pa marunong mag-spell ng english! Ano ba yan! Panay tanga na lang ba nakukuhang katulong ng Miscomm Group na iyan!?
English is correct. In that sentence, Do is an auxiliary verb referring to pronouncements not Jinggoy.
Tama yung “Do,” Orlando. It refers to “pronouncements” (plural) and not to “Jinggoy” (singular). “Pronouncements” kasi ang subject ng sentence (Jinggoy’s pronouncements) at hindi si Jinggoy. Nakakalito talaga yan.
It’s not confusing. He was just kind of stupid.
Keep it cool, Regine. No one’s perfect.
Wow how many condescending assholes do we have here.
I thought B.S. Aquino wants the same thing as those who marched in Luneta that holiday Monday ? What a spineless toad.
Jinggoy did not deny in his priviledge speech that he allocated multimillion of his PDAF to the Napoles NGOs. He did not deny that he earned kickbacks by doing so. He did not deny that he knew Napoles. He tried to distract the people by diverting the issue of his PDAF misuse to other lawmakers’ alleged misuse of their PDAF, and the motive of the COA in focusing on the 3 Senators in their special audit report. In short, he did not deny that he is guilty of plundering taxpayers’ money by misusing his PDAF through the Napoles NGOs. Mabulok ka sana sa kulungan.
Dapat lahat sila! Malaki man o maliit. Kurakot pa rin un… Mukha lang maliit kasi may mga taong mas malaki ang kinurakot. Pag pinagsamasama mo yang maliliit, malaking pera pa rin yan. Hindi ito kikitain ng mga minimum wage earners natin kahit magkayod kalabaw sila sa buong taon. Malamang ser ung ilang sentimo nyan galing sa tax natin.
But why exempt administration allies from being probed as well? Does Aquino’s supposed “incorruptibility” carry over to his allies, just because?
u r absolutely correct sir! naghahanap na lang ng damay yan eh
Bitter, bitter medicine…Karma’s a biatch…
Stupid individuals will always be stupid no matter how they try.Nice one Jinggoy but again just like the stupid Lani Mercado, you are just a stupid senator trying to look like not one. Why not answer the accusations. Maybe best to find whistle blower too to defend you. you stupid, thief senator!
YES, a thief caught RED-HANDED and now passing the blame to others, THIEVING WEASEL SCUMBAG!
Let Estrada expose all the ills of his fellow senators and of Malacanang in his desperate attempt to save himself from doom. He’ll still be prosecuted, and we’ll be all the better for knowing who else is guilty….
@Chrissie, LOL….as if you need to be told by anyone, especially one of the thieves himself, that the Philippine Congress ,judiciary and Executive branches of the countries gov’t. are CORRUPT, 100% completely CORRUPT? if you do need someone to tell you…then there is no hope for you dear!
Take it easy, SacreBleu. No need to be sarcastic, we’re on the same side here. There’s a difference between hearsay and fact as revealed by an insider. We can’t nail anyone with just hearsay evidence, which is really no evidence at all. Got it?
I just noticed one crucial thing; the leftist NGO’s, including those leftists from the congress and other seats of power do not seem to be as “involved” in this “bistaduhan” shit-flinging drama of the pork, compared to the rest. Is this because the rest fear the NPA? I for one think that shit’s about to get real once this issue gets the left involved. Everyone must be ready when all of this goes down, haha.
Haha, so basically he’s having trouble defending himself, so he’s diverting the attention away from him (them).
In as much as that move is kinda a form of douchebaggery, I guess he does have a point: Why not go for the others as well?
It doesn’t make him less guilty, though… just makes you think about whether this process is being “selective” or not.
I read the speech (had a headache as it was all in CAPS!! so only read some of the parts but got the gist of it) MAGNANAKAW SILANG LAHAT…”the rotten fruits does not fall far from the tree” (I say rotten)! I hope with all the revelations, this will really awaken and shake the Filipinos – we all need to be very angry and demand all these people to be removed!!! The misery that our country is already in is really depressing. And in the next election, every name of every politician involved in all these scams will be posted in all polling stations to remind every single voting Filipinos that the choice they make, will make or break our country in the next coming years (breaking it more I would say).
You are zero-ing on what needs to be done, the removal of all of the people in gov’t.,Great! but then you go completely off the track that needs to be taken. An election will only get the Filipino laughed at, by the thieves themselves and the International community.
He’s threatening, if he goes down, he’ll take a lot with him….eventually, whitewash! Or fall guy….
I recall Toby Tiangco dropped these bombs during the Corona Impeachment. That Congressmen were receiving bribes to vote for it. Not surprising, this is old news… PDAF’s been used for corruption for decades. Thing is, some people out there seem to remain asleep, not believing this.
Senator Drilon was on the right track a few weeks ago when he said that without PDAF Funds to distribute, Congress should just be dissolved.
Estrada’s speech today drove the point that many more (if not all) Legislators were involved, so if he goes down, he’s willing to take others with him.
Seems we’re on the right track here. Hang ’em all and let GOD judge them later.
And you still believe a plunderer senator? Wala nang naniniwala dyan.
Oh really? Well, how about someone allied with BS Aquino?
Lacson confirms P50-M ‘incentive’ to senators who convicted Corona
Ilda, I think we are going to see that there will be no Political Alliances left.
Hopefully, the public outrage will continue and force investigations of the other bogus NGO Scams.
There is no honor among thieves. These Politicians will turn on each other.
You are WRONG, there is a lot of honor among thieves. There is just NO HONOR AMONG FILIPINO POLITICAL THIEVES. They are just a bunch of immoral scumbags who are willing to do anything to rob the people and save their own ass’s at the same time.FLIPPIN THIEVING WEASELS.
^ Implying that pnoy is innocent unlike the other senatongs and tonggressmen. Nice try dakilang noytard but we’re not born yesterday.
Thanks for sharing this, Ilda! I really hope these thieves who call themselves “honorable” will tell on one another and will self-destruct. The better for this country….
By the way, the account of Lacson is very revealing….that when he said in the caucus that he wouldn’t avail of the 50M, another senator openly joked, “Akin na lang!” This only goes to show that corruption by way of the pork barrel has become institutionalized and is thus being done openly among the senators and by Malacanang itself, even being treated as a light matter. I wonder what will happen to this country henceforth?
It will continue to serve its International Rulers needs and the people who ;ike to think they are in power will continue to steal everything that is not nailed down until they are forced to leave the country, hop in a wheelchair to avoid prosecution/jail, or any of the same bull-shit stories they come up with every time something like this ‘scandal’ happens.
What’s the matter dummkopf? Are you and your precious pwesident are now selling out the senatong who helped on saying guilty to Corona from your trillion peso pork barrel? And congratulations for proving yourselves mafias.
TROLL. 😀
Deal with it.
You better retreat like your namesake Cobra Commander in the G.I joe cartoon since your master’s days in malacanang are numbered.
And the administration senators are saints?
Even if a murder convict says the sky is blue, that will remain true. Doesn’t matter who says it, truth doesn’t listen to people.
Didn’t Corona’s lawyers announce that 50M bribery attempt in a press conference (hoping perhaps that the people will be outraged and will again take to the streets, just like what happened in the Estrada impeachment)? And weren’t they castigated by the senators themselves, Jinggoy among them, who said that they put the Senate Impeachment Court’s “integrity” in question by holding that press conference? I remember the lawyers explained that they only said that a bribery attempt was made, not that the senators accepted the bribe. Turns out it was all true. The temerity of Jinggoy to say what he did then when he knew all along that what Corona’s lawyers said was true. Corona’s impeachment was indeed a farce!
Corona lost nothing, NOTHING! but a P70,000/month job he doesn’t need. It was all planned, the whole thing, from beginning to end and there were NO LOSERS! No one went to jail , no money was ever returned to the people!
Only the PAL EMPLOYEES lost, they because that lost their jobs, pensions and healthcare benefits…just like they were supposed to!
“no money was ever returned to the people!” – Corona was convicted by the impeachment court not for stealing public funds but for simply not declaring his dollar assets in his SALN, and Corona was able to prove that his dollar assets came from his wise move to buy dollars from his savings through the years and to invest these in high-interest-earning funds. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a Corona apologist because I don’t really know the guy, but all I know is they were not able to prove that he stole money. So the senators convicted him for something that they themselves were guilty of (not declaring all their assets in their SALN) and something that was far less heinous than what they’ve been doing all these years: stealing the people’s money!!! If that’s not hypocrisy, I don’t know what is!!!
@Chrissie, He proved NOTHING about where he got that money from. If you believe anything that came out of Corona’s mouth about making ‘investments’ in 1969 you are just as stupid as the rest of the morons that think there is a difference between the political parties in the country. They are all “PARTY”‘s, get it now? or do you need it explained? DUH!
Corona is just as big a thieving scumbag as Drilon,Enrile, Aquino, Estrada and all the rest of the scumbags that hold national office in the Fail-ippines. and they are all in on it, each and every one. Their is not one of them that knows something that all the rest of them do not already know. It is just a matter of being a rat and then proving it.
SO,QUESTION: how do you know when a Filipino politician is lying? HINT:its obvious!
ANSWER: When they are opening their mouths and words are coming out of them.
I no longer want to dignify your sarcasm and bitterness, SacreBleu. I don’t know what happened to you. You’re such a sad person. As for me, I know there’s so much corruption in the government, and I know that almost everyone’s guilty, but unless we can establish anything with evidence, nothing will happen. I want action and changes, not mere yackity-yack.
Here’s a fact Chrissie: sacrebleu is a proud noytard. I actually saw his pnoy hallelujah propagandas posted on an abias-cbn article.
Really? So that’s why! Thanks for the tip, domo!
You want action, do ya? The only action that will produce results is surrounding the Palace/Senate and demanding resignations or be tried for treason and crimes against the people. If none are forthcoming then a violent revolution must take place. Blood in the streets. The blood of the thieves that have robbed the Filipino people of what is rightfully theirs.
Until that happens, NOTHING WILL CHANGE, NOTHING!
Personally I do not think Filipino’s have the balls for this kind of thing, so just forget any ACTION, as it will be futile!
^ Implying that this country is hopeless. Do me a favor and nuke this country then. You’re just a part of a problem not a solution you troll.
I’m not a troll, jerk. If you don’t have anything wise to say, keep your mouth shut, okay? People like you are the problem of this country, not I. Maybe you’re a Noytard?
Sorry, domo, stupid mistake. I thought I was the one you were referring to as a troll coz that’s what I saw in my e-mail. Aren’t things getting so confusing???!!!
Gerry, stay away from this conversation, okay? domo’s right, you’re a troll. Trolls not allowed here.
Won’t the senators who accepted the 50M bribe be guilty of plunder, too? Hala! Senator criminals on parade! Sabagay, we’ve always known that these lawmakers are crooks, but it’s only now that we’re hearing the facts straight from the crooks’ sordid mouths….
100% agree with you and the one balding idiot in malacanang who wanted Corona impeached in the first place is the most guilty of them all.
ICan’t agree more with you there, Johnny. Can’t wait to hear about some damning evidence of his guilt, though it seems obvious that the 50M bribes came from him. After all, where would Drilon have gotten all that money? But I wonder how we can get that guy to go when he has the numbers in the Congress (no hope for his impeachment) and he has a 75% approval rating (if that’s true), thanks to his yellow army, morally challenged communications team, and the millions of unthinking Filipinos out there….
NO WAY, the OLD SCUMBAG has been doing it and getting away with it since Pnoy Aquino was in diapers.and that is a fact!
Who told you that dakilang noytard? Your precious abias-cbn?
TROLL. 😀
@ Domo, What? you think YOU know what is going on, DO YOU? If IF IF u think that any of these lying weasels are innocent, then you are the dumpkopf! Do you even know what language that word hails from? HA, I doubt it!
Telling people off here as if YOU KNOW anything is laughable. They are all guilty as shit, and have been for at least 50 years and if you believe one word that comes out of any of their mouths THEN YOU are just as hopeless as ur retarded friend Chrissie!
Yellow shirt or blue shirt=same shirt/shit, DUH-MEEE!!!!
Domo, can’t we eject this guy or something of that sort? He’s a wacko!
Pa-utot ni Jingoy Estrada. Lokohin mo ang betlog mo, idiot…
Hindi nagloloko si Jinggoy dun sa 50M, Hyden. Lacson, Miriam, and practically all the senators confirmed it when they were asked. Lacson said it was openly announced by Drilon in a caucus of senators (may nagbiro pa nga raw na sa kanya na lang yung 50M ni Lacson dahil di raw iaavail ni Lacson), Miriam said an “unimpeachable source” told her about it (maybe she was absent in the caucus due again to hypertension?), the others said it was not a bribe but “additional funding for their projects” and that it’s a common practice, and Jinggoy backtracked and said it was not a bribe but an “incentive” when Miriam challenged him to return the money he received. So it’s true, but everyone’s trying to wiggle his/her way out of it.
Huh. Bilis namang maglaglagan. Saya nito ah. Subaybayan na!
Everybody has their commentaries…why “Natameme” si Pnoy? Please ask Drilon where the “Pabuya” of 50 million came from?
50M x 24 senators (the offer was made to all senators who would vote to convict Corona although eventually, 3 did not) = 1.2 BILLION. The president has a 1 trillion PDAF. Where do you think did the money come from? Grabe, no? As if the money is his to give and use however he wants to! “Saan humuhugot ng kapal ng mukha ang taong ito?” (Pnoy, SONA 2013)
A GUILTY MAN, sounding even MORE GUILTY.
String them all up, gve them a noose and let it loose!
THESE POS ARE NOW DESPERATE, and are turning on each other and pointing the finger at all but themselves.
BUT REMEMBER: When you point your finger at someone else ya got three more fingers pointing back at you, ya POS. Estrada, the name is just as guilty as it gets in the cespool that is Fail-ippine politics!
I wonder why the businessmen are curiously quiet through all these? Could it be because they don’t want to change the status quo as it’s said that the Philippine economy is improving (thanks to Arroyo and not Aquino, some economists say)? If this is true, then it just proves one thing I’ve heard about many businessmen, that they can only think about their own bank accounts when the going gets tough, never mind the millions of people who are suffering and the fact that things are not what they’re supposed to be….
The question is, the 3 senators who didn’t vote against Corona, Joker Arroyo, BongBong Marcos and Miriam Santiago…they did get 50M too?
Even if this happened after the CJ trial, it seems highly suspicious that those that voted to impeach Corona were the only ones who got 50M
Mutually Assured Destruction!
I am so disgusted whenever I see Franklin Drilon speak. He is just so revolting.He reminds me so much of balimbing and pork! People of the Philippines should now be more discriminating in the way we elect our government officials.And this Pork Barrel Scandal should awaken us taxpayers and those who do not pay tax but have the power to elect to despise these politicians who use the people’s money to put up streamers with their greetings such as Merry Christmas, Happy Graduation, etc, who announces to their constituents their projects when in fact it is our money they are spending and are even shortchanging us with the low quality of their projects! so disgusting! I want congress be abolished!
I could not understand why Drilon could not remember if he gave 50M to the senators after the conviction of Corona! How can we trust someone like him who could not remember something that is so significant- involving such colossal amount! A pork is always a PORK!