DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
08/20/2010
The cat is now out of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s bag: New pesos are being printed without the knowledge of the Filipino people. And these will be circulated by December, according to the best information we got. Worse, the BSP is not duty-bound to inform anyone as to when, how or why this decision was made!
The 1987 Cory Aquino Constitution states in Article XII, Section 20 that “The Congress shall establish an independent central monetary authority… (which) shall provide policy direction in the areas of money, banking and credit. It shall have supervision over the operations of banks and exercise such regulatory powers as may be provided by law over the operations of finance companies and other institutions performing similar functions…” By “independent,” it means that the BSP does not even have to report to government whenever it does so to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB) and the Bank of International Settlements (BIS).
The details of the BSP’s operations, contained in Republic Act 7653 or the New Central Bank Act, were passed during Cory’s time by the late Sen. Raul Roco, considered by some as “The Father of the BSP.” The law passed on old debts of the former Central Bank of the Philippines of around P300 billion to taxpayers (when the exchange rate then was still half of what it is today). Yet it established something even more insidious which very few know of: It organized a Monetary Board to govern the BSP and redefined the composition of the members of the board from five representing government and two from the private sector — which was the case in the old Central Bank board — to a reverse of five representing the private sector and two representing government. Although all are supposedly appointed by the President, the law predetermines that the private sector’s interests shall always dominate the board.
But that’s not all: The new pesos are being printed abroad in foreign money printing facilities instead of our own Security Printing Complex (built by Marcos in 1978 to ensure that the Philippines would have currency sovereignty). The excuse for this is that the new currency will have the most modern security features that would make it impossible to counterfeit. But have we had any reports of major counterfeiting problems with the peso to date? Unlike the dollar which is widely accepted across almost all borders, there is very little advantage to counterfeiting the Philippine peso because of its limited acceptability.
A complete change of a currency normally occurs in the wake of a revolutionary change of the existing political order, as when Marcos tried with the Bagong Lipunan notes, as well as, after Edsa I when Cory Aquino took over. This always results in the flushing out of savings, demonetization of hidden wealth, and the establishment of total financial control.
Of course, there had been new issuances in recent times such as Gloria Arroyo’s P200 bills, which were for a specific purpose and in limited amounts, which would not change the system substantively. But a total replacement of all the cash and coins in circulation means something far more extensive is afoot. Coming as this does with the new regime under PeNoy Aquino, who clearly doesn’t know that this is going on, it shows that the real money powers over our country had planned this long before the last elections, where they expected their surrogate to win through the Hocus-PCOS, to ensure that there will be no resistance to this “coup d’état” being carried out against our peso.
Our suspicions are further heightened by the fact that while this is happening, a great number of former employees of the WB continue to be appointed to high government positions.
From the Bureau of Internal Revenue to the Supreme Court; from the Presidential Management Staff to the government financial institutions and pension funds, elements formerly associated with the WB — who are invariably drawn from Big Business, financial conglomerates and other oligarchs and corporatocracies — are making the PeNoy Cabinet look very much like a structure run by these vested interests.
With the complete change of our money and coins commencing by the final month of 2010, we would have completely lost our Republic by next year if this isn’t stopped. By then, the program for a complete takeover of our state by the corporate powers, planned from Day 1 of Edsa II, would have been fulfilled. Then the Charter change referendum through another Hocus-PCOS will follow for the de jure separation of the richest resources of Mindanao for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front-US partnership.
Resistance by the usual means is now futile. These money masters totally control the money of the land — and consequently, the law and government, mainstream media, all elections, as well as, the guns and goons, and even the forces of coercion of the state.
Resistance by other means is imperative if the nation is to be restored to viability and sustainability. But are the forces of patriotism and nationalism still standing? Are there still clear hearts and minds that can discern the vision of a vibrantly free, just, and prosperous Philippines or have all but a few been reduced to unthinking zombies by these money masters?
(Tune in to Sulo ng Pilipino, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 6 to 7 p.m. on 1098AM; watch Politics [and Economics] Today, Tuesday, 8 to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m. on Global News Network, Destiny Cable Channel 21; visit our blogs, http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com and http://hermantiulaurel.blogspot.com)
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Commentary
Richard James Mendoza
08/19/2010
Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the H1N1 virus is no longer a threat. It was never a large threat in the first place.. Reports indicate that the ones who advised the WHO to declare the H1N1 as a pandemic had connections with large pharmaceutical companies known collectively as "Big Pharma". Thus, it can be seen as a case of profiteering for Big Pharma that made the drugs. It is sad to see that many countries bought into the scare, the Philippines included, and as a result, we basically spent for contaminated junk that had no real use.
Speaking of vaccines, it was found last year that a girl from England died from the vaccine and consequently, the vaccination then was suspended. If we are to look at statistics, ordinary flu is more deadly than "swine flu", mostly affecting the young and the elderly. They projected about 100,000+ deaths but it came nowhere close to that. I guess my friend was right when he thought of H1N1 as "Buy one, take one": We bought into the scare and we took the drugs.
Now, it seems that another "superbug" has arisen, with cases being reported in India. Let us monitor the situation but at the same time be vigilant regarding the plans of Big Pharma trying to sell their wares to support the depopulation agenda of the global elite.
08/19/2010
Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the H1N1 virus is no longer a threat. It was never a large threat in the first place.. Reports indicate that the ones who advised the WHO to declare the H1N1 as a pandemic had connections with large pharmaceutical companies known collectively as "Big Pharma". Thus, it can be seen as a case of profiteering for Big Pharma that made the drugs. It is sad to see that many countries bought into the scare, the Philippines included, and as a result, we basically spent for contaminated junk that had no real use.
Speaking of vaccines, it was found last year that a girl from England died from the vaccine and consequently, the vaccination then was suspended. If we are to look at statistics, ordinary flu is more deadly than "swine flu", mostly affecting the young and the elderly. They projected about 100,000+ deaths but it came nowhere close to that. I guess my friend was right when he thought of H1N1 as "Buy one, take one": We bought into the scare and we took the drugs.
Now, it seems that another "superbug" has arisen, with cases being reported in India. Let us monitor the situation but at the same time be vigilant regarding the plans of Big Pharma trying to sell their wares to support the depopulation agenda of the global elite.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Skewed 'political capital' idea
DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
08/16/2010
""But I would rather be right than popular," said the president," according to a 2007 BBC News report. Earlier in 2004, the San Francisco Gate had this other presidential quote: “I earned capital in this campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it.” The first is from Gloria Arroyo justifying her new revenue measures in her State of the Nation Address while the latter is from George “Dubya” Bush pushing the Iraq War.
Last week, the newspaper mouthpiece of the Yellows had “Aquino ready to sacrifice political capital” as its headline on the tollways value-added tax (VAT) wherein it quoted PeNoy’s spokesman saying, “…we’d rather be unpopular because in the long term we know that the value-added tax will be used for the social service we have promised.”
Well, son-of-a-gun. They sought popular support to the hilt during the campaign; but now, after taking power, they sneer at it!
Without a doubt, the “political capital” being bandied about by PeNoy and his sycophants is nothing but a whip to coerce people into accepting new taxes — taxes that he promised would never happen if they gave him their votes. And as most didn’t believe this promise, more than half of Filipino voters didn’t vote for him. Still, the SWS and Pulse Asia whipped up the incredible surveys claiming that PeNoy suddenly got an 88 percent trust rating after his inauguration, which led PeNoy’s people and some other less astute quarters to assume as “political capital.”
Even if that illusion did actually translate to genuine political capital, then it already disappeared as quickly as PeNoy went back on his word of “no new taxes.” This is in keeping with the nose-dive of the once “most popular” Barack Obama’s political capital when Americans discovered that his promised “change” was a sham.
Political capital for any leader is the sum total of the mandate and public esteem he gets from the nation. In the first place, PeNoy was never a “majority president,” the reason his supporters went on to manufacture this “political capital” through their controlled media’s blitzes and popularity surveys before and after the polls. Strangely, many in the opposition, even among the Left, were led to believe such propaganda, which is why, at best there, there’s some modicum of virtual political capital achieved.
The Wikipedia discussion on “political capital” says, “Political capital must be spent to be useful… In addition, it can be wasted, typically by failed attempts to promote unpopular policies that are not central to a politician’s agenda.” Indeed, PeNoy is trying to use his virtual political capital, but for whose benefit? Obviously, not the people’s.
We know that since at least 70 percent of all VAT is prioritized to pay the national debt, it’s obvious that the first beneficiaries of this VAT on toll ways are the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the finance mafia. Although hidden from the political scene, these groups and institutions are very much present in the system as they are the ones that call the shots.
An example of this power is the appointment of the new Supreme Court associate justice whom PeNoy says he doesn’t know personally (of course, since someone else made the decision). Maria Lourdes Aranal-Sereno is from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), a known bastion of Big Business. The Inquirer billed Sereno’s appointment as the “Triumph of intellect over shabby politics.” For sure, since public interests and assets will be threatened by Sereno’s legal opinions, notwithstanding Miriam Santiago’s praises which are laughable, it will be more like the “triumph of vested interests.”
The tollways VAT is obviously not going to benefit the millions of Filipinos who depend on these arteries of travel to and from work, home, business, farm, rest and recreation, and countless other activities. Allocating a bit more to toll fees wouldn’t be much of a problem if the people’s incomes were improving. But with static, if not decreasing, incomes, allocating more for this means taking away a bigger chunk from people’s daily needs.
PeNoy doesn’t know this because he doesn’t have a family to care for, as one of my radio listeners, 17-year-old scholar Angeline, says. Moreover, PeNoy’s staff, Ochoa and company, are known to be high-flying lawyers cum political aides of such alleged public fund profligates as Sonny Belmonte, that they wouldn’t even know the meaning of having to budget one’s monthly income.
The Supreme Court came to PeNoy’s rescue by issuing a TRO on the tollways VAT; but the stupidity of PeNoy’s Malacañang still knows no bounds. Lacierda came out to own up to the pressure, this even after World Bank Revenue girl Kim Henares had already denied PeNoy’s involvement in the issue.
There is no doubt that the brawl over the tollways VAT has already expended much of the virtual political capital of PeNoy. Just listening to the morning radio shows reveals at least a 90 percent rage against PeNoy’s insistence on this new tax (on an existing tax). Now, even the Yellows I talk to fear that PeNoy will be lost in six months’ time.
Maybe PeNoy can crawl back to public acceptance by using this “political capital” to say “No” to the oligarchs, the IMF-WB, the US Embassy, and once and for all say “Yes” to the demands of the people for lower power and water rates, lower toll fees and a better life!
(Tune in to Sulo ng Pilipino, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on 1098AM; watch Politics (and Economics) Today, Tuesday, 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m. on Destiny Cable Channel 21; visit our new blog, http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com)
Herman Tiu Laurel
08/16/2010
""But I would rather be right than popular," said the president," according to a 2007 BBC News report. Earlier in 2004, the San Francisco Gate had this other presidential quote: “I earned capital in this campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it.” The first is from Gloria Arroyo justifying her new revenue measures in her State of the Nation Address while the latter is from George “Dubya” Bush pushing the Iraq War.
Last week, the newspaper mouthpiece of the Yellows had “Aquino ready to sacrifice political capital” as its headline on the tollways value-added tax (VAT) wherein it quoted PeNoy’s spokesman saying, “…we’d rather be unpopular because in the long term we know that the value-added tax will be used for the social service we have promised.”
Well, son-of-a-gun. They sought popular support to the hilt during the campaign; but now, after taking power, they sneer at it!
Without a doubt, the “political capital” being bandied about by PeNoy and his sycophants is nothing but a whip to coerce people into accepting new taxes — taxes that he promised would never happen if they gave him their votes. And as most didn’t believe this promise, more than half of Filipino voters didn’t vote for him. Still, the SWS and Pulse Asia whipped up the incredible surveys claiming that PeNoy suddenly got an 88 percent trust rating after his inauguration, which led PeNoy’s people and some other less astute quarters to assume as “political capital.”
Even if that illusion did actually translate to genuine political capital, then it already disappeared as quickly as PeNoy went back on his word of “no new taxes.” This is in keeping with the nose-dive of the once “most popular” Barack Obama’s political capital when Americans discovered that his promised “change” was a sham.
Political capital for any leader is the sum total of the mandate and public esteem he gets from the nation. In the first place, PeNoy was never a “majority president,” the reason his supporters went on to manufacture this “political capital” through their controlled media’s blitzes and popularity surveys before and after the polls. Strangely, many in the opposition, even among the Left, were led to believe such propaganda, which is why, at best there, there’s some modicum of virtual political capital achieved.
The Wikipedia discussion on “political capital” says, “Political capital must be spent to be useful… In addition, it can be wasted, typically by failed attempts to promote unpopular policies that are not central to a politician’s agenda.” Indeed, PeNoy is trying to use his virtual political capital, but for whose benefit? Obviously, not the people’s.
We know that since at least 70 percent of all VAT is prioritized to pay the national debt, it’s obvious that the first beneficiaries of this VAT on toll ways are the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the finance mafia. Although hidden from the political scene, these groups and institutions are very much present in the system as they are the ones that call the shots.
An example of this power is the appointment of the new Supreme Court associate justice whom PeNoy says he doesn’t know personally (of course, since someone else made the decision). Maria Lourdes Aranal-Sereno is from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), a known bastion of Big Business. The Inquirer billed Sereno’s appointment as the “Triumph of intellect over shabby politics.” For sure, since public interests and assets will be threatened by Sereno’s legal opinions, notwithstanding Miriam Santiago’s praises which are laughable, it will be more like the “triumph of vested interests.”
The tollways VAT is obviously not going to benefit the millions of Filipinos who depend on these arteries of travel to and from work, home, business, farm, rest and recreation, and countless other activities. Allocating a bit more to toll fees wouldn’t be much of a problem if the people’s incomes were improving. But with static, if not decreasing, incomes, allocating more for this means taking away a bigger chunk from people’s daily needs.
PeNoy doesn’t know this because he doesn’t have a family to care for, as one of my radio listeners, 17-year-old scholar Angeline, says. Moreover, PeNoy’s staff, Ochoa and company, are known to be high-flying lawyers cum political aides of such alleged public fund profligates as Sonny Belmonte, that they wouldn’t even know the meaning of having to budget one’s monthly income.
The Supreme Court came to PeNoy’s rescue by issuing a TRO on the tollways VAT; but the stupidity of PeNoy’s Malacañang still knows no bounds. Lacierda came out to own up to the pressure, this even after World Bank Revenue girl Kim Henares had already denied PeNoy’s involvement in the issue.
There is no doubt that the brawl over the tollways VAT has already expended much of the virtual political capital of PeNoy. Just listening to the morning radio shows reveals at least a 90 percent rage against PeNoy’s insistence on this new tax (on an existing tax). Now, even the Yellows I talk to fear that PeNoy will be lost in six months’ time.
Maybe PeNoy can crawl back to public acceptance by using this “political capital” to say “No” to the oligarchs, the IMF-WB, the US Embassy, and once and for all say “Yes” to the demands of the people for lower power and water rates, lower toll fees and a better life!
(Tune in to Sulo ng Pilipino, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on 1098AM; watch Politics (and Economics) Today, Tuesday, 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m. on Destiny Cable Channel 21; visit our new blog, http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com)
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