Nagpapasalamat ako sa Kaya Natin! for including me in their array of choices for a reform president. I am willing to engage Kaya Natin! and all other reform groups so we can find ways to unite everyone who believes in the promise of change and a nation of worth which are the real issues in the 2010 elections.
The values and causes we share in the growing reform constituency are much, much larger than any of us. We represent, fight for and share the struggle with the people.
Kaya naman kami sa Partido Liberal ay masigasig na pinupursigi ang pagkakaisa ng lahat ng grupong nagnanais ng tunay na pagbabago sa ating bansa. Natutuwa akong sumama na sa atin ang mga lider at grupo ng civil society at ng mga sektor sa pagpapalakas pa lalo ng kilusang reporma.
Nagtitiwala ako na dahil tunay at taos-puso ang ating pagkakaisa sa adhikain ng pagbabago, makakamit natin sa 2010 ang ating minimithi na lideratong ipapatupad ng walang pasubali ang mga repormang aayos n gating bansa. Hindi ko pababayaan na ‘di natin matupad ang adhikaing magkaisa ang lahat ng nagnanais ng tunay na reporma.
Kailangan ng taumbayan ng isang pamahalaang aayusin ang ating bansa para magkaroon sila ng kasiguruhan ng mahusay na trabaho at kalusugan at maayos na pamumuhay. Di ito naibibigay ng isang gobyernong puno ng katiwalian at walang malasakit sa taumbayan.
"Diretso iyan sa korte. May tiwala ako na ang ating mga mahistrado sa Korte Suprema ay magdedesisyon nang tama (It will go straight to court. I'm confident that our Supreme Court magistrates will exercise independence and make the correct ruling on the issue)," he said, amidst speculations the high bench is controlled by the government, with majority of its justices appointed by President Arroyo.The Visayan senator said any moves to amend the Constitution to extend the term of office of any public official, especially the President, will not pass in the Senate. And in the case that the House pushes through with constituent assembly on its own, he will actively join moves by the Senate to elevate the issue before the Supreme Court.
"Hindi natin ito papayagan. Itong 'solo flight' ng House ay hindi sang-ayon sa Konstitusyon. At ayaw na ng mamamayan na lumampas ng kahit isang araw man lang ang pamumuno ni Gloria sa bansa. (We will not allow this. The House's 'solo flight' is not contemplated in the Constitution. And our people do not want Gloria to rule even a day in excess of her term)," he stressed.
"Hindi kami sasama diyan. Baluktot na pamamaraan iyan para baguhin ang Saligang Batas sa ating bansa. Wala akong kakilalang abugado na alam ang kanyang trabaho na magsasabing legal ito (we senators will not participate in this because this is a wrong method to change the Charter. I do not know of any lawyer who knows his job and would say this is legal)," he said.Roxas trusts that despite the machinations of the powerful and their minions to bend the law in their favor, the Filipino people would stand by the law.
"Tinututulan ito ng ating mga kababayan. Wala itong makukuhang boto sa Senado. Hindi ito magtatagumpay (This is not acceptable to the people. This will not get any vote from the Senate. This will not succeed)," he added.
"Subukan lang nilang gawin ang gusto nila, at haharapin nila ang taumbayan oras na kalikutin nila ang Saligang Batas at isangkalan ang demokrasya sa ating bansa (They could go ahead and do anything they want. But I warn them, the people will face up to them if they try to manipulate the Constitution and compromise our country's democracy)," he stressed.
"Ngayong umagang ito kasama ninyo ako para tumindig laban sa katarantaduhan ni Celso at ng pamahalaang kumukupkop sa mga kagaya niya (Today, I stand with you to fight against the criminal acts of Celso and the government that has protected him and others like him)," Roxas declared angrily before leading the group of complainants in filing of the case.In leading the list of complainants, Roxas represented six of the Legacy victims who are Mrs. Jovita "Nanay Beth" Calleja, Mrs. Aurora "Nanay Au" Soriano, Mrs. Arlene Basco, Mrs. Corazon Villon, Mrs. Lolita Duria and Mr. Antonio Evangelista, who all executed a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) for Roxas to represent them in the case.
"Hindi ko kayo pababayaan. Itigil na ang panloloko sa taumbayan! Ipaglaban ang karapatan ng lahat ng mahihirap na ninakawan ng pangarap! Patuloy tayong maninindigan na isiwalat ang pagnanakaw ni Celso at mga kapwa niya ahas, at ikulong ang lahat ng nagsasamantala sa taumbayan! (I will not abandon you! I promise to stop this grand scheme to mislead our people! I will fight especially for the right of the poor robbed of their future by this thievery! I will continue to stand up and expose the shenanigans of Celso and others like him! Let us jail all those who continue to abuse the rights of our people!)," he promised the Legacy victims and members of their family who joined him in the short rally.
"The respondents evidently conspired and confederated with one another to achieve a common purpose, which is to misappropriate and convert the pre-need funds for their personal benefit. The totality of the circumstances as previously narrated clearly shows that they are united in this criminal design. The fraudulent scheme could not have been perpetrated without the knowledge and direct participation and cooperation of all the respondents who are all officers of the Legacy Group of Companies," the complaint stated.It likewise alleged that "the funds of the pre-need companies were commingled with the funds of other companies belonging to the Legacy Group of Companies" to the detriment of planholders, whose investments were used for purposes other than that for which they were invested by the policy-makers.
"Legacy funds, like all other pre-need funds, are held in trust on behalf of planholders. Such funds were disbursed by Celso de los Angeles with grave abuse of confidence," it added, stressing: "The intricate and elaborate organizational structure of the companies coupled with the existence of interlocking officers and interrelated services show that the Legacy Group of Companies is a vehicle intended to illegally amass funds from the public without drawing suspicion that these funds are actually intended to be converted to personal and other uses of herein respondent Celso de los Angeles and his cohorts."
It was supposed to be a private lunch but a few media sneaked in. Another surprise visitor who came in was no other than Dra. Vicky Belo! In the other room was the Belo Launching in Cebu Press Conference. I'll talk about this later. Belo had a little chat with Osmeña and Roxas.
"Nu'ng ako'y bagong gradweyt, nadiskubre kong mahalaga na mahusay ang aking pagharap sa interviewer, maganda ang aking resume at maganda ang aking suot na damit pagharap ko sa aking magiging boss. Ngayong mahirap makahanap ng trabaho, sana'y malaki ang maitulong ng boot camp na ito sa mga bagong gradweyt ngayon (When I was a new graduate, I discovered that it was important that I create a good impression on the interviewer, I have a good resume, and I dress well when I face my future boss. I hope the boot camp helps new graduates especially now that jobs are scare to find)," Roxas said.He noted that an estimated 490,000 university graduates are expected to join the already crowded employment market in the next two months when the local economy is flat and jobs are scarce due to companies closing or downsizing because of the global financial crisis.
"Hindi tama ito. Dagdag na pasanin itong pagtataas ng singil sa kuryente lalo sa mga kababayan nating apektado ng krisis-pinansiyal (This is not right. With this rate hike, we're increasing the burden of our people who are already reeling from the effects of the financial crisis)," he said.The Senate inquiry, Roxas said, would determine if there is a need to amend existing energy laws to better protect power consumers. He added that it is the duty of the State to "protect the public interest as it is affected by the rates and services of electric utilities and other providers of electric power."
"Gusto nating malaman kung bakit magtataas ng singil sa kuryente lalo na sa Kabisayaan kung saan pinakamalaki ito. Makatarungan ba ang dagdag-singil na ito? May iba pa bang solusyon na hindi pabigat sa mga kababayan natin? (We want to know why power rates were hiked especially in the Visayas. Is it just? Are there other options that will not put much burden on our people?)," he said.
It took Senator Mar Roxas, chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade and Industry to notice 67 year old public school teacher retiree Lita Miranda’s face gone red and sweating after her high blood pressure soar high during forum about Legacy at the school auditorium of the St. Joseph Institute of Technology (SJIT) here in Butuan City Thursday evening (March 19).I hope Celso de los Angeles would realize the damage and hopelessness that he has afflicted to everyone who trusted their future to de los Angeles' Legacy.
Roxas was the first to notice Miranda trying to catch up with her breath as the senator immediately called the attention of his staff and the school medical authorities to rescue the 67 year old teacher retiree from San Francisco Pilot Elementary School in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur.
Roxas was at the middle of his speech before victims of Legacy’s double your money in three years scheme in a jampacked crowd mostly Legacy investors at SJIT school auditorium when he noticed something went wrong with Miranda.
"She is fine now however we recommended her confine at a hospital for a thorough medical check up", school nurses Rey Pacaya and Rea Murillo told this writer in an interview.
The two school nurses of St. Joseph Institute of Technology (SJIT) were the ones attending Miranda whom they claimed suffered sudden soar of blood pressure due hypertension.
"She suffers sudden soar of high blood pressure as she was sweating cold and look pale, it would be another story if took sometime before she was rescued", SJIT nurse Rey Pacaya told this writer.
SJIT President Dr. Leticia Cebrian Salas was present when her two school nurses give Miranda medical attention and try to console the retired public school teacher.
After resting for thirty minutes Miranda, later, told this writer she lost some P600,000 from Legacy’s double your money scheme in three years that gone haywire.
A companion of Mrs. Miranda, Hilda Herdes Lahi, 66, also a retired public school teacher from San Francisco Pilot Elementary School in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur who seated beside Miranda at the forum told this writer in an interview she didn’t noticed Miranda already suffered mild stroke but noticed her hands were cold and sweating.
"It was after Senator Roxas speaking in microphone took noticed of my seatmate then I comforted her and asked for help", Lahi who claimed she too lost her all her retirement benefits in the amount of P675,000 to Legacy.
She noticed Miranda’s face gone red when Senator Roxas was explaining difficulty of Legacy victims to retrieve back their capital investments in the way things are going now with the Senate Inquiry by which Senator Roxas was initiating as chair of the Senate Committee on Trade and Industry.
Roxas explained to forum participants, he is only telling the truth saying sales agents of local Legacy offices could have explained to their clients or would be investors the consequences of the double your money scheme while telling the investors they could have seek advises from lawyers in the business they are in.
But somebody from the crowd replied some lawyers too were victimized allegedly by Legacy.
Roxas further explained he don’t want to give false promises and sound like a politician as frankly told forum participants the chances of getting back their money is remote but raises hope when he told victim investors he will exert efforts and will do everything he can to help.
Lahi revealed many of her co-teacher retirees from San Francisco, Agusan del Sur also losses all the money they got from their retirement benefits. Another co-teacher of hers also suffered a stroke and couldn’t hardly buy sustaining medicines now.
Lahi told this writer an estimated one hundred government retirees from San Francisco, Agusan del Sur alone were duped of Legacy’s double your money scheme in three years and losses all their hard earned money.
"Each one of these retirees have invested P600,000, P500,000 to low P100,000 each to Legacy" Lahi said.
The forum with Senator Mar Roxas was initiated by the Butuan Chamber of Commerce and Industry who is helping victims of Legacy Investment Scam.
BCCI Secretary General Leah Medado told this writer the chamber is doing everything it can and has even offered an office space for the newly formed Association of Caraga Legacy Claimants to give victims a venue to ventilate their problems in a forum like the recently concluded one with no less than Senator Mar Roxas conducting.
Medado explained sixty percent of the more than 600 victims of the Legacy Scam are coming from Butuan City mostly traders, professionals and retirees.
When asked why said investment scam that victimizes more than 600 Caraga residents, practically all of them professionals be made public so that it will served as warning by telling the public all what had happened, Medado explained the investors begged not to be identified.
"They don’t want to be mock or pre-judged by the public", Medado explained.
But when explained, the scam has already been made public anyway except local details how and why and even a Roman Catholic priest in Southern Leyte, admitted in nationwide television he too was victimized by Legacy, Medado just replied with a smile while thanking this writer for attending the forum.
Medado invited this writer to attend the chamber-sponsored forum.
