All the President's ASS men

Updated

"Ako lang yata ang VIP na nagpapahatid sa Pasig na dinala sa Los Banos."
-- Jun Lozada, answering Sen. Loren Legarda on whether or not he believed he was abducted, 5:35PM February 11, 2008

Let's call this day at the Senate, "The President's Ass Men", not to be vulgar but to highlight the role played by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's men in what appears to be an attempt to cover up and deny an abduction try on former Philippine Forest Corporation CEO Jun Lozada -- allegedly in an attempt to silence him before he testifies at the Senate on the ZTE NBN Scam.

Covering ASS, as well as perhaps, taking it in the ASS (as in being the President and the First Gentlemen's whipping boys or girls), seems to be a qualification for being a General or Secretary these days.

I switched on ANC just in time to catch Senator Mar Roxas and Senator Juan Ponce Enrile having a heated discussion over how the NBN investigation at the senate was being handled. Roxas was apparently miffed at Enrile's comment that some of the questions raised by Roxas et al were a waste of time. Taas tuloy ang kilay ni Tide, este, Mr. Palengke.

I guess the verbal wrangling had been started off by Senator Joker Arroyo's manifestation telling Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman Alan Peter Cayetano that the job of the committee chairman was to ensure the orderly flow of the proceedings and not to take part in questioning the witness or resource person, which in this case was Lozada.

In anycase, right now, most of the discussion today is centered on finding out whether Lozada was abducted or not.

All of the President's men had been denying that they had abducted Lozada, while Lozada maintains that he had been taken against his will upon arrival at the NAIA.

While this may be a serious transgression on the part of the state, it is also the lesser issue at hand. Senators against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo may concentrating on this issue because, unlike the allegations of plunder made by Lozada against the First Gentleman and ex-COMELEC Chairman Benjamin Abalos, the allegation of being kidnapped by agents of the state has actual physical evidence and a paper trail.

Lozada seems to be livid at the repeated denials of the minions of Malacanang that no abduction try was ever committed.

In anycase, the whole thing is just dragging on.

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I would be perfectly willing to file a taxpayer's lawsuit against Abalos et al. Will anyone else join me?