President Noynoy Aquino responds to Facebook Note written by man charged with 9 counts of estafa

Oh well, I am sure the Ampatuans, Mayor Antonio Sanchez, and other jailed politicians have their own opinions to share with President Noynoy Aquino.  I hope the President's communication team also considers their opinion too.

Reyn Barnido aka Rain Barnido wrote "Mr. President, Something In You Has To Die" and I wondered if this former officemate of mine was actually threatening to kill President Noynoy Aquino.

Much to my relief, this FORMER OFFICEMATE OF MINE was referring to a figurative and partial death.

But, there was actually a time when he did NOT SO FIGURATIVELY threaten an accountant in our office with physical harm.  It was during those days last year when it became apparent that he had been taking money from clients and using it to pay debts he owed to people in the company.

Money meant for the payment of a model's talent fee was taken from a client and given as payment to settle his personal obligation.  Money meant for the payment of a DJ's talent fee was similarly teased from the check book of another client and given as payment for another personal obligation.

Each time that he was successful at NOT getting caught, he became even bolder.

There were instances where he actually filched a receipt from the office of a cosmetic surgeon and faked it to make it appear that a breast augmentation procedure for a friend had been paid.  And, in fact, it was paid -- with a bouncing check from a lawyer known for extortion.

There were even accounts where he and others had schemed to milk a famous name in cosmetic surgery of some P50 Million, in exchange for stopping the negative publicity and dropping a suit filed against the woman.

There are other tales about Barnido, this one comes from Eric who was also an officemate of Rain Barnido:

Everytime Rain will appear in a place his press release is always "I lost my bag and wallet with all my money and ID" and with that he would say "pautang naman, my sister ako padadalhan ako ng pera bayaran kita agad".

I have talked to some of his friends and I noticed his pattern. He kept saying that her "sister" will send her momey to pay and all but nobody even saw or knows her sisters name.

I also heared from a group of nuns or convent-flock of penguins (i dunno what you call them) where Rain lived and worked before that when they met Rain, he has nothing! Absolutely nothing! No ID, No money-like he just appeared on their doorstep! In fairness to Rain, he worked his ass off for the nuns but eventually he started charging the nuns for everything that he does and not even taking to consideration that the nuns provide him free meals and a roof under his head.

Moving forward, we found out that Rain forged the signature of a mother superior for a contract. when the Nun heard about it she was shocked and mad! All of a sudden, the Nuns has a whooping debt in an advertising agency. 

We also found out that the nuns made payments to the company where Rain worked for but Rain did not remit their payment to accounting. As a matter of fact, he kept telling the accounting manager that the nuns were out of town and that they haven't paid yet. When nuns demanded for a recipt Rain kept stalling

Rain also worked for an NGO, same story: he lost his wallet so no ID, no permanent address. Then he handles an event, collects the money and then poof! Vanishes without a trace.  

Source: http://utakpugita.blogspot.com/2010/09/reyna-elena-coddles-criminal.html

http://the-chronicles-of-e.blogspot.com/2009/11/what-happened.html 

After all the trouble he caused (the company he and I used to work for lost hundreds of thousands of pesos), several cases of estafa were filed against him.

ABS-CBN and ANC recently ran a report about Rain after President Noynoy Aquino (or was it Manolo Quezon III) sent out a response to his letter.

A friend brought up the issue of Rain Barnido's shady past with the producers of the shows that carried the report.

"Could you please pass on the message to the person who wrote the entry, Pretty unfair I think, but we're all entitled to our opinions."

called my attention to an entry on your blog where you crticized Anc's anchor for discussing the letter of Reyn Barnido on the show. I can understand your disappointment, especially since it was "Dona Victorina" who filed several cases of estafa against Barnido. However, I disagree with what appears to be your view that Barnido has no right to write the President just because he is facing estafa charges. Even people convicted of bigger crimes have rights. I see nothing wrong with the President's response, no the fact that we discussed this on the show, especially since we focused on facebook as a means to communicate with the President and Vice Versa.

Oh well, I am sure the Ampatuans, Mayor Antonio Sanchez, and other jailed politicians have their own opinions to share with President Noynoy Aquino.  I hope the President's communication team also considers their opinion too. 

ABS-CBN and GMA 7 should stop accepting ad money from Presidentiables

If ABS-CBN and GMA7 really want to help the people make smart choices in the 2010 polls, they should do the following stop accepting TV and Radio ad placements from recognized or even rumored Presidential candidates. In fact, make it a policy not to accept money for airing TV and radio commercials that have political personalities in them.

This will really make their campaigns for Boto Mo, I-Patrol mo or whatever bullshit it is they are advertising REALLY mean

something more than a self-patronizing and self-aggrandizing play at showing everyone that they

"good" companies.

Huwag na tayong magbalat kayo at magkunwari na walang agenda ang mga news media. Halatang-halata naman eh.

Alien versus Predator: Jamby Madrigal versus Manny Villar

Monday, May 18, will be a very busy day for most Filipino reporters as the newest congressional sarsuela moro-moro makes its nth reiteration.

Perhaps millions of people will be watching the hearing on Senator Jamby Madrigal's ethics complaint against Senator Manny Villar in connection with the so-called C-5 double entry scam.

I am interested to find out if any of the evidence submitted by Jamby's lawyer last Thursday would hold up to scrutiny.

I sure hope it won't be like one of those hearings on the NBN ZTE deal where she made a big deal about a document which purportedly carried the initials of FG. She loudly asserted that the initials FG stood for First Gentleman and she seemed so convinced it was a real bomb.

Wow!

To refresh your memory, here's a snippet of a report I fished out from abs-cbnnews.com:

Negros Occidental Rep. Jose Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo made the appeal in reaction to Madrigal’s disclosure of an alleged National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) document on the NBN contract indicating that one copy went to the President’s husband Jose Miguel Arroyo.

He said the senator "maliciously" linked his brother to the contract on the basis of a "falsified document."

He said Madrigal should have first verified the authenticity of the document.

"Instead, Senator Madrigal threw caution to the wind and immediately put to question the innocence of my brother in the ZTE issue with the falsified NEDA document as basis. With the bias that Senator Madrigal has shown, there is no more reason to hope for fairness and impartiality in her participation in the probe," he said.

The document is a letter of former NEDA director general Romulo Neri to the Chinese ambassador in Manila. Madrigal’s copy shows a marginal note on the right-hand top portion stating "Copy for FG 1/F."

Madrigal said the Chinese embassy employee who received the letter, and whose name is also indicated, wrote the note on the top portion of her copy.

She asked: "Does FG mean First Goon, First Gangster or First Gentleman?"

NEDA later clarified that FG is actually FGI, the initials of its officer who was furnished a copy of Neri’s letter.

The Senate's entire reputation, it seems, is hanging on the balance here. If Jamby's accusations turn out to be true and her evidence holds up, then perhaps we will see a magnificent display of justice being done. Jamby would, perhaps, really be able to stake a claim of being a champion of truth and an enemy of corruption.

But, if the evidence fails to prove any of Jamby's charges, then perhaps this would prove to be a big embarrassment -- to say the least.

I am not certain if Senator Panfilo Lacson and Senator Jamby Madrigal are sharing the same pool of evidence. If they are, then, that would be an ominous sign for Jamby int he days ahead.

Lacson presented evidence against then Senate President Manny Villar at the Finance Committee then headed by Senator Juan Ponce Enrile last year. It was said that Lacson failed to prove his case against Villar.

So, if Jamby and Lacson are sharing the same pool of evidence, there is a chance that the charges against Villar might be dismissed a second time.

Then again, there may be people reading this blog who will say that evidence is irrelevant as the Senators participating in the committee of the whole will vote along partisan lines.

But in reality, there are not enough senators to vote for Villar's suspension or expulsion from the upper chamber. What is needed is a vote of two-thirds of the members of the Senate and that mean's sixteen senators have to agree to mete out punishment on Villar.

I did the math and came up with a possible 10 senators who will give Villar a thumbs down. The number is 10, after subtracting the members of the minority, senators who are not present in the chamber, swing voters, and senators who have inhibited themselves.

The best they'll manage, says a Senate insider who has seen so many similar hearings, is that the senate will issue a reprimand against Villar.

This may seem a cynical assertion to you, but I think all this fuss will end up like all the other hearings the Senate has had.

All fizz, no pop. All whiz, no bang.

In any case, as it is playing out right now, Villar is already being thoroughly humiliated by the allegations of corruption. And so, he is playing the pathetic underdog accused of a crime he swears he did not commit or the sorry female OFW he saved after she was made a slave in the Middle East.

And Jamby Madrigal is playing the fierce defender of the truth and fighter against corruption. Which reminds me of the time when she spoke so passionately about fighting for her inheritance, not for herself, but for the people who are depending on the continued operation of the foundation founded by her deceased aunt.

The only ones who will win in this fight are the two major TV networks who will be broadcasting the hearings live.