DOJ: Man-hunt out for group responsible for placing assets under Gen Ligot's name

30 MARCH 2011.  Manila, Philippines.  Former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Comptroller, Jacinto Ligot, said in a statement issued yesterday that he and his wife is requesting the National Bureau of Investigations (NBI) to form a special task force to identify the person or persons responsible for placing spurious assets under the ex-General's name.  "I do not remember having houses in the US, nor bank account in the millions.  Obviously, this is the work of persons unknown, and with the help of the NBI, their nefarious activities will come to an end," Ligot said.

The embattled General, along with other former AFP officials, have been subject of Senate inquiry on corruption in the AFP following the accusations said by whistle-blower Colonel Goerge Rabusa, who was a former military budget officer.  During the hearings of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada presented various properties in California which were purportedly under the name of the General's wife, Mrs Erlinda Ligot.  The general denied knowledge of the assets in question.

The Department of Justice, said in a statement presented to the press, that they will comply with the general's request and has already formed a task force to track down the group responsible for placing assets under the names of the general and his wife.  "We must, in all haste, find out the identities of these persons and bring them to justice.  They have already done much damage to the general, and it has got to stop," the statement said.

Taking Flight

HE HAS ALWAYS ENVIED THE GULLS their flight; soaring high on feathered wings; gliding for hours, afloat on updrafts; and diving head-on to the water-- not a care in the world. Freedom in its most sublime.

Ever since he can remember, he has always equated freedom for flight; yearning for that magic moment of weightlessness and utter abandon. He craves for it, longing for that opportune time that he would finally earn it. He could not remember a time when he did not feel grounded, shackled on by responsibilities and commitments. But there is no time for resentment, for these burdens are but natural, and harboring those feelings would only ground him even more.

Still, he dreams of flight, watching longingly as flocks streak past overhead, tracing a path on the heavens; flirting with the wind; and dancing in the air. In the deepest of his desires, he sees himself at one with the gulls, afloat on the updrafts, caressing the clouds. This is his source of pleasure. This was his source of despair.

And it is this image of the gulls that was his solitary companion while hiking the steep rocks along the water's edge. The sound of crashing waves in the distance was like a balm, washing away his fatigue as he contiues his trek onward and upward. Just a little bit more and it will all be worth it.

At last, his goal. The view of the ocean was at once too beautiful and terrible to behold, like a massive blanket of liquid saphire, glinting against the afternoon sun, it seemed to go on forever, inviting yet elusive. He tried to breathe in the briny air, ecstatic at the sound of the gulls wecoming him back to their sactuary.

Gingerly, he took off his backpack to reveal the metal canister inside. Memories instantly collided with him, fighting their way out of the recesses from which he locked them, weakening him at the knees. Reluctantly, he opened the cylinder and slowly poured out its contents, letting the wind carry them to where the fates would take it. He recites one last prayer as the last of the ash make their way heavenward. An eternity of heartbeats and unshed tears passed before he could recover.

Standing up as if to leave, he was taken aback by the sudden whisper of his name. It was faint, like something coming out of a dream, but it was there. Over and over, the voice was calling out to him, like a siren's call carried by the wind, beckoning him to come closer.

He lingered at the precipice, taking everything in; breathing it like the crisp, salty air caressing his face, blowing at his hair. Raising his arms as if to fly, he favors the cliff one last look before closing his eyes, and tipping to the brim.

And for the first time in his life, he felt what is was like to be free.

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Saint Arroyo - Princess and Pauper

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo is facing raps from the public sector clamoring for a probe on her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) amid speculations that there are irregularities in its preparation.

A report from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) said that based on her SALNs, Mrs. Arroyo’s declared net worth more than doubled from P66.8 million in 2001 to P143.54 million in 2008, or bigger than the combined growth in declared wealth of her three immediate predecessors, including former President Joseph Estrada, who was convicted for plunder.

New information, however, tells a different story. "She's bankrupt," reveals a source close to the President, who agreed to be interviewed on conditions of anonymity. "In order not to lose face in the global arena, the President has been funding various government projects using her personal assets. It was all going well until a few months ago, when the peso fell depite [President] Gloria's efforts" the source said.

The President has depleted her personal assets so much, she wasn't even able to properly celebrate her 41st wedding anniversary with First Gentleman Mike Arroyo. The First Couple had to make do with a simple dinner with close friends at restaurant in New York.

Aside from funding various government projects, the President has also commissioned profit-seeking ventures to boost the economy, "at her personal expense," reiterated the source. When asked further about these profit-seeking ventures, the source revealed that the President has ventured into treasure-hunting. "It came to the President as a blow" the source reveals further, "after she failed to find treasure in the Sierra Madre property. She was so disappointed, she immediately sold the land. Finding the Yamashita treasure would have greatly boosted our economy, she [President Arroyo] told me."

As of press time, President Arroyo was out of town for comment, apparently on another treasure hunting expedition on Ilocos Norte.