MANILA, Philippines  President Aquino approved yesterday the promotion of 15 generals of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on recommendation of Interior and Local Government Secretary and National Police Commission chairman Jesse Robredo and PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo.

In a simple ceremonies at the PNP Multi-Purpose yesterday, Bacalzo also administered the oath of office to SAF chief Director Catalino Cuy, whose new rank is equivalent to a military Major General.

The new police generals with the ranks of chief superintendents are Lester Camba of SOCSARGEN Region; Jose Jorge Corpuz (Eta’77) of Southern Mindanao; Valiant de Guzman of Central Luzon; Victor Deona of Bicol Region; Jesus Gordon Descanzo (Delta’75), of DIPO Northern Luzon; Roman Felix of Ilocos-Pangasinan Region; Vicente Loot of Eastern VIsayas; and Manuel Piera of Cagayan Valley Region.

Other new generals are Chief Superintendents Elmer Soria of Cordillera; Catalino Rodriguez Jr. of Northern Mindanao; Francisco Uyami of DIPO Southern Luzon; Noel Lazarus Vargas of Civil Security Group; Mario Yanga of Western Mindanao and Samuel Yordan of Central Visayas.

Bacalzo reminded the generals to continue working for the good of the police organization and help in regaining the trust and confidence of the public.

As posted on Philippine Star.

The tragedy that was the 2010 Bar Exams Bombing spawned another tragedy which directly affected Alpha Phi Omega as an organization: the tragedy of a Secretary of Justice pinpointing APO as the perpetrator of the dastardly deed even before all angles of the incident has been exhaustively investigated and intelligently discarded. It was, after all, Sherlock Holmes who said, in the “Sign of the Four” that “when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” To further cast calumny on Alpha Phi Omega, the Secretary of Justice questionably blamed Alpha Phi Omega as the perpetrator of two other grenade attacks in Metro Manila and, thereafter, directed the NBI to find the evidence to sustain her determination. This is not justice nor even a parody of justice but a clear case of pseudo-bill of attainder where membership to APO automatically makes one a suspect. The Secretary of Justice makes a mockery of the Blackstonian formulation that “better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.” This is the reason for the call:

JUSTICE FOR ALPHA PHI OMEGA

The tragedy of blaming Alpha Phi Omega for the incident has spawned a much greater tragedy: that the true perpetrators of the 2010 Bar Exams Grenade Attack will go scot-free, never to face the bar of justice. As the State’s resources are expended on a clearly unjust prosecution, the trail leading to the true architects of the crime becomes obfuscated while the memories of the witnesses, defective as these naturally are, become even more defective as these are diluted by misidentifications of the clearly innocent. And as the trail grows cold and memories fade, the offenders escape unscathed even by the vexations of accusation and prosecution. In the end, therefore, the victims are the true losers which is the reason for the cry:

JUSTICE TO THE BAR BLAST VICTIMS

The greatest injustice of all is that the agency which is tasked by law to determine probable cause makes an accusation before gathering evidence to support the indictment. To make matters worse, the Secretary of Justice publicly denounces Alpha Phi Omega, forgetting her duties, both as THE Secretary of Justice, a FORMER Chair of the Commission on Human Rights, and, most importantly, as a lawyer trained in the intricacies of the law, that the pantheon upon which all rights proceed is that: “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.” Equally forgotten is the premier legal presumption of all, which applies in all instances and in all cases that “a person is presumed to be innocent of crime or wrong.” When these rights and presumption are forsaken for the sake of expediency, then we revert to the tyranny of old where the fate of all persons are determined, not by law, but by the will of the individual who rules over his fellowmen. Thus, we plead for –

JUSTICE FOR ALL

As our brothers “streak through storied history,” never before has an issue directly affected the Fraternity as the present witchhunt. Never before has the spirit of defiance and freedom been more apropos than at present where the strong arm of the State has once more been heavily laid

Vice President Jejomar C. Binay ‘60, Aurora Governor Bellaflor J. Angara-Castillo (KPO), and Pangasinan Provincial Board Member Mojamito R. Libunao ’59 are among the 155 brothers and sisters of APO who won in the May 2010 elections.

“Over-all the Dinner was a great testament that our fraternal organization had entered a higher level,” said APO National President Magleo V. Adriano ’69.

It was a record for APO in terms of the number of APOs gathered in a single non-biennial event. Adriano said that more than 1,000 brothers and sisters attended the historic event honoring Binay and others winners for senator, congressman, governors/vice-governors, mayors/vice-mayor, provincial board members,  and councilors.

MANILA, Philippines — How did Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay do it? Against what seemed like formidable odds, he emerged the winner of the vice presidential election?

The man himself invokes preparedness and destiny, plus a number of other factors involving his opponents: The complacency of the consistent survey front-runner Sen. Manuel Roxas II and the diminished ratings of Sen. Loren Legarda. And there were Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero’s endorsement, the pro-poor brand of his party standard-bearer Joseph Estrada, and the efforts of his fraternity brothers and sisters, his city’s sister cities, towns and provinces, and his fellow senior citizens.

In his initial news conferences after the voting machines started transmitting election results that showed him leading Roxas by hundreds of thousands of votes, Binay said he knew that he would be No. 1 despite the fact that his ratings were in the low single digits when the campaign began.

“Before God and before men, I will tell you that I knew I was going to win,” he told reporters in his 21st floor perch at Makati City Hall.

Read books
Originally a presidential aspirant himself, Binay claimed to have studied and prepared for the task, and to have run one of the most organized, if not the most organized, national campaign from February to May.

“I read six or seven books on the making of the American president,” he said.
In the process of narrating what he had learned, Binay cited former US President Jimmy Carter’s experience in seeking help from Georgia businessmen.

But he stopped short, thinking that he might be giving away too much. “Teka muna (Wait), that’s my trade secret,” he said, laughing.

222 sister LGUs
Binay, 68, began traveling to various points in the country late in 2007, according to his media relations officer Joey Salgado.

The trips were made at a faster clip in 2009 when local government units invited Makati to be a sister LGU and hosted the mayor for ceremonies in cities, towns and provinces.
When Binay attended the ceremonies, he took the occasion to visit other LGUs in the area, Salgado said, adding that Makati had “sister relations” with 222 local governments.
Sister cities share technologies and innovations in governance with one another. In Makati’s case, it shares its know-how in the computerization of government services. (Binay said that with its billion-peso revenues, Makati even shared resources with needy LGUs.)

“I mingled with the local governments,” Binay said. “This is my line of competency. I speak the language of mayors and governors. I can tell them the problems and what I did with the projects, so that we can take pride in saying, ‘These were successful projects.’”
Binay said that even if only half of Makati’s sister LGUs backed his campaign, that already meant millions of votes.

But he claimed that whatever political advantage he gained from the partnerships with LGUs was only incidental: “That was only an offshoot … I hope you would believe me when I tell you that with all the blessings that we received from the Lord, it was only right that we help needy local governments.”

Troubleshooting
Chiz Escudero’s role in Binay’s campaign was not confined to his TV ad endorsing the mayor as his vice presidential candidate, according to an insider who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Escudero camp intensified its involvement in the latter part of the campaign, when it realized that Binay’s ratings were not moving despite his network of local officials.

“The network was not being translated into voter preference,” the insider said. Per the insider’s account, this was how the troubleshooting went:

Taking advantage of the fact that Roxas and his people were not coordinating with local government officials, the Escudero camp began calling these officials as well as members of the House of Representatives to push Binay.

“The governors were the key … They were told, ‘Do you expect Mar to help you? He’s not even talking to you,’” the insider said.

The monetary support that was released in the latter part of the campaign, which appeared to result in Binay’s surge that culminated in a 0.2-percentage-point lead over Roxas in the last week, was not that considerable.

The important thing was the promise made—that help would come in the form of an increased share in the internal revenue allotment, or the LGUs’ share in the taxes they collected from their jurisdictions.

‘True volunteerism’
Binay said he had his brothers and sisters in the Alpha Phi Omega to thank for his victory. “The others have persons who campaign for them. I call those payroll loyalties. In my case, my brods’ loyalty is true volunteerism. We are 120,000 in our frat. And we have from governors down to barangay officials to start with,” he said.

Jokingly, he said it was some kind of “payback” after hurdling the rigors of fraternity initiation.

After his proclamation as Vice President-elect on Wednesday, Binay waived a news conference at the House that was supposed to be held after that of President-elect Benigno Aquino III, and chose to meet with his frat brothers and sisters who gathered at the lobby of the building.

Senior citizens
Binay also credited part of his victory to the support of senior citizens who, he said, had influence on some three persons in their family.

“This one, [my opponents] failed to [tap],” he said. “Senior citizens [number] six to seven million. I am a senior citizen; I can talk in the language of senior citizens.”

He added that Makati—which provides social services, even free movies, to the elderly—was the mecca of senior citizens in the country.

That he was Estrada’s running mate also helped, Binay said, dismissing talk that his camp had junked the ousted President.

“On the issue of helping the poor, our rivals were just talking about how to do it,” he said. “President Erap and I have already done it. President Erap was a mayor of San Juan and he was a model mayor of San Juan during his time.”

‘Caught napping’
Binay agreed with observations that after dominating the pre-election surveys for the most part of the campaign period, the Roxas camp became complacent.

“In the words of Sen. Serge Osmeña, they were caught napping,” he said. “In a way that is true because if you would look at the trend of the elections, [you would see that] they only focused on their own region.”

Legarda’s sudden decline in the surveys also benefited him, Binay said. But he said he had also managed to cut into Roxas’ ratings, which dwindled from the high 50s in the beginnings to just 37 percentage points a week before Election Day.

Binay actually led Roxas by 0.2 points—37.2 to Roxas’ 37—in Pulse Asia’s last survey before the elections. By then Escudero had endorsed “NoyBi” (Aquino and Binay).

Repositioning
A repositioning of forces at the end of a campaign is nothing new, according to Binay.
“Those are the realities of politics,” he said. “It’s not just the Liberal Party that experienced it.”

The Nacionalista Party’s Manuel Villar, the administration’s Gilbert Teodoro—“all of them experienced somersaulting, positioning,” Binay said. “And usually, the somersaulting happens when the supporters of an already losing candidate go with the one who’s winning.”

Looking back, Binay said destiny played a huge part in his political career.
“It just so happened that I was beside Nene (then Interior Secretary Aquilino Pimentel Jr.) and I was appointed mayor [of Makati],” he said.

More than 20 years after that appointment by then President Corazon Aquino, Binay is now the Vice President-elect.

“The one who they said wouldn’t win was the one who won. Destiny … it happens,” Binay said.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100611-274985/How-Binay-did-it-Chiz-Mar-seniors-frat-brods

Brods/Sis, The anniversary ball was a success! Seeing brothers and sisters gathered even just for a night, brought chills to me, being the Grand Chancellor. It was fun to see brothers exchange stories, as well as contact numbers. At first, most brothers were hesitant to dance on the floor but a few bottles of beer and wine made almost everyone look for partners or join the line dance.  It really was a night I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Congratulations to everyone especially the committee Chair Brod Q Pastrana and Sis Rosie de Ocampo, Awards Committee Head Brod Chato Mariñas, with the support of our hardworking President Manny Clarino and all other committee members. Congratulations as well to our Order of Lafayette Awardee Brod PNP Chief Gen. Jess Verzosa and the set of Oblation Awardees. You truly made us proud to be APO-ETA!

Allow me also to thank the following for their generosity of sponsoring the resident brods and sis:

1. Jun Rivera $40 – thru Brod Frony  Balderama
2. Bernie Castillo $200 – thru brod Edmund Zamora
3. Frony Balderama $100
4. Freddie Cabling – 2 brothers
5. Boysie Brill – 1 brother (thru brod Freddie Cabling)
6. Dan Vargas $100
7. Alex Tamayo, Lito Quiray, Chito Sarrol, Ted Topacio, Tito Mayor, Ding Viray – 14,000 pesos (thru Brod Tito Mayor– turned over to President Manny Clarino)
8. Willie Vinegas – 4, 000 pesos turned over to Brod Manny Clarino

Our gratitude also goes to Brod Major General Jojie Segovia, Sis Pia, Brod Koreeks, and Mamasal for purchasing some artworks for the benefit of the resident brods. A part of the proceeds will go to the artist and another part will go to the resident fund and be used for Brod Ronald “PAPSI” Baccay’s candidacy for University Student Council Elections on February 24. He is running for Councilor and we are currently campaigning for him.

Finally, our gratitude and appreciation to brothers and sisters from Northern California who donated 24,000 pesos for our projects thru Brod Aris Corpuz. You may not be here with us during the fraternity ball but certainly you were present in spirit and definitely are in our hearts and minds.

ETA for EXCELLENCE!
See you next year!

Fritz G. Sapon
Grand Chancellor

My apologies in advance if I forgot to mention some names especially with the donors and artworks’ buyers. Please feel free to correct me. Thank you as well Brod Danny Basobas for allowing us to ride in your car (`though we got lost) and Brod Frony Balderama for lending us your access database (I hope you had a good time here and wish you a safe trip back to the US)

Upon the personal request of Brod Jess Versoza, APO Phils., headed by NP Mel Adriano, co-hosted the historical event. The venue inside the Q.C. campus was chosen to show the nation that there exist support for the PNP in the middle of the seat of student activism. Besides, the CPNP stayed in the dorm across the street, Molave Residences, during his freshman years in the University. Brod Mel Adriano also affirmed that APO Phils will support the noble endeavors of the Foundation.

The official Foundation Logo was unveiled during the ceremony with Php 50,000.00 being awarded to the winning artist. Several recipients of the Foundation’s help also made their emotional testimonials. After the short program, the crowd was entertained by Brod John Lesaca that showed his prowess in making beautiful music with his electric violin.

Chief PNP Police Director Jesus A. Versoza (Eta) during his speech.

Some of the brothers who attended the ceremonies, from left Atty. Rico Lainez, John Lesaca (Eta), Mel Gaddi, Jimmy De Castro (Beta), Romy Munda.

IPNP Jimmy de Castro (Beta) and NP Mel Adriano (Eta) in their discussion on the visions and purposes of the Foundation with brod CPNP Versoza (Eta).

Lighter moments with the Chief PNP, from left Ricky Curato, Dennis Parayno, Mel Adriano, the Chief, Jimmy de Castro, Rico Lainez and John Lesaca. Taking the Picture was NED Tito Garcia.

Thus did Brod Maximilio “Mel” S. Gonzales, Jr., Eta ’73D-Zodiac say in an email sent to all brothers and sisters in Alpha Phi Omega after he received the prestigious National Alumni Distinguished Service Key (DSK) Award, the highest honors handed by APO-USA to a brother in Alpha Phi Omega.  

Said award was given to Gonzales during the Fellowship Banguet of the APO-USA 40th Biennial Convention held last December 28, 2008 in Boston.

The National Alumni Distinguished Service Award recognizes those alumni who have continued to further the principles of Leadership, Friendship, and Service beyond their college years in Exceptional ways. The key is given in recognition to alumni for outstanding service to the community, not just to the fraternity.

DSK Award is no new to Etans in the United States. In 2003, Brod Bernie Y. Castillo, Eta ’70, also received an award from APO-USA but the Distinguished Service Key (DSK) Award. He received the APO National Service Fraternity Regional Service Award in 1977. 

APO-Philippines national president Magleo “Mel” V. Adriano, Eta ’69, congratulated Gonzales on his well-deserved honors.

“You brought honor and prestige not only to yourself but to the whole APO Philippines,” Adriano said.

Gonzales is at the forefront of the Dr. Librado I. Ureta Foundation that envisions to put up the Dr. Librado I. Ureta Center for Alpha Phi Omega. He also handled key positions in APO Philippines in the past.

“It was all too much for the humbled me. Much is expected of one given much,” said Mel Gonzales.

On December 8, let us all meet at Tropezz at the Greenbelt at 7 pm. We will gather first at the bar room which is right at the entrance then at the main room to listen to none other other than the GREENHOUSE Band at 9:00 pm. That is right, our band will be playing. We have made the necessary arrangements so that we will gather as one in one place, henceforth.

On December 11, we will be hosting golf at the Sunvalley Golf and Country Club for the National Council.

On December 12, the residents will be holding the Great Oblation Run at 12nn. There is going to be a fellowhip thereafter at the Bonsai Garden. it is going to be fun all the way. Finally,

On December 16, let us all join the National Council in celebrating our anniversary at the Makati Coliseum at 5 pm.

So, see you all!

In behalf of the APO Golf Federation, we would like to inform all those who will be joining the THE OBLATION RUN – DAD CLAMOR MEMORIAL CUP that instead of December 9, the tourney is re-scheduled to December 11, 2008, Thursday.

Same venue, Sun Valley Golf Club, Antipolo. Same tee-off time. We had to change the date, due to a sudden conflict of schedule.

We humbly request all APO golfers to participate. Bring along your family, friends and business associates. As in the past, proceeds will go to one of our major service projects, Gawad Kalinga.

We apologize for the inconvenience of the change of date. We hope you will always be there to support us, just like in the past tournaments. May I request that this announcement be posted in all APO egroups.

Maraming salamat,

Brod Tito