No Excuse

Inquirer Editorial
Last updated 02:04am (Mla time) 09/23/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- Haste makes waste -- and lays waste to the cause of good government. It was with apparent haste that reporters were summoned yesterday to hear Trade Secretary Peter Favila and acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera announce the latest instructions from the President: Both the ZTE deal and the Cyber Education Project have been suspended.

This is like the President saying, at 4:40 in the afternoon, she’s issued a decree ordering the sun to set later in the day. Of course, there will be a sunset, but only a fool would attribute it to the President. But the Palace obviously thinks there are plenty of fools. For only foolish minds would confuse the President’s instructions with anything substantial. What has put the ZTE deal on hold took place prior to the President’s issuing her instructions. The deal was put on hold, and remains on hold, because of a TRO issued by the Supreme Court.

Therefore it really doesn’t matter at all, what the President’s instructions are—even with regard to the Cyber Education Project, which we already predicted will be the next focus of congressional and public inquiry. So the obvious thing here is, this is a public relations move, but it does not affect basic government policy.

And we say haste lays waste to good government, because pressed on what government intended to do next, and why the administration suddenly reversed itself on two huge projects, the two secretaries were at a loss for words. Favila simply stated the President told them what to say. Devanadera, obviously less politically suave, then told the media that the ZTE deal was legally defensible; Favila then told the media that the President’s decision was triggered by “bad publicity”—see how it’s basically a PR move?

The question then becomes, will the President’s weekend attempt to take credit for an act of the Supreme Court be enough to defuse tensions? Will it be enough, for example, to maintain the brittle peace within her ruling coalition? Could it stop a potentially explosive Senate hearing on Wednesday, where former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri is due to testify under oath?

Newsbreak has put forward this version of events. The Comelec chair, its report says, approached then Neda chief Neri for “help” with the ZTE deal. Neri replied he’d take a look. Abalos, the report says, took this to mean Neri wasn’t interested, so he quickly said, “There’s 200 for you here.” Neri asked what he meant. Abalos allegedly replied, “200 million.” End of conversation.

Neri, the report says, then went to the President and told her about the offer. When Neri told her that he refused it, the President supposedly told him to forget the money but to approve the deal. Two days later, Neri was removed from the National Economic and Development Authority.

This is a version of events that requires investigation. With both Abalos and Neri scheduled to appear before the Senate, now, more than ever, the hearings should proceed.

The administration pulled out all the stops to try to deflect attention and reduce the focus on the NBN controversy, using fair means and foul. Everything and everyone—from presidential daughter Evangeline “Luli” Arroyo’s display of cattiness, to the AFP chief of staff’s blowhard statements of a destabilization plot and how martial law is a necessary tool in government’s legal arsenal, to this, the latest clumsy move by the President— have been tried.

The Senate then must ponder if it wants to be an accomplice to this effort to sweep things under the rug, or if it will pull the rug out from under the feet of some extremely nervous officials. The President said the ZTE contract would be suspended—“no ifs, ands or buts.” What there should be no ifs, ands or buts about is that the public interest requires a continuation of the Senate hearings.

The hearings themselves, after all, not only subject executive officials to much-needed public scrutiny, they also put the senators under the microscope. This can only be healthy for the body politic. This is what public accountability is all about. May we remind the President of one of her favorite expressions: “Let the chips fall where they may.”

Even at the very desk of the President of the Philippines, if necessary.

3K, 5K, 3K, Di Dapat Ipampalit sa Sampung Libong Pisong Pangako

Pahayag ng All UP Workers Union Manila kaugnay sa “PGH Centennial Bonus”

Sa diyalogo sa Direktor noong Martes, ika-17 ng Hulyo 2007, kimumpirma ni Director Alfiler na wala na nga ang bukambibig nya noon pang isang taon na P10,000.00 PGH Centennial Bonus. Sabi pa niya ay “target” lamang ang nasabing halaga kung kayat nakiusap siya na tanggapin na lang natin ang P3,000.00 “advanced” Anniversary Bonus. “Advanced” dahil ito ay para sa UP Centennial sa 2008 at inuna lamang na ipamimigay sa mga kawani ng PGH. Ito ay ayon daw sa rekomendasyon ng UP Administration at siyang hinihingan ng authority mula sa UP-Board of Regents (BOR) sa miting nito sa ika-27, ng Hulyo 2007.

Dagdag pa ni Direktor ay matatanggap din natin sa Agosto ang P5,000.00 na Merit Incentive at ang unang anim (6) na buwan na PhilHealth dividend na nasa pagitan ng P2,000.00 – P3,000.00.

Matatandaan na ang P5,000 Merit Incentive ay natatanggap na natin ng Agosto simula noong nakaraang taon ayon sa kahilingan ng Unyon upang maiwasan ang pagsilip ng DBM at COA sa karagdagang mga benepisyo na malimit ibinibigay ng UP sa huling buwan ng bawat taon. Ang PhilHealth dividend ay ibinibigay naman tuwing unang quarter ng bawat taon. Samakatuwid, ang matatanggap nating 3K, 5K, at 3K sa Agosto ay mga inadvance lamang na mga dati nang benepisyo, at walang bagong ibibigay ang PGH Administration bilang pagkilala sa mga sakripisyo at dedikasyon ng mga kawani sa pagdiriwang natin sa Sentenaryo ng ating mahal na ospital sa susunod na buwan.

Ang Unyon ay hindi kumbinsido sa mga paliwanag na ito ng Direktor kayat nagparating ito ng agarang sulat sa mga kasapi ng BOR para hilingin ang P10,000 na PGH Centennial Incentive dahil ang nasabing halaga ay nakasama na sa 2007 Internal Operating Budget ng PGH na naaprubahan na ng BOR noong ika-2 ng Mayo 2007. Mayroon ring sapat na kapangyarihan ang BOR na magbigay ng karagdagang insentibo (o anumang nais nitong ipangalan).

Kaya’t ang Unyon ay nanawagan sa lahat nating mga kasamahan na makiisa upang ipahayag ang ating pagkundina sa PGH Administration sa pangunguna ng Direktor dahil sa pagpapaasa sa atin simula pa noong ika-98 na pagdiriwang natin ng Anibersaryo ng PGH (o noong 2005) na makakatanggap tayo ng karagdagang benepisyo sa taong ito subalit kulang naman sila sa pagpupunyagi na maisakatuparan ito. Sa totoo lang, ni hindi nila nagawang humingi ng dagdag na pondo mula sa Malakanyang/DBM para sa nasabing benepisyo.

Nanawagan din tayo sa mga kasapi ng BOR para bigyang katuparan ang ating hiling na Centennial Incentive na P10,000. Naniniwala tayo na karapat-dapat tayong makatanggap ng ganitong insentibo dahil sa isandaang taon ng PGH, napatunayan natin sa Sambayanan ang mga naging kontribusyon ng ospital sa pag-unlad ng medical, nursing, pharmacy at iba pang pangkalusugang siyensiya sa ating bansa at sa pagbibigay ng direktang serbisyo.

Lumahok sa ating gagawing kilos protesta sa Huwebes, ika-26 ng Hulyo 2007 ganap na 12:00 – 1:00 ng hapon sa PGH Flagpole Area.

Pangakong P10,000 Insentibo, Isakatuparan!
Benepisyo, Ipaglaban!

Pahayag ng All U.P. Workers Union Manila Kaugnay sa “PGH Centennial Bonus”

Malinaw sa mga pangyayari na ang Alfiler Administration ay puro lamang “papogi” sa usapin ng pagpapatupad ng ipinangakong “PGH Centennial Bonus” ngunit kulang sa pagsaliksik at pagkamalikhain sa pagpapatupad ng nasabing isyu.

Noong Lunes, ika-2 ng Hulyo 2007 ay nakipagdiyalogo ang Unyon sa PGH Execom sa pangunguna ni Dr. Virgilio Novero, Deputy Director for Fiscal Services at kasalukuyang OIC ng ospital kaugnay sa napapabalitang “huwag munang asahan” ang “PGH Centennial Bonus” sa sentenaryo ng PGH sa ika-17 ng Agosto 2007. Dito kinumpirma ni Dr. Novero na sa miting ng UP-Board of Regents (UP-BOR) sa ika-27 ng Hulyo 2007 pa, naka-agenda ang isyu kaugnay nito.

Nauna pa rito, sa isang diyalogo sa Direktor at Execom noong Enero 2007 ay tiniyak nila na may pondo para sa P10,000 “PGH Centennial Bonus” na noong huling kwarto pa ng 2006 ay naipamalita na. Nababanggit din ito ni Director sa Flag Ceremony at sa mga ikot nya sa iba’t-ibang Departamento ng ospital. Mayo, 2007 dahil sa balitang ang mga nasa serbisyo lamang ng tatlo o humigit pang mga taon ang makakatanggap nito, ay humingi tayo ng paglilinaw sa PGH Personnel Division kung saan sinabi ng hepe na wala pang guidelines, at humihingi pa lang ng authority sa UP System para sa pagbibigay ng “PGH Centennial Bonus. Subalit sa ating pagfollow-up sa opisina ng University Secretary hanggang sa miting ng UP-BOR noong ika-28 ng Hunyo 2007 ay walang naka-agenda kaugnay ng paghingi ng authority sa pagbigay ng nasabing bonus.

Nitong ika-2 ng Hulyo, sinabi rin ni Dr. Domingo na mayroong outright authority ang U.P. na maaring makapagbigay ng P3,000.00 na bonus o insentibo kada empleyado kahit walang pag-otorisa ang UP-BOR.

Sa pag-aaral ng Unyon sa isyung ito, malinaw na sa kabila ng mga anunsiyo noon pang isang taon na nanggagaling mismo sa Direktor, ay ngayon lamang napag-aralan ng PGH Administrasyon ang legalidad sa nasabing “PGH Centennial Bonus” at ang kaugnay namang UP Centennial sa susunod na taon na tiyak na mayroon ding Anniversary o Centennial Bonus. Ang masama ay mukhang tinatanggap na nila na hindi makapagbigay ng P10,000.00 “PGH Centennial Bonus” at kinukundisyon tayo na tanggapin na lang ang P3,000.00 na insentibo (o anumang katawagan) kahit na mayroon nang naipangakong budget para sa P10,000.00 bawat isang kawani. Sa pagtingin ng Unyon, dahil sa 2006 pa lang ay ipinamalita na ito ng Direktor, mayroong responsibilidad ang PGH Administration na tuparin nito ang mga binitiwang salita. Nakikita din natin na nakasalalay ang kredibilidad ng administrasyon sa isyung ito na siyang magtatakda sa kooperasyon ng buong PGH Community sa susunod pang mga araw ng Alfiler Administration.

Naniniwala din tayo na karapat-dapat tayong tumanggap ng ganitong insentibo dahil sa isandaang taon ng PGH, napatunayan natin sa Sambayanan ang mga naging kontribusyon ng ospital sa pag-unlad ng medical, nursing at iba pang pangkalusugang siyensiya sa ating bansa at sa pagbibigay ng direktang serbisyo. Sa nakaraang pagkakataon din, maraming ipinangalan ang UP sa mga benepisyong gusto nitong ibigay. Kayat nasa pagkamalikhain ng Administrasyong Alfiler ang pagpapatunay sa UP Administration at UP-BOR na tayo sa PGH ay nararapat na makatanggap ng karagdagang benepisyo kaugnay sa pagdiriwang natin sa sentenaryo ng ospital, at upang maipakita nito ang pagpapahalaga sa mga kawani sa okasyong ito.

Kaya’t nananawagan tayo sa buong PGH Community na maghanda at lumahok sa mga gagawing pagkilos ng Unyon upang ilaban ang pagkakamit ng P10,000.00 na insentibo (o anumang katawagan) na pangako ni Direktor Carmelo Alfiler.

Pangakong P10,000 na “Insentibo” isakatuparan!

Benepisyo ipaglaban!

TIYAK NA ANG IMPLEMENTASYON NG UNANG RICE SUBSIDY: June 29 – simula na ng delivery

Sa darating na June 29, 2007 ay magsisimula na ang implementasyon ng 1st batch ng rice subsidy para sa mga administrative personnel ng U.P. Diliman, U.P. Manila/PGH, U.P.L.B, U.P. Open University at U.P. System. Ang sumusunod ang naging resulta ng bidding na naganap noong June 25, 2007:

(kg ng bigas)
U.P. Diliman – 40.1003 kg
U.P. Manila/PGH – 40.0561 kg
U.P.L.B. – 40.0400 kg
U.P. Open University – 40.0400 kg
U.P. System – 40.1003 kg

Sa pagpili ng bigas mas binigyan ng unyon ang mungkahi ng mga kawani na tiyakin ang kalidad ng bigas na maganda at masarap kainin. Kaya’t pinili ng unyon ang sinandomeng na may ratio na 90/10 (90% ang buo at 10% ang durog at hindi laon). Lumalabas na ang presyo ng bawat kg ng bigas ay halos P25.00 ( P1000.00 / P 25.00 = 40 kg).

Batay sa mga naunang ipinahayag ng unyon, ang naipagwagi nating P1,000.00 noong taong 2003 para sa rice subsidy ay lubhang napakababa na ng halaga kaya’t kailangang hilingin natin sa U.P. Administrasyon na itaas ito.

Ipinapaalala namin sa lahat na kung ang inyo pong nakuhang bigas ay hindi tumutugma sa sample ng bigas na hawak ng unyon ay mangyaring pakitawag kaagad sa ating opisina sa tel. no. 4043721 (direct line) o sa 5218450 loc 3951 upang mabigyan ng kaukulang aksyon.

Kaya’t patuloy ang panawagan ng All U.P. Workers Union sa lahat ng mga kawani na sa pagpapatuloy ng negosasyon, ipaglaban natin na hindi lamang 4 na sako ng bigas ang hilingin natin bawat taon kundi mas mataas pa sa P1,000.00 piso ang ibigay upang matugunan ang presyo ng isang kaban ng bigas at makapag-uwi tayo ng isang kabang bigas na mas mataas ang kalidad.

MGA KAWANI NG U.P. PATULOY NA MAGKAISA!

IPAGLABAN ANG ATING MGA KARAPATAN!

IPAGLABAN ANG MGA PANG-EKONOMIYANG PROBISYON SA ATING CNA!

IPAGTAGUMPAY ANG CERTIFICATION ELECTION!

MABUHAY TAYONG LAHAT!!!

UPDATE SA RICE SUBSIDY: Failure of Bidding Noong ika-8 ng Hunyo 2007

Nagkaroon ng failure sa bidding para sa unang rice subsidy sa taong 2007 na ginanap noong nakaraang ika-8 ng Hunyo 2007 sa SOLAIR dahil sa walang dumating na mga bidder. Kagyat din na nagskedyul ng panibagong BIDDING ang espesyal na Bidding Committee sa ika-25 ng Hunyo 2007. Inaanyayahan ang mga kawani na dumalo sa bidding na ito upang masaksihan natin ang proseso ng bidding. Kung may mga kakilala o kontak din kayong mga miller/supplier ng bigas ay anyayahan natin silang sumali.

Makipag-ugnayan lamang sa opisina ng SPMO-System. Kagyat na nakipagkonsulta ang mga opisyal ng All U.P. Workers Union sa mga kawani upang mabatid ang kanilang mga opinyon at mungkahi. Marami ang nagpahayag ng ganito, “Dapat matiyak na maganda ang kalidad ng bigas at masarap kainin kaysa habulin ang 50 kilos bawat kaban.” Dagdag pa ng ilang kawani, “Mag-uuwi nga kami ng 50 kilos na bigas, e hindi naman masarap, ang mahalaga ay masarap kainin na kahit ulaman mo lamang ng bagoong ayos na.”

Sa bidding noong Hunyo 8, itinakda ng unyon na sinandomeng rice na locally harvested, 70/30 ratio (buo at durog) at dapat hindi bababa sa 50 kilos bawat kaban. Sa kasalukuyan ay masusing pinag-aaralan ng unyon ang mga mungkahing ito katulad ng mga sumusunod: mula sa 70/30 na ratio (buo/durog) itaas ang kalidad nito at gawin itong 90/10, sinandomeng, locally harvested at hindi laon, upang matiyak na ang maiuuwi nating bigas ay maganda at masarap kainin.

Sa pagsusuri ng unyon, ang nakaraang failure sa bidding bunga ng sobrang pagtaas ng presyo ng bigas ay maiuugat natin sa napakababa na ng halaga ng P1,000.00 piso na katumbas ng isang kabang bigas na ating naipagwagi sa nakaraang collective negotiation agreement (CNA) sa UP Administration na nagsimula pa noong 2003.

Kaya’t patuloy ang panawagan ng All U.P. Workers Union sa lahat ng mga kawani na sa pagpapatuloy ng negosasyon, ipaglaban natin na hindi lamang 4 na sako ng bigas bawat taon kung hindi ay itaas pa mula sa P1,000.00 piso ang katumbas ng isang kaban ng bigas upang maiwasan na ang failure ng bidding at makatiyak tayo na ang maiuuwi nating bigas ay masarap kainin.

Samantala, tuloy-tuloy ang pamamahagi ng mga rice stub/coupon ng mga lider ng All UP Workers Union sa bawat opisina. Mag-ingat tayo baka may mga pekeng rice-stub/coupon na kumalat dahilan sa sinasabi ng kabilang unyon na nagpa-pafollow-up din daw sila na ma-relis na ang 1 kabang bigas. Kakaiba talaga ang kabilang unyon na ito.Wala man nga lang silang ginawang trabaho o pagpapagod para ito ay maibigay, ngayon gusto pa nilang angkinin na sila ang dahilan ng pamimigay ng bigas. Wala na ba silang natitirang hiya sa kanilang sarili? Peke na nga ang ilang lagda sa CE na kanilang isinumete sa BLR, ngayon pati ba naman bigas gusto pa nilang ipeke! Tigilan na ang pagkukunwari na kayo ay nakikipaglaban para sa interes ng mga kawani!

UP Unions Oppose Privatization of Gov't Services: Government employees face mass lay-off

Two employees unions of the University of the Philippines in a joint statement expressed their opposition to the latest plan to accelerate the privatization of government services which, they said, makes government employees the sacrificial lambs in the government's inability to raise sufficient revenues and to curtail public spending.

BY LYN V. RAMO
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat.com

BAGUIO CITY. Two employees unions of the University of the Philippines in a joint statement expressed their opposition to the latest plan to accelerate the privatization of government services which, they said, makes government employees the sacrificial lambs in the government's inability to raise sufficient revenues and to curtail public spending.

The All UP Workers Union (AUPWU) and the All UP Academic Employees Union (AUPAEU) said that "payback time is here and the immediate potential victims are government employees," referring to the alleged misuse of government funds to buy votes to ensure a fresh mandate for the Arroyo administration.

Clodualdo Cabrera and Judy Taguiwalo, presidents of the AUPWU and AUPAEU, respectively, also assailed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for not effecting substantial benefits to government employees. Both mentioned that "as government employees, we have not received any salary increase under the Macapagal-Arroyo administration." On the other hand, they said, government employees have been subjected to increases in direct and indirect tax impositions by the government.

While the Arroyo administration went on spending taxpayer money during the elections, even before the official canvassing of votes for the President and the Vice-President started, a US-based investment bank and research firm Bear, Stearns and Co, Inc. has recommended the retrenchment of a substantial number of public employees in order to reduce government spending.

On June 2, the said unions observed, the Civil Service Commission's Karina David announced a rationalization scheme that would reduce the government workforce by as much as 30%. David reportedly agreed with the other multilateral institutions and investment banks that the planned cut in the number of government employees would result in savings for the government.

The joint statement also mentioned that "government deficit cannot be attributed to a 1.4 million government workforce for a population of over 80 million people." It said that various groups have, time and again, pointed out that the government deficit is principally a function of government's faithful adherence to liberalization and deregulation.

These policies have reportedly reduced government income from import tariffs. Besides, the automatic appropriations for debt payments eat up 29-40% of the government budget. "Patronage and corruption also account for the deficit," Cabrera and Taguiwalo said.

They said that the timing of the two news reports is but another proof that policies affecting our jobs as Filipinos and as government workers are formulated in Washington DC and in New York, both in the USA, as they likewise condemned the continuing subservience of the Arroyo administration and the Civil Service Commission to the dictates of multilateral agencies and other foreign firms such as the Bear, Stearns and Co., Inc. Bulatlat.com

ANALYSIS: 'Hand of Steel' of State Terrorism

By Amando Doronila
Inquirer
Last updated 02:36am (Manila time) 01/24/2007
Published on page A11 of the January 24, 2007 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

(Concluded from Monday)

A DAY AFTER police commandos stormed the Iloilo Provincial Capitol to evict Gov. Niel Tupas Sr., President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo commended the Marines for the slaying of Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Solaiman. She also told the convention of the League of Cities of the Philippines at the Manila Hotel that her administration was determined "to finish the job" of crushing Abu Sayyaf terrorism with a "hand of steel."

On Wednesday, the day of the raid, the government unsheathed the "hand of steel" at the Iloilo Capitol not against terrorists but against a hapless group of Tupas' supporters assembled in the capitol.

The assault sent out two menacing messages that shocked the nation: first, the "hand of steel" policy was not reserved exclusively for the Abu Sayyaf and extended to the regime's political opponents; second, it demonstrated in full that state terrorism has become an instrumentof the regime to crush not only the Abu Sayyaf and the long-running communist insurgency but also any form of legal opposition.

To appreciate the full extent of the application of the doctrine of state terrorism in Iloilo, it should be emphasized that the 200-strong, overwhelmingly armed police task force assaulted not a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf but the capitol to serve a dismissal order from the Office of the Ombudsman on Tupas and other provincial officials.

The raiders, using sophisticated automatic weapons, imagined they were mounting an assault on a band of terrorists holding hostages. But there was no such thing in the capitol to justify the excessive show of force. The assault was reminiscent of the Kempetai atrocities as they launched their nocturnal raids on civilian homes during the Japanese occupation.

The Iloilo assault has left a nightmarish scenario of state terrorism coming into full play during the past two years, driven by the administration' s campaign to eradicate the communist insurgency by the end of the President's term and characterized by the immensely huge toll of extrajudicial killings of suspected leftists and journalists. (The International Federation of Journalists recently reported thatthe Philippines became the second deadliest country for journalists, next to Iraq, in 2006. Thirteen Filipino journalists died during the year, bringing to 49 the number murdered by unknown assailants since Ms Arroyo took office in 2001.)

The TV footage of the Iloilo raid vividly portrays the atrocity of state-sponsored violence and foreshadows the atmosphere of violence in the forthcoming midterm elections where rivalry for congressional seats and local offices is expected to be overheated.

A replay of the footage in town plazas across the country should arouse alarm over the administration' s state terrorism doctrine and the dangers facing Philippine democracy if this is not stopped by an electoral defeat for the government in the May election. That footage is a powerful counter-weapon that does not cost much compared to the pork barrel the government is prepared to splurge.

The footage shows a 65-member strike force of the 6th Regional MobileGroup from Negros Occidental leading a 200-strong police force in the storming of the capitol. The troops smashed locks at the main gate and a glass door to gain entry into the building. The troops, in anti-riot gear, were armed with automatic rifles and machine guns and had their fingers on the trigger. They dispersed a few hundred supporters ofTupas gathered at the capitol entrance. Niel Jr., Tupas' son and amember of the provincial board, suffered bruises after the police pushed and kicked him.

Local journalists said policemen pointed M-16 rifles at them. The police crashed in after Tupas refused to obey orders from theDepartment of Interior and Local Government implementing the decision of the Ombudsman dismissing him on charges of graft and corruption.

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno ordered the police assault after Tupas ignored Puno's ultimatum to step down in 48 hours to make way for Vice Gov. Roberto Armada. A timely temporary restraining order from the Court of Appeals in Cebu stopped the raid and the arrest of Tupas.

The danger from the administration' s doctrine of state terrorism is far from over. The reaction of the Arroyo administration to the raid aggravated the episode and revealed the dangerous mentality behind the doctrine. Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez criticized Chair Purificacion Quisumbing of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) forsaying she was shocked to see heavily armed policemen breaking into the capitol. Gonzalez derided the CHR chair for condemning the raid even though she was "not on the scene and has no basis for making such statements."

Gonzalez said Puno ordered the troops to storm the capitol after receiving information that released prisoners, armed men and NewPeople's Army rebels were inside the capitol. But Senior Supt. Pedro Merced, 6th Regional Mobile Group commander, belied Gonzalez's claims, saying that "when we entered we were surprised that there were no armed men."

Puno infuriated many when he defended the police, saying, "They should not be condemned. They should even be commended." He declared the assault a success "in general," and added, "I did not see any deployment of unnecessary forces. There were no serious injuries. No shots were fired."

Maybe Puno switched off the TV when the raid was under way. But words like these produce a widespread public backlash.