Ilonggos remember Puno’s two ‘mortal sins’

By Alex P. Vidal

“Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

WHILE many of his contemporaries in political infamy are already into the dustbin of oblivion, Ronaldo “Ronnie” Puno is surprisingly still very much active today in national politics.

Now 77, Puno serves as Antipolo City first district representative and deputy speaker and is one of the chief allies of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as National Unity Party (NUP) stalwart.

Ilonggos in the “roaring 1990s” can never forget (and never forgive too?) Puno, the late former President Fidel V. Ramos’ (FVR) most trusted acolyte, for his alleged notorious role in the mysterious “Sulo Hotel Operations” which denied the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, the pride of Iloilo, the presidency of the land in 1992.

We referred to the 1990s as “roaring” because it was a period characterized by restored democracy, significant natural disasters, economic policy shifts (deregulation and privatization), and a burgeoning pop culture and music scene in the Philippines.

It more particularly was an era of change among Filipinos and a unique time of cultural and technological shifts for the “Batang 90s” generation.

Santiago, then 46, lost to 64-year-old FVR allegedly via “dagdag bawas” (adding and subtracting) she denounced as “wholesale electoral fraud” operated by Puno, et al inside the hotel located in Quezon City.

That’s Puno’s “mortal sin No. 1” to Ilonggos if the allegations were true.

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Puno’s “mortal sin No. 2” to Ilonggos came 15 years later or in 2007, when as secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration, Puno “prematurely enforced” the dismissal order of the Office of the Ombudsman against then Iloilo governor Neil Tupas Sr. and board members Cecilia Capadosa and Domingo Oso Jr.

The order resulted into a violent standoff in the Iloilo provincial capitol on January 17, 2007 when Puno and then justice secretary, the late Raul Gonzalez ordered heavily armed police commandos to assault the capitol where Tupas, his family and supporters were holed up.

During its session on February 7, 2007 night, the Senate adopted the report prepared by the Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs and the Committee on Local Government stating that Puno and DILG undersecretary Wencelito Andanar should be censured for the incident.

The report said Puno and Andanar were aware of existing laws and Supreme Court jurisprudence that allow the three Iloilo officials to file an appeal.

It added: “They cannot pretend in not knowing the same. It would be tantamount to gross ignorance of the law for them not to know these landmark decisions. They know pretty well that there is still a period to appeal the said decisions and yet with haste they immediately implemented the same. Therefore, they deserve this censure.”

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The report also censured Gonzalez “for his unwarranted interference” in the investigation of the graft case against Tupas, the political rival of the justice secretary in Iloilo Province.

“As can be shown from the testimonies in the Senate hearing, the DOJ Secretary was shown to have an unwarranted interest in the case of Governor Tupas because he was even the one who announced on air from January 14 to 15, that the dismissal order against Governor Tupas was forthcoming,” the report said.

“What is even more revolting is the fact that although it is not his mandate to investigate anti-graft complaints, he assumed the investigation of these cases. And even more repulsive is his vigorous denial of his involvement.”

Then Senator Franlin Drilon, Tupas’ political allly, said the Senate investigation also determined that the Philippine National Police team that assaulted the Iloilo Provincial Capitol supposedly to implement the dismissal order against Tupas violated its own “rules of engagement” and utilized excessive force against unarmed civilians.

“It is evident that the PNP clearly did not adhere to its own Operational Procedures and Rules of Engagement as there was excessive use of force and violent enforcement of the dismissal orders for Governor Tupas as graphically captured on video and TV,” the Senate report said.

“No doubt, there was an unwarranted use of the Regional Mobile Group for Crowd Control whose members committed highly offensive acts against civilians during their assault of the provincial capitol.”

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WOMEN WITH MIGRAINES have lower breast cancer risk. Pre- and postmenopausal women who have a history of migraines have a 26 percent lower risk for breast cancer. Researchers aren’t sure what the connection is, but both migraines and breast cancer are affected by the body’s estrogen levels, says the University of Berkley Wellness Letter in New York City.

LAWS ON SEXUAL BEHAVIOR The United States has more laws governing sexual behavior than all of the European nations combined. The only legally sanctioned sexual act in the U.S. is private, heterosexual intercourse between married adults.

MENINGITIS VACCINE FOR KIDS BENEFITS THE ELDERLY, TOO. Since the meningitis vaccine was introduced in 2000 for children ages two months to two years, not only have meningitis cases declined by 64 percent among children, they also have dropped by 54 percent among people 65 and older. With fewer children spreading germs, fewer adults are getting the disease.

MIDLIFE SUICIDE MORE COMMON. Rates are increasing among men and women ages 40 to 64. The current economic malaise could be a contributing factor. Warning signs: Acting highly pessimistic, hopeless or angry, increasing alcohol or drug use, making impulsive, out-of-character decisions, getting rid of previously prized possessions, talking about wanting to die, withdrawing from friends, family and society, mood changes.

(The author, now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)