US cable says Philippines' Aquino 'diffident'

[Monseratto]

Heherher...

Besides being a Mama's boy and an underachiever...

Philippine president Benigno Aquino was described by the former United States' envoy as "diffident and unassertive", secret cables published by anti-secrecy website Wikileaks reveal.

US ambassador to Manila Kristie Kenney filed the series of unflattering cables after then senator Aquino had declared his presidential candidacy and during the election campaign, the website said.

"Previous contacts with Senator Aquino, [size=2]often accompanying his mother[/size]... left the impression of a diffident, unassertive man continuing a political tradition handed on by his parents but not carving his own legacy," said Kenney.

Wikileaks said the dispatch was made after the son of the late democracy icon and former president Corazon Aquino called on the US envoy at her home in January 2010.

"Senator Aquino's confident, energetic announcement today was a stark contrast his diffident performance last week," she wrote after Aquino announced his candidacy in September 2009.

"It remains unclear whether Aquino can turn his shy, reserved qualities into strengths," she said.

The cables suggested Kenney, who ended her Philippine posting last year, remained unimpressed to the end.

"Unlike other major presidential candidates... Aquino was vague on specific policies he would pursue if he won office," she said of the meeting at her home.

She conceded: "Aquino may be perceived as having had a lacklustre political career, but he also appears to have a relatively clean record with no baggage of scandals, which could be a distinct advantage."

Responding to the revelations presidential spokesman Ricky Carandang [size=2]suggested[/size] Kenney had sided with the incumbent leader's predecessor Gloria Arroyo.

"We normally don't comment on purportedly leaked cables but it's quite consistent with talk that went on in the diplomatic community at the time that Ambassador Kenney had been co-opted by the Arroyo regime," he told AFP.

[niwde11]

i am sorry mr. carandang. the former ambassador ay nagsasabi lang ng kanyang naoobserbahan. wala naman ako nakikitang mali sa sinabi nya. ganun talaga si PNoy. kahit di pa si GMA ang nakaupo ganun pa rin sya.

[Monseratto]

I think those idiots in Malacanang should not add anymore sarcasm into their remarks. Halatang si bebot Carandang didn't learn anything from his encounter in Congress....

Supposed "cables" also gave an unsavory view for Fat Bastard and girl Minimi ...

Arroyo knew husband involved in syndicates, US cable says | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features

Arroyo knew husband involved in syndicates, US cable says

MANILA, Philippines – Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo knew of her husband's "heavy involvement" in smuggling and illegal gambling syndicates but refused to stop him because he got her elected as President, a US embassy cable published Friday by whistleblower group WikiLeaks alleges.

Some of the Philippines' top business leaders raised the issue before American government officials in 2005 as they feared for the worst for the country, according to cable 05MANILA2670, classified "Confidential" by US embassy Economic Counselor Robert Ludan and sent by then US Chargé d'Affaires Joseph Mussomeli.

Washington Sycip, a founding partner of accounting giant SGV, told US officials that then First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo "is heavily involved in the illegal gambling or 'jueteng' networks and closely connected with major smuggling syndicates," according to the embassy memo.

"President Arroyo, according to Sycip, is aware of her husband's misdeeds, but she is unwilling to do anything to curb his activities because he was instrumental in marshaling campaign donations and is now keeping those supporters in line to help her maintain her grip on power," it added.

Cabinet officials were also caught in a bind. Many of their subordinates--Arroyo loyalists who were placed in key government positions--reported directly to the First Gentleman, bypassing chains of command, the cable revealed.

The memo also cited reports claiming that the President's son, Congressman Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, "is involved in jueteng racketeering."

Sycip, described as a "long-time US embassy contact," saw the former First Gentleman "as one of the worst offenders, with a reputation for corruption seeping down to all levels of society and eroding PGMA's political standing," the cable said.

The memo, again quoting Sycip, said Mike Arroyo's behavior damaged the credibility of the government and affected his wife's ability to crack down on corruption.

The SGV founding partner became "increasingly pessimistic, claiming privately that corruption [under the Arroyo administration was] at its worst, surpassing even the Marcos era."

Sycip said the President also rarely followed the advice given by a special group, of which he was a member, regarding complaints about corruption in her administration.

"President Arroyo is more concerned about her ability to stay in office than developing a strategic approach to policy making, he critiqued," the cable added.

No confidence in Arroyo government

Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FFCCCI) President Francis Chua echoed Sycip's allegations of the then First Gentleman's involvement in syndicates, according to the June 9, 2005 memo.

Chua described Mike Arroyo as "a major problem with respect to corruption, pointing to his links to 'jueteng' and the many politicians and local officials involved in the illegal gambling racket."

Chua added that the Chinese-Filipino community was losing confidence in the government, in particular the courts.

"The FFCCCI maintains an internal settlement process to resolve disputes among member companies because members have so little trust in the court system. This process is being used more frequently now as an increasing number of FFCCCI members see the courts as unreliable and unpredictable because of corruption," the cable said.

"According to [Chua], the Chinese-Filipino business community encounters corruption on a regular basis in the tax bureau, customs, and other government functions... Corruption, he said, is increasingly undermining the ability of companies to operate efficiently in the RP...According to Chua, almost no business people believe the GRP's claims that its efforts are achieving results," it added.

"Chua said this corruption ... does make it more and more difficult to sustain economic growth," the cable said. "Capital flight is not yet a problem... [but] many of their investments are scaled back, however, from what they would be in a clean market."

US embassy officials also heard similar complaints from then Makati Business Club Director Bill Luz.

"Luz said that people should watch the rumors swirling around the first family carefully," the cable said.

"Regarding Mike Arroyo's involvement, Luz said he senses that the allegations will continue and sooner or later someone will come forward with clear evidence of wrongdoing," it added.

Another cable, 05MANILA2359, had also linked the husband and son of Arroyo to illegal gambling syndicates.

The memo, dated May 23, 2005, said all that it would take then to oust Arroyo from power then was "for one credible witness--like Governor Chavit Singsong [sic] in the Estrada case--to go public."

"However, there is little enthusiasm for a new impeachment process that could constitutionally bump up Vice President Noli De Castro as President, despite a fairly widespread belief in elite circles that the Arroyos are indeed directly linked to jueteng payoffs," it added.

"The likelihood either of stamping out or legalizing jueteng remains low; too many powerful people benefit," said the embassy cable also sent Mussomeli.

In earlier statements to media, the former First Gentleman and his son, Mikey, have denied all allegations of wrongdoing during the previous administration.

Business leaders quoted by the embassy cables, meanwhile, have yet to confirm the confidential statements made public by WikiLeaks.

[Monseratto]

Gusto na ata patulan ng kongreso itong mga Wikileaks...Unfair daw tawagin "diffident" or Mahiyain si PNoy. I guess they'll want to subpoena current US Ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney and all the US Embassy Officials. Gudluck to them.

Hmm...someone wanted the CBCP to "back off" Girl Minimi, and it wasn't Fat Bastard.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/-depth/09...royo-wikileaks

Vatican pressured CBCP to back off Arroyo: WikiLeaks

MANILA, Philippines - The Vatican pressured the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) not to support protests calling for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2005, a US embassy cable released by anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks revealed.

Confidential cable 05VATICAN500 said Monsignor Luis Montemayor, Holy See Country Director for the Philippines, said through the Holy See's Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Antonio Franco, the Vatican pressured the CBCP to remain neutral in the "Hello Garci" scandal in 2005.

"He told us that although the Vatican's preferences on the matter had never been a secret, Franco had for the first time on July 9 explained in no uncertain terms to the CBCP that the Vatican did not support popular uprisings as a method to remove a government," said the July 15, 2007 cable sent by Brent Hardt, then deputy chief of mission and charge d’affaires of the US Embassy to the Holy See.

Hardt quoted Montemayor as saying, "We put a lot of pressure on the bishops" not to support the protests calling for the president's resignation.

The Holy See Country Director for the Philippines also added that the Vatican "insisted that the bishops distinguish between pastoral care and political involvement," the cable said.

"Montemayor, a former Department IVP recipient who has covered the Philippines since 2001, emphasized that he had always opposed Catholic clergy's involvement in popular uprisings against the government," the cable said.

Sin was 'obstacle' to Vatican?

Montemayor described the late Jaime Cardinal Sin as "a major obstacle," according to the memo.

"We didn't see eye to eye on the issue [of political involvement by the clergy]... Sin felt it was his moral responsibility towards the people to intervene," he told Hardt.

The late prelate affected the Holy See's influence over the bishops, but the CBCP began "hearing the Vatican's message" after he died, Montemayor reportedly told the US embassy official.

Hardt said Montemayor's comments jibed with US analysis. "[W]ith the death of Cardinal Sin, the current bishops are more amenable to instruction from the Vatican," he added.

A separate confidential cable sent July 12, 2005, by Joseph Mussomeli, then deputy chief of mission and charge d'affaires at the US Embassy in Manila, said the death of Cardinal Sin saw the CBCP move seems to be moving towards pastoral matters instead of socio-political issues.

"Cardinal Sin, who retired from office in 2003 and died on June 21 (ref E), was very much an activist in the political sphere: he played a key role in the anti-Marcos movement in the 1980s, endorsed and denounced candidates for political office, made declarations on political issues, etc.," the cable said.

"Although Sin was close to John Paul II, especially on doctrinal matters, the Vatican was not fully comfortable with his political activities, according to contacts," it added. The Church at this point seems to be in a phase of "Sin-fatigue" and -- based on its July 10 statement -- seems very much open to advice from the Vatican on the need to keep out of politics in a direct way."

The cable said Mussomeli had looked into reports that Franco scolded the bishops during their plenary assembly, which resulted in a pastoral statement dated July 9 that did not call for Arroyo's resignation

[vinj]

Gusto na ata patulan ng kongreso itong mga Wikileaks...Unfair daw tawagin "diffident" or Mahiyain si PNoy.

I'll bet the first thing they did after reading the cable was to ask one of their lackeys to research on what the hell does "diffident" mean.

[uls]

totoo naman sinabi ni Kenney re Aquino

the man is no alpha male

[shadow]

I'll bet the first thing they did after reading the cable was to ask one of their lackeys to research on what the hell does "diffident" mean.

ano nga pala ibig sabihin ng diffident? lalim di ko ma dig!

[xninjax]

"diffident" is number 2 on yahoo philippines search trending..

Di lang tayo nag-iisa na nagsearch..:D

[Monseratto]

Diffident= mahiyain

–adjective
1. lacking confidence in one's own ability, worth, or fitness; timid; shy.
2. restrained or reserved in manner, conduct, etc.

hesitant in acting or speaking through lack of self-confidence

[shadow]

or shy bec lack of confidence.