Sison can be jailed for 100 days

NDF consultant Joe Ma. Sison can be held in jail by Dutch authorities for one hundred days while they dig up further evidence to justify his arrest for murder and questionable activities in the Philippines.

I learned yesterday that he could be tried by the Dutch courts without the need of deportation to the Philippines if it can be proven that some of these acts had been ordered from the Netherlands where Sison and company had been in exile since they got pardoned by former President Corazon Aquino.

The arrest of Sison was based on the complaints of two widows - that of the late RPA-ABB leader Arturo Tabara, and former top NPA commander Romulo Kintanar.

And there are other cases for which the Dutch investigators had gone to the Philippines to verify and investigate.

But the more alarming rumors in the Metro Manila area was that the backlash of the Sison arrest could be an attempt by the Communist Party-New People's Army in the Philippines to orchestrate their offensive against the government if only to prove that they are still around and strong despite their setback with the arrest of the top communist leader.

First, there will be an attempt by the communist party and the NPA to stop the demoralization among their ranks. Second, the communist rebels may want to stress that they are still strong and around and capable of launching punitive attacks against the government.

These are speculations of possible troubles in the aftermath of Sison's arrest. They bear watching.

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The unveiling of the statue of Jaime Cardinal Sin slated in New Washington, Aklan today seems to have grow much bigger than had earlier been announced.

As a matter of fact, I had tried to get booked for Kalibo only to find out that it is more difficult now to get reservations. It seems that everybody big wants to get to Aklan.

I learned that among those going is former President Corazon Aquino and Senate President Manuel Villar. So is Antonio Cabangon Chua, president of Fortune Insurance and the founder of the Cardinal Sin Foundation.

Incidentally, that statue was commissioned to national artist Antonio Abueva. It is a giant statue, the same as that of the Christ in the Eternal Gardens.

Anyway, I learned yesterday that a host of Manila journalists are going to New Washington which has graduated into a major historical place.

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Rep. Jefferey Ferrer and Rep. John Garcia (the latter son of Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia) formed yesterday a strong movement among members of the House to review the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law.

The group of solons have reportedly been consulting recently and started questioning the repayment of amortization for CARPed lands. The way it looks the Land Bank of the Philippine may be left holding the bag insofar as payment of the amortization of some 80 percent of the agrarian reform beneficiaries had been unpaid.

Bukidnon Governor Jose Ma. Zubiri stressed that the same situation exists in his home province in Mindanao.

I wonder how these beneficiaries can pay their amortization to the government when they have failed to live up to their obligations for the past 20 years, Zubiri stressed.

Anyway, despite claims by the Task Force Mapalad and DAR secretary Nasser Pangandaman, it seems that the present Congress (the house at least is determined to carefully scrutinize how CARP has been implemented and discover the flaws that in the language of the solons, have made CARP a failure.

Expect more fireworks later on the issue.*

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