Alfredo Lim Is Not A Real EDSA1 Hero

Alfredo Lim has been consistently receiving accolades and admiration for the role he played during the famed EDSA 1. The mayor of Manila, who is running for reelection, has been stating false claims and wrong representation to solidify his image as a real EDSA 1 hero.Mayor Lim has enjoyed tremendous success in doing so as evident in the current status of his political career.However, as he succeeds in building up his reputation, he also continues to make misrepresentation of the facts.

Recorded events of old Manila watch will tell us exactly the opposite of what Alfredo Lim has been telling us. The mayor of Manila has been furnishing his image for cheap politics at the expense of another great unknown EDSA hero in Col. Jose H. Dawis. Dawis acted as the Chief of Police of Quezon City during EDSA 1 under the control of the then General Lim.Dawis is witness to how the former general acted during the height of EDSA1. However, his account of Lim's participation in EDSA1 is yet to be told and is often misrepresented.

Colonel Dawis witnessed how General Lim acted like a coward during the height of demonstrations and protests. As Commanding General, Lim was not bold enough to face the angry demonstrators and was cowardly hiding in small Antique shop in P. Tuazon the whole time laden with fear. He was often unwilling and fearful that he passed on the burden of controlling the crowd in EDSA to his personnel. Dawis remembered that it was General Lim who ordered him to disperse the crowd in EDSA at all cost upon the order of order of then President Ferdinand Marcos.

Colonel Dawis only had a handful of 100 people under him at that time when he was ordered by General Lim to disperse the crowd of more than 100,000 in EDSA.To help Colonel Dawis, General Lim has promised him with additional 500 military men to help him in the dispersion of the crowd in EDSA. But Colonel Dawis was defiant. The brave Colonel stood his ground and told Gen. Lim that he will not disperse the crowd who were just expressing their grievances peacefully.

The insubordination of Colonel Dawis has made General Lim enraged and fuming.He was completely mad with how Colonel Dawis responded and defied his orders. As a response, General Lim started to berate Colonel Dawis who remained unmoved. Colonel Dawis followed his principles and defied the orders of his superior officer despite the threats of losing his job.

Former Senator Butch Aquino can attest to this claim since he and Colonel Dawis had developed a very good relationship. Colonel Dawis was very considerate and warm to the opposition leaders and would allow them to protest peacefully in Quezon City.

This is a clear sign that the accolades and admiration that Alfredo Lim enjoys should not be extended to him. Lim should not be bestowed with the recognition as one of the many real heroes of EDSA1 for the fact that he was never one.Lim is confusing the public into believing his false claims and misrepresentations of facts at the expense of another great and worthy hero. Colonel Dawis is the real EDSA1 hero and should be given with the necessary accolades and recognition, and not the person who desperately tries to build his self a reputation using nothing but lies.

The mayor of Manila, who is seeking reelection, has been making frivolous claims and false representation to bolster his image as a real EDSA one hero. Mayor Alfredo Lim has been erroneously receiving accolades and admiration and has in many ways succeeded in doing so as evident in the current status of his political career. On the contrary, Lim is using his frivolous claims and misrepresentations of facts at the expense of another great and worthy hero, Colonel Dawis.

-Julius Arante

Jueteng In Manila And Mayor Alfredo Lim

Jueteng makes comeback in Manila?
By Nestor Etolle July 05, 2009, The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines – Intelligence officers of the Manila Police District (MPD) are verifying reports that operators of jueteng, an illegal numbers game, are slowly resuming their activities in the city.

Anti-crime operatives of Meisic police station, led by Senior Police Officer 4 Ver Navarro, nabbed last Tuesday Angelina Nepomuceno, alias “Angge,” 52, while allegedly collecting jueteng bets in Binondo. Recovered from Nepomuceno were more than P200, a ballpen and a list of number bets.

During interrogation, Nepomuceno named the jueteng “cabo” or maintainer as a certain “Gorie,” while the financier is one “Edmund.” She said they have been in operation since May and the drawing of the winning bets is mostly done in the Sta. Cruz area, with operators hopping from one place to another to escape arrest.

Meisic police station chief Superintendent Nelson Yabut directed his men to intensify the city’s crackdown on jueteng following reports that the illegal numbers game has resurfaced in the city with the blessing of unscrupulous police and city hall officials.

“Our investigation showed jueteng lords in the city operate ‘kangaroo’ style or transfer from one place to another to escape detection. Jueteng bet collectors hide their operation through EZ-2 lotto of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office,” Yabut told The STAR.

Jueteng collectors pretend they are soliciting bets for the government-sponsored EZ-2 lotto to escape arrest. EZ-2 and jueteng both involve placing bets on a winning two-number combination. While the former is legal and drawn live on television, the winning jueteng combination is reportedly picked by operators, who choose combinations with fewer bets.

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and MPD director Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay have repeatedly announced that they will not allow jueteng in the city.

Source: manilawatch

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim Faces Graft Charges For Sale Of Century Park Hotel

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and Vice Mayor Isko Moreno is facing graft charges before the Office of the Ombudsman for playing a major role in the fraudulent bidding and sale of the Century Park Hotel at a bargain price of P 1 Billion. Lim and Moreno alongside 20 councilors, four other city officials and four John Does are included in a 26-page complaint filed by former legal adviser of Lim and close friend Atty. Reynaldo L. Bagatsing. The complaint calls for nullification of the said anomalous transaction and the penalization of the perpetrators involved.

Bagatsing has been alarmed by the transaction which he believes is manifestly and grossly disadvantageous to the City of Manila as the city is set to lose almost P2 billion.The five-star Century Park Hotel is currently located on a 4.5 hectare prime property which could have earned the city government with at least P3 billion in sales. Instead, the city government sold the prime property at a bargain price of P1 billion, a far cry from what should have been its original price. It was claimed by Bagatsing that Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and Vice Mayor Isko Moreno have lobbied for the transaction to take place for the benefit of the mayor's ally in Lucio Tan.

The documents obtained by Bagatsing from the City Assessor's Office clearly shows that the land occupied by the hotel was mysteriously reduced to an area of 22, 967 square meters and worth P 965,261,850 or almost P1 billion. The price of which the land was sold was not based on the current zonal valuation of the land as directed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.In reference to the BIR's assessment, the current value and selling price of prime properties in the Malate-Ermita district ranges from P 50,000 to P 80,000 per square meter. Using the current assessment, the land should have been acquired for about P3 billion.

The land was sold to the alleged winning bidder, Maranaw Hotels and Resort Corporation, the owner of Century Park Hotel. The corporation is publicly listed under the name of business tycoon Lucio Tan, a known ally of Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim. In 2003, Tan's firm gained the rights to operate the hotel in 2003 from Tourist Trade and Travel Corporation of the Martel family. Maranaw Hotels and Resort Corporation, the current hotel's operator, submitted a P1 billion bid and was later given with the right to the land.It was believed that Lim used his authority to pave the way for the said anomalous transaction due to his closeness to Tan.

It was claimed that the city council composed of 20 councilors have granted Lim with the authority to negotiate the sale of the hotel through City Council Resolution No. 176 adopted on August 5, 2008. The city council was also the one who affirmed and ratified the award and sale to Tan's firm through Resolution No. 278 approved on December 23, 2008. The said transaction was also completed hastily in only a span of five months after Lim was granted authority to negotiate the sale. To cover up the anomalous transactions, the Committee on Bid and Award issued and published erratic and false notice of auction in the in the Philippine Star.

All the evidences gathered and collected clearly show that there had been an attempt to reduce the price tag for the said property which clearly makes this transaction a sweetheart deal. The deal was made to benefit an ally of Mayor Lim and is a clear betrayal of the city's taxpayers and residents. The involvement of Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim in this fraudulent transaction is a clear indication of abuse of authority and power, and a clear betrayal of the public's interest. The Ombudsman on its part must take a closer look in this case and bring all the people involved to justice.

The involvement of the Mayor of Manila in the fraudulent transaction sale of the Century Park Hotel at a bargain price of P 1billion, is a clear indication of abuse of authority and power, and a clear betrayal of the public's interest. Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and Vice Mayor Isko Moreno are charged with graft before the Office of the Ombudsman for their alleged involvement in the said anomalous transaction.

-Julius Arante