At one point during the hearings by the House of Representatives’ committee on justice on the impeachment case against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Mindoro Oriental Rep. and committee chair Reynaldo Umali said a mouthful against Larry Gadon, the lawyer who had filed the complaint.

The committee had found that Gadon’s allegation of acts of favoritism and manipulation by Sereno were not supported by affidavits from the supposed resource persons he had mentioned in his complaint.

When asked if he had spoken directly with these people and if they could substantiate his claims, Gadon said they had not expressed willingness to cooperate but that they knew things, which was why he was suggesting that the committee invite them to testify: “Wala po silang pinarating sa akin na willing to cooperate pero meron po silang alam, kaya nga po sina-suggest ko po sa justice committee na sila ay imbitahin…”

Gadon’s allegations were, it thus appeared, mere hearsay, and he wanted the House to step in to do the job of buttressing his case against Sereno.

“Please do your homework,” a seemingly indignant Umali told him in response, adding that since he was the accuser, he should “do [his] job” and not, as some committee members had been complaining, make them do the investigation for him: “Ikaw kasi nag-aakusa kung kaya’t hinihingi nung pagkakataon na gawin mo naman yung trabaho mo. Yun yung inaangal ng kasamahan namin dito, na ginagawa mo kaming imbestigador mo, eh. Hindi kami yun.”

It was a moment of clarity in the proceedings, but one gone too soon.

As things stand now, it could have been a watershed point—the moment when sober-minded members of the House committee on justice came to their senses, saw through the lies and sham of Gadon’s complaint, and, rising beyond partisan interests, junked the impeachment complaint, thus sparing the republic the constitutional crisis now about to unfold with the administration’s full-on assault on the Chief Justice and an independent judiciary.

But then again, perhaps it was no more than a piece of theater — Umali et al. feigning anger at Gadon for the benefit of the cameras, but high-fiving him in private despite his comically flawed complaint. Because, incredibly, the hearings plodded on, and while more of Gadon’s deceits and misrepresentations came to light, in the end the House committee still vindicated him by voting to recommend Sereno’s impeachment.

Gadon’s capacity to survive one demonstrable act of public lying after another — even being rewarded by the House for his blatant untruths under oath in such a grave proceeding as attempting to unseat a chief magistrate — appears to be inexhaustible.

His extreme views on a number of national issues — on television, he advocated the mass killing of Muslims as a solution to the Mindanao strife; he also said the thousands of extrajudicial killings in the course of the government’s war on drugs were still not enough — should have long ago marked him out for the crackpot personality that he is, and disqualified him from being taken seriously.

Instead, shadowy forces have seemingly turned this lawyer’s profound aversion to norms of basic decent behavior into his chief qualification as the alpha attack dog in the game plan to cow the judiciary.

In the face of criticism of his unsubstantiated accusations and disreputable methods, Gadon can be counted on to try to outshout, curse, flail, and lash at his critics.

His recent reprehensible behavior in Baguio before a group of pro-Sereno protesters was vintage Gadon: flashing the dirty finger, yelling profanities, and shrieking “bobo” (dumb) at anyone but himself.

What is taking the Integrated Bar of the Philippines so long to disbar this outrageous excuse for a lawyer?

Gadon has declared that he didn’t care about being disbarred, claiming that he would still be able to eat lavishly even if he lost the right to practice law. His peers should quickly call his bluff.

Read more: https://opinion.inquirer.net/112518/call-his-bluff#ixzz5CuXOXoX9 
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The Centrist Democracy Political Institute together with Konrad Adenaur Stiftung (KAS)-Philippines will be conducting a Thematic Conference and Workshop on Political Party Management and Development at One Pacific Hotel, Makati City on 17- 18 March 2016.

The rationale of the conference and workshop is to present the status of major parties in terms of daily operations and management and how CDPI will be able to address the demand for trainings, workshops, conferences and in terms of developing their thematic commissions.

Miss Cristita Marie L. Giangan, MPMD, Program Manager at Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Philippines, will be presenting the Aspects of Political Party and Sector Management. She will discuss the general aspects of party management and on how the mother party will relate its programs, advocacies, and efforts to its established sector associations (and vice versa).

Mr. Benedikt Seemann, Country Director of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Philippines will be discussing the Creation of Commissions in a Political Party and How to sustain them: The Case of the Christian Democratic Union, how it has established and the method of selection of members, among others.

The next session will be facilitated by Mr. Roderico Y. Dumaog, Chairperson of the CDP Iligan City Chapter. He will be facilitating a discussion and workshop on political party thematic commissions.

Mr. Renato G. Tibon, Fellow and Concilium Member, Centrist Democracy Political Institute, will be giving a discussion on Political Party Structural Framework vis-à-vis Work Relations & Dynamics of Thematic Commissions.

Prof. Maria Lourdes N. Tiquia, Founder and General Manager, Publicus Asia, Ltd. and also a member of the CDPI National Board of Advisers, will be giving a presentation of case studies on successful party management and strategies. She will be presenting a set of case studies of at least two political parties that are successful in terms of internal party management.

The thematic conference and workshop will hopefully help the participants understand the principles and mechanisms of political party work and development.

The Centrist Democracy Political Institute (CDPI) in partnership with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Province of Bukidnon will be gathering experts and government partners in synergizing efforts in propagating the roadmap to Federalism through an executive conference this coming 7 February 2017 at Hotel de Susana and Resort, Valencia City, Bukidnon Province.

With the theme, “Creating Synergies towards the Formulation of Federalism Roadmap,” is a call to cooperation in bringing forth all the mayors, vice mayors and provincial DILG. The conference will serve as a venue to discuss important suggestions and thoughts on Constitutional reforms. This collective effort is an initiative spearheaded by Centrist Democrats together with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Philippines, League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), and the City Government of Valencia to advance and explicate the salient preconditions towards the creation of the future Federal Republic of the Philippines.

Professor Edmund Tayao, Local Government and Development Foundation (LOGODEF) executive director, will be talking about the role of local government in pursuing federalism and the effects on the structures, political dynamics, finance and economic activities. This will greatly aid the audience in understanding the implications of Federalism especially in the economic aspect.

Atty. Raul Lambino, Deputy Secretary General of the PDP-Laban will be discussing the two forms of government system and how one differs fundamentally from the other. It is important to make such distinctions so as to have an extensive understanding of these two forms of government systems.

Mr. Conrado Generoso, core team member and consultant of the DILG Task Team on Federalism, will be prsenting the DILG Roadmap to Federalism, mainly, in the aspects of advocacy, public education and support generation.

Mr. Lito Monico C. Lorenzana, CDPI president and founder, will be tackling on the salient preconditions in pursuing Federalism and how each is important in the crafting of a real federal Constitution.

Atty. Rufus B. Rodriguez, president of the Centrist Democratic Party of the Philippines (CDP), will be discussing the important roles of political parties in the future Federal Republic of the Philippines. Basically, the absence of real political parties will make federalism inutile as traditional patronage system will still prevail.

Atty. Emily O. Padilla, the DILG Underecretary for Legislative Liaison and Special Concerns, and Hon. Jose Ma. Zubiri, Jr., governor of the Province of Bukidnon, will be presenting the initiatives of government agencies and updates on the legislative agenda in pursuing Federalism in the Philippines.

 

A symposium on Mindanao issues and federalism has gathered experts, conveners, and University of the Philippines alumna and students in an afternoon filled with compelling discussions and delightful sharing of political opinions.

 

The Centrist Democracy Political Institute conducted regular round table discussion on “Pursuing Federalism: A Shift from Presidential-Unitary to Federal-Parliamentary Government” to key leaders of the cooperatives last 25 September 2016 at the Tourist’s Inn, Tagum City.

A round-table discussion on Federalism has ensued before audiences from the government, business society, academe, and civil society in Davao city with the goal to build understanding on how the Duterte Administration can achieve this system shift.