Granting of university awards draws flak

One wonders how much money the Binays—suspended Mayor Junjun, his father, Vice President Jojo, Senators Nancy and Congresswoman Abigail—are spending on the hakot (trucked and paid) crowd surrounding the Makati City Hall where the suspended mayor is holed up.

The Binays must be spending millions every day on food, entertainment and pocket money for the crowd, I hope, not at government expense.

If so, how shameless and callous of them!

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Many citizens don’t know where to go when they are the victims of abusive or corrupt judges.

If you have complaints against any judge, write to the Office of the Court Administrator, Supreme Court.

The current court administrator is Midas Marquez who holds the title of “justice” but doesn’t look old enough to be one.

My public service program, “Isumbong mo kay Tulfo,” has forwarded to Justice Marquez some complaints against certain judges.

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The latest complaint I passed on to Justice Marquez came from a couple who owns a business process outsourcing office (BPO), popularly known as a call center.

The couple, a Swede and his Filipino wife, said they felt they were “oppressed” by a Makati Regional Trial Court judge.

Their call center was ordered closed recently on orders of the judge who had not considered the consequences of his action. Fifty people are now out of a job and millions of pesos are lost every day.

The BPO office was reportedly caught in the middle of a court battle between the building’s previous landlord and the alleged new owner.

The couple had been paying rent to its old owner for office space. The call center is not involved in the court case.

My sources tell me that the judge had been suspected of being a member of a syndicate that issues seizure orders on properties under dispute for a price.

His reputation has reached the Supreme Court which ordered him to stop issuing orders involving commercial cases. He was then transferred to a regular court.

As can be gleaned from his recent order closing down a call center, he has not followed the high court’s directive.

It’s high time the Supreme Court stepped in to break the Mafia-type syndicate involving some judges in Makati City.

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Many alumni of Xavier University (formerly Ateneo de Cagayan) in Cagayan de Oro City are protesting the granting of awards by the university to Mohagher Iqbal, Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and Teresita Quintos-Deles.

Iqbal is the chief negotiator for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Ferrer is chief negotiator of the government to the peace panel.

Deles is presidential adviser on the peace process.

A wag among the alumni called this columnist and said Iqbal, Ferrer and Deles were given the Father William Masterson, SJ, award “for the deaths of SAF 44.”