President Aquino’s critics zero in on his smoking
By Raïssa Robles
Manila Standard Today columnist Jojo Robles made this very serious charge yesterday that during President Benigno Aquino’s “recent 14-hour return flight on Philippine Airlines flight PR 104 from San Francisco to Manila, Aquino was allowed to smoke in violation of international and local aviation regulations.”
Cyberspace is now all a-Twitter over this.
I’d like to thank Pat Demaclid, who goes by the Twitter handle @supsup010 for providing me with the link to Jojo Robles’ article.
What intrigues me, though, is that I also got an e-mail on my website from a commenter named “nona”. She accused PNoy of having also smoked on yet another flight – this time from Tokyo to Manila. Nona said that if she were going to the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines forum with PNoy next week she would ask this question:
I would ask (PNoy) – why were you smoking on the return flight from tokyo – which i have now had confirmed by a friend of mine who was on the same flight, and who was not happy about it, and made a futile objection to the stewardess.
Minor – yes; and no.
It goes to the character of the person.
Lies – i will give up smoking if i become president.
hypocrisy – you are my boss – no special treatment for me!
Addictive personality – 3 hours is too long to go without a cigarette.
Anxiety disorder
Arrogance – its none of your business. I want secrecy and privacy: and as we always knew no FoI.
And if the corresponding story is true that he bought himself games in japan and then played with them whilst others drowned he should be hung, drawn and quartered.
It is the difference between passionate people and obsessive personalities.
One has a creative and positive purpose. A change agent.
The other is only driven by self-interest( greed,power, jealousy) , maintaining the status quo, and always end up in failure or self-destruction.
Aquino could yet prove to be more destructive than arroyo, albeit for very different reasons.
His obsessive nature is only targetted on the past administration.
Is the senate/congress suddenly whiter than white.
Ask how many flights congress members or their wives take to los angeles. The number shocked me.
The two accusations against PNoy about his smoking highly intrigued me. They came from two separate people, citing two unnamed sources, and involved two separate incidents.
Both questioned PNoy’s moral fiber. And if the charge of smoking is true, this also undermines his anti-wangwang campaign and the core of his presidency.
But this also reminded me of what had happened during the presidential campaign last year, when the same Jojo Robles published a damning letter questioning PNoy’s mental state. Jojo Robles claimed it came from PNoy’s former schoolmate named Tomcat.
This went viral on the Internet and nearly sunk PNoy’s candidacy.
Fortunately, I was able to painfully and painstakingly reconstruct my article on this issue. My website was hacked early this year and I thought I had lost all my articles. I’ve been slowly uploading them to this new website.
Please click on this link to read my article dissecting what Jojo Robles wrote about PNoy last year:
Is Senator Noynoy Aquino really “Abnoy”? Here’s what his psychiatrist-classmate told me
In that column, Jojo Robles (no relation to me) claimed a classmate of PNoy named Tomcat had insinuated that PNoy acted like he was crazy in college.
In my article, I asked PNoy’s classmates whether they knew of a fellow classmate nicknamed Tomcat and whether PNoy really acted weird in college. Please read my article for their highly interesting replies.
It’s really all up to the reader whether or not to believe what Jojo Robles wrote yesterday, which he began by saying – “We’ve been told that….”
When readers deal with damning conclusions made by writers, it all boils down to the credibility of the writer saying it, really.
But don’t you wonder who told Jojo Robles?
And when he used that collective pronoun “we”, do we ask him – was he referring to himself and his tapeworm?
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Related Story
Is Senator Noynoy Aquino really “Abnoy”? Here’s what his psychiatrist-classmate told me
truth seeker says
Hi Ms. Raissa. Kudos for your article.
You are, by far, a more credible journalist and writer than that coward scumbag Jojo. That’s not lip service – I actually read your works and your books.
If it was just me, I’d round up all the forces and have him executed. I’m sure he won’t be missed. I won’t be surprised if one day he ends up with a bullet or two through his thick head.
He is such a liar. I really have no idea how a subhuman like him sleeps at night.
Forgive my intrusion but seeing that ugly monkey face of his on paper and on the internet makes my blood boil.
What still puzzles me though, is despite his lack of credibility and continued failure to produce evidence for his claims based solely on hearsay (“I’ve been told this… I’ve been told that”) is that some people still actually read and believe his horseshit.
Ernie C says
so any closer to the truth on whether did he smoke or not ?
jojo robles says
hi. i’ve been giving some thought to the “tapeworm” swipe, but i still don’t get it. perhaps you can enlighten me.
raissa says
This goes back to a remark made by an American editor –
There are only three people who can use the word “we” – the Pope, the Queen of England, and a person with tapeworm.
jojo robles says
thank you. i’m glad you have decided that i belong to the third category. you are too kind. i hope someday i may repay the favor.
raissa says
I don’t think you’re the Pope. Are you the Queen?
Anytime you feel like returning the favor, go for it.
jojo robles says
i have no beef with you. i don’t even know you. but if you decide that you have one with me, that is your choice. have a good day.
raissa says
Ah, the hurt look.
I’m looking forward to reading your future spins. Especially the ones that are in violent disagreement with the truth.
You always have a way of knocking down the truth.
jojo robles says
not hurt. but you will have the final say, naturally. it’s your blog. thanks for letting me reply, though.
truth seeker says
lol. oh, the irony. the hypocrite getting a taste of his own medicine and he’s crying like a big ugly baby.
Sarah says
Hi Raissa. In my opinion, Jojo Robles has lost all credibility when he published that “abnoy” piece. I was also looking at his past articles and it looks to me like has something against the president. On a related note, I take offense to the “abnoy” label being applied to those who are suffering from psychiatric disorders such as depression, as well as the insinuation that they are unable to hold positions of power or responsibility. That is a myth. With the right treatment, most of those who suffer from these disorders can lead normal lives. It is unfair to discriminate against them because of their illness.
Evangeline Eriksson says
Very kind of you Sara!
http://twitter.com/#!/Rakehell_Obi says
Perhaps the Pinoys do need to have an EDSA Revolution every decade.
If they want Democracy, they better demand and work for it.
http://twitter.com/#!/Rakehell_Obi says
We need another EDSA. This time #OccupyEDSA.
Get rid of the current President. Or force him to enact Constitutional Reform from Presidential to a Federal Parliamentary Republic.
The only ones I admire in the Senate are Santiago and Cayetano. The rest are wimps.
Get a Parliament and their opponents will ensure no barely educated moron will be voted into high office.
raissa says
Have you thought through what you are saying about a Federal Parliamentary Republic?