Writing features painlessly
15 years ago
Sunday, June 21, 2009
By Perseus Echeminada
MANILA, Philippines - Lawyer Adel Tamano announced yesterday that he will give up his legal services for controversial cosmetic surgeon Vicki Belo and will also resign from his post as president of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila to concentrate on his position as spokesman of the Nacionalista Party of Sen. Manuel Villar.
“I cannot be the spokesman of Sen. Villar and Dr. Belo at the same time. I am relinquishing my legal services soon,” Tamano told reporters during the weekly Kapihan sa Sulo Hotel in Quezon City.
“I have to disengage my services so I can devote all my time as spokesman of the Nacionalista Party,” he said.
He admitted that being a lawyer for Belo, who has been implicated in a controversial sex video case involving her former boyfriend Dr. Hayden Kho, is not an easy job.
Tamano said as a lawyer, he accepted the offer to become the legal counsel of Belo because he is convinced that she is innocent of the charges hurled against her and Kho.
He said before the sex video scandal broke out, he was already the lawyer of Belo and handling the cases pending before the Department of Justice is part of his job.
Tamano, former spokesman of the United Opposition, said his job as Belo’s legal counsel will only be confined to the preliminary stages of the sex video case and since it is expected to drag beyond the 2010 elections, he has no choice but to end his services.
As of Friday, a US-based web-hosting site has urged the National Bureau of Investigation to secure a US court order to allow the firm to reveal who uploaded the sex videos of Kho and actress Katrina Halili on the Internet.
The NBI’s Anti-Fraud and Computer Crimes Division said the request for a system log to identify the culprit would delay their investigation of the case.
Tamano, however, did not say when he would be relinquishing his legal services for Belo but he is certain that he will be resigning as president of PLM when the filing of certificates of candidacy for national and local candidates begins in November.
Tamano said he is interested in running for a Senate seat in 2010 under the Nacionalista Party.Read from: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=479624&publicationSubCategoryId=63
Friday, June 5, 2009
-- Rommel C. Lontayao, Cris G. Odronia And Francis Earl A. Cueto
Adel Tamano on Thursday resigned as spokesman of the United Opposition (UNO) and joined the Nacionalista Party of Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., one of the leading aspirants for president in the 2010 elections.
Tamano earlier confirmed that he would run for the Senate also in 2010, but in statement released by Villar on Thursday, the former opposition spokesman said, “I’m not entering Nacionalista Party with the expectation that I will be one of its senatorial candidates. If they believe that I have what it takes to be a good candidate, I will let them choose.”
He explained, “My family has deep roots in the Nacionalista Party and part of what I am doing is to honor my late father and continue his work as a Nacionalista.”
Tamano is the eighth son of the late Sen. Mamintal Tamano and civic leader Hadja Putri Zorayda Abbas Tamano. He is also president of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (University of the City of Manila) and the longtime lawyer of the controversial Dr. Vicky Belo, whose lover, Dr. Hayden Kho, is embroiled in a sex-video scandal.
Tamano, who hails from Lanao del Sur, was accompanied by his wife, lawyer Rowena Kapunan, and her parents, former Supreme Court Justice Santiago Kapunan and Angie.
The erstwhile UNO spokesman earned his economics and law degrees from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1992 and 1996, respectively. Then he took up Masters in Public Administration at the University of the Philippines, and later became the first Filipino Muslim to graduate from the Harvard Law School.
Villar for president
“I can speak for myself as Adel Tamano now. I am no longer a spokesman for somebody,” said the 38-year-old lawyer, who now backs Villar’s presidential bid.
He added that Villar has a big chance in being elected as the country’s next leader next year.
“Our biggest problem in the country is poverty, and it will take someone who has really experienced poverty to redeem us out of it. That is why I choose him,” Tamano said in the statement released by Villar’s camp.
The Nacionalista Party, founded in 1907, has produced six presidents—Manuel Quezon, Sergio Osmeña, Ramon Magsaysay, Jose Laurel, Carlos Garcia and Ferdinand Marcos.
Opposition’s reactions
Tamano also said he had informed the opposition leaders – former President Joseph Estrada and UNO President and Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay—of his decision to resign and join Villar’s party. And they reportedly accepted Tamano’s resignation.
Binay congratulated Tamano also on Thursday, saying their parting was cordial. “I just wish him all the luck in his political plans.”
He added that former Sen. Ernesto Maceda would be UNO’s new spokesman.
Mayor JV Ejercito of San Juan City (Metro Manila) also wished Tamano good luck but gave him a parting shot. “Sana lang napunta siya sa tunay na oposisyon at hindi sa mga nagpapanggap lamang [I wish he had joined the real opposition party, not the one that is just pretending to be one].”
Ejercito is also a director of the United Opposition and son of Estrada, who has repeatedly said he would again run for president if the opposition fails to unite behind a single candidate.
Event at Laurel house
Also sworn in with Tamano was businessman Arsenic Laurel of the illustrious Laurel clan. He will run for representative of the Third District of Batangas, a statement said.
The event took place at the Nacionalista headquarters, the historic Laurel House on Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City.
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/june/05/yehey/top_stories/20090605top2.html
MANILA, Philippines—United Opposition (UNO) spokesperson Adel Tamano resigned the post Thursday when he joined the Nacionalista Party headed by Sen. Manuel Villar.
Tamano at the same time admitted he was interested in running for a Senate seat in 2010 under the party that counts his late senator-father, Mamintal Tamano, among its more illustrious members.
“My family has deep roots in the Nacionalista Party and part of what I am doing is to honor my late father and continue his work as a Nacionalista,” Tamano said.
He said there had been no falling out between himself and UNO stalwarts, former President Joseph Estrada and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay.
“I joined the NP for two things—because my father, Sen. Mamintal Tamano, was a true-blue Nacionalista, and because it had become very difficult for me to speak on behalf of the opposition. In 2007, it was easy when it was still the Genuine Opposition, but now it had become very difficult for me,” he said in a phone interview.
Tamano was immediately replaced as UNO spokesperson by former Sen. Ernesto Maceda. UNO is composed of Estrada’s Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino and Binay’s PDP-Laban parties.
Tamano, who took his oath Thursday in front of NP president Sen. Manuel Villar, said he was “very nervous” when he went to see Estrada two weeks ago to tell him of his plans. But the opposition leader turned out to be kind and understanding.
“We talked for three hours. He told me that if that was what I had to do, he was not the type to stop me na gawin kung ano raw yung nakakabuti sa akin. Ganun kabait si Presidente (from doing what was right for me. That’s how nice the President is),” he said, adding that he also met with Binay, who gave him some advice.
In a statement, Binay said: “Adel Tamano has the right to join any organization. I just wish him all the luck in his political plans.”
The NP, Tamano said, was the “best fit” for him because its members, who include Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and Cavite Rep. Gilbert Remulla, were his good friends, and he believes that Villar, a former Senate president, is the best bet to lead the country in 2010.
Villar is the declared NP standard-bearer in 2010.
“Of all the people who are ‘presidentiables,’ I feel that Manny Villar is the one I want to become president. He is a success story. It would take someone who has overcome it to help find answers to solving poverty in the Philippines,” he said.
Tamano, the first Muslim Filipino to obtain a masters of law degree with a scholarship to Harvard 
Aside from Tamano, Villar swore in Arsenic Laurel as a member of the NP in rites held at the historic Laurel House on Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City that Villar had bought from the family early this year.
Laurel, a member of the well-known political clan, will run for representative of the third district of Batangas.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090605-208958/Tamano-quits-UNO-moves-over-to-NP
Thursday, June 4, 2009
UNO spokesman quits, joins Villar party
MANILA, Philippines – The spokesman of the United Opposition (UNO) has bolted the coalition and joined the Nacionalista Party (NP) as he threw his support for NP President Manuel Villar’s presidential bid in 2010.
Lawyer Adel Tamano, who intends to run for Senator in 2010, took his oath before Villar on Thursday.
“My father, the late Senator Tamano is a founder of Nacionalista Party. To honor his memory I joined the party” said Tamano.
“I think Manny Villar is the man to beat… the biggest reason is this man was able to rise from poverty, the country's biggest problem. And it will take someone who has experience and who can find solutions for poverty,” he added.
Villar said Tamano would be a great asset to the NP. He said the NP was open to other candidates who wanted to join the party.
He said many mayors joined the NP last month.
Tamano said former president Joseph Estrada and UNO president Jejomar Binay accepted his decision to transfer to Villar’s party.
“Nagpaalam ako ng maayos kay Erap [I bade Estrada goodbye] and we talked for three hours. He respected my decision,” he said.
“Now I can speak as Adel Tamano and not just a spokesman” he added.
Earlier in the day, Binay said he was saddened by Tamano's decision.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090604-208803/UNO-spokesman-quits-joins-Villar-party
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