So, what now?

The verdict has been given; Renato Corona was pronounced guilty, and this impeachment trial will go down in Philippine history as the first impeachment trial to be actually concluded. Now what do we do? Should we now go back to more important matters like economics, or should we impeach another "Arroyo lackey" to prolong the zarzuela?

PNoy, the ball is on your court now. Well, no. The ball has always been on your court; it's all you, even to the detriment of those who are not in league with your Yellow Kingdom. Good luck, Philippines.

The verdict on the Corona impeachment trial Senator-Judges #cjontrial #coronatrial

Pia Cay. – running on empty. Tries to be vogue on the outside, but is vague on the inside

Lapid – took a vow of silence instead of an oath of allegiance

Drilon – hypocricy personified. No integrity, and no doubt the turncoat already brown nosing president elect Binay.

Santiago – love her or hate her the woman has passion, intellect and independence. Her decision will be the right one

Revilla – without someone giving him a script he is just an extra

Alan Cay. – turns a simple question into a confusing monologue

Legarda – ‘just for clarification’ i postulate the she understood nothing and contributed even less

Estrada – nearly as narcissistic as his father

Vic sotto – good job batman

Enrile – 1st half very good – 2nd half seemed like mr hyde appeared.

Escudero – good questions. Has potential but also an achilles heel

Trillanes – a soldier! Did he ever fight in battle, or just dress up.

Lacson – likes to lead by bringing up the rear!

Angara – just wants to hand over the family business to his son

Pimentel – impossible to take seriously. Little boy lost.

Guingona – not exactly the sharpest tool in the box.

Pangilinan – Must be a masochist the way he kept getting slapped down by cuevas.

Osmena – who? – instantly forgettable

Arroyo – an old warhorse but needs to be put out to pasture soon, or out of his misery. The joker has lost his smile

Marcos – at least not as objectionable as the rest of his family.

Honasan – a follower, not a leader

Recto – just makes up the numbers. an empty vessel

Villar – the man with no neck kept his head down. what does he know about corruption!.

Are these the best of the best? Paragons of virtue who put country and honor before self-interest?

They are the ones guilty of ruining a once prosperous country. Shame on all their houses – declared and undeclared.

[Based on a comment posted on Get Real Post.]

An advice to the senator-judges.

Recently, impeachment analyst Romulo Macalintal raised the notion of "abstention vote."

Although senators are supposed to vote “guilty” or “not guilty” in the impeachment case of Chief Justice Renato Corona, some might decide to abstain from voting because they are unable to determine with certainty, based on available evidence, if Corona is guilty or innocent, according to impeachment analyst Romulo Macalintal.

(Source: Link)

Since the moment of truth is just around the corner, the moment where the senator-judges decide on Chief Justice Renato Corona's fate, I took the liberty of giving them a little advice. As far as political power is concerned, go for either a "guilty" or "not guilty" vote; don't abstain.

Political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli explained the importance of taking sides in war and politics. According to him, it is wise to take sides, since you gain political allies from either side. If you go for a "guilty" verdict, there will be people who will support you. The same goes for when you choose a "not guilty" verdict. However, if you abstain, people who are for conviction will definitely resent you.

Moreover, despite Macalintal's explanation that an abstain vote is also equivalent to a "not guilty" vote, people who are for Corona's acquittal might still resent you, since your "support" might be thought of as coming from intellectual ineptitude or cowardice. If you will contribute to Corona's acquittal, do it boldly.

Good luck, senator-judges. Time to show some spine.

ABS-CBN shows bias flashing opinion of legal experts who predict Corona conviction #CJontrial #CoronaTrial

As of 11:45 am Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) the story 2 legal experts predict CJ conviction was top headline on the ABS-CBN News site.

According to the "report";

University of the East (UE) College of Law Dean Amado Valdez told ANC’s “Dateline Philippines" that the prosecution was able to prove its allegation that Corona failed to disclose his true wealth in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN)--with the help of the defense.

He said the presentation of hostile witnesses, including the Ombudsman, by the defense proved counter-productive to Corona's case.

“All the 3 charges were proven by the prosecution with the aid of the evidence from the defense, especially because all the charges are political in nature. It is about the perception of the people, it's not strictly legal,” he said.

That's ABS-CBN for you -- where the "opinions" of the "experts" trump all other pertinent news.

Come again, Archbishop?

Regarding the highly publicized separation of Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III and his wife, retired Pangasinan Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz had this to say:

The Most Rev. Oscar Cruz, the retired archbishop of Pangasinan, said the faithful have to face the reality that some married couples “do not make it.”

“Married life is not easy. We have to accept that there are some couples who do not make it,” Cruz said in an interview, “although as much as possible we want couples to stay married ‘till death do us part’. But that principle is not applicable to people who are not meant for marriage or are not supposed to get married.”

(Source: Link)

Er, come again? Then how about this?

Love for the family is at the core of the cultural identity of Filipinos and should not be destroyed through divorce, said Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz during a press conference at the CBCP Conference Hall, in Intramuros.

“Kung sasabihin sa akin ‘kayo na lang ang natitira, Pilipinas, na walang divorce,’ Salamat sa Diyos! That is a distinction! I’m very proud of that!” he said.

(Source: Link)

Jessica Sanchez lost.

But it's okay! Things like this happen; people we root for do not win all the time. We don't hold a monopoly on the judgment of musical talent. Filipinos, like everybody else, are not entitled to winning a competition. For those who are raging or thinking about raging, don't.

Crack a few jokes about American Idol, entertain some far-fetched conspiracy theories about racial discrimination, we're all good with that. But I don't think Jessica's loss should affect our society as a whole. First, not everything is bad for Jessica; she has secured a musical career whether she wins or not. Second, we don't even know her personally. Lastly, don't we have more pressing matters to deal with like our politics and personal affairs?

Steadily, steadily, let go of what happened, ye who rage about American Idol. Steadily, steadily, let us go back to our daily lives.

Congress 188+1: Take the Corona Challenge! #cjontrial

The call to the 188 "representatives" of the Lower House -- and Senator Franklin Drilon -- to open their dollar-denominated bank accounts to public scrutiny continues to resonate across Philippine society. This is the day long awaited!

Voltaire and the Filipino

Voltaire walked into a bar, coming across a Filipino protester who openly talked about the evils of a certain recording artist, and his holy efforts to convince everybody to boycott her concert, even convincing the government to keep her out of the country.

Voltaire, forever a champion of freedom, decided to confront the Filipino, citing one of his most famous words.

"I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

To which the Filipino replied, "I do not agree with what you say, so I will deprive you to the death of your right to say it."

And Jesus wept. 

Activist lawyer and professor Harry Roque announces disintegration of Corona defense team @profharryroque

Even the most educated among the people who seek to continue the tradition of vilifying Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona are stepping up the use unsubstantiated assertions. Most recent instance is in a tweet made by "activist lawyer and professor" Harry Roque who after fielding the following tweet...

Sinking ship: : first Karen Jimeno [goes] missing. Now, Judd Roy withdrawing as counsel. Bye bye Corona

...was sent a response by defense counsel Karen Jimeno herself in the following tweet...

@profharryroque Hi Prof Roque! What's the source of this news? I just came from a defense mtg where Judd & I were there w/ the whole team.

As of this writing no response has so far been seen coming from the esteemed "activist lawyer and professor".

Why the Senate must NOT convict Chief Justice Renato Corona

Simple. Because it is not in the personal interests of the Senator Judges to see a Supreme Court Chief Justice fall under the weight of a "scandal" wrought by secret dollar accounts made public by a Malacañang juggernaught intent on bulldozing through civil liberty safeguards and due process.

Once Malacañang is through with its enemies in the Supreme Court and a multitude of unlawful precedents had been set in the process of this purge, it is likely that the Senate will be next. The House of Representatives having already earned their brownie points from a "furious" President will likely be spared his Gestapo.

Acquit Corona and the Senate will have a Supreme Court that owes them a debt of gratitude. Everyone who has interests vested in the status quo (guys and gals with millions to hide) wins. And that means the country's Senators will be able to sleep well in their comfy airconditioned bedrooms at night.

It's simple, really™ -- though not for the small-minded.

Kabahan na kayo, mga Senador. Allowing Malacañang to arm itself with precedent unlawful evidence gathering practices that it had applied with impunity under the watch of your fine court will ultimately be the undoing of your golden nest eggs.

Definition of 'hostile witness' #CJontrial #CoronaTrial

A hostile witness is a witness in a trial who testifies for the opposing party or a witness who offers adverse testimony to the calling party during direct examination.

A witness called by the opposing party is presumed hostile. A witness called by the direct examiner can be declared hostile by a judge, at the request of the examiner, when the witness' testimony is openly antagonistic or clearly prejudiced to the opposing party.

A party examining a hostile witness may question the witness as if in cross-examination, thus permitting the use of leading questions. A hostile witness is sometimes known as an adverse witness or an unfavorable witness.

Source: Wikipedia.org

What our government is probably singing in videoke bars

To the tune of "Scarborough Fair"...

Are you going to Scarborough Shoal?
China's ships just scare away mine.
Remember me to the ones who fish there.
Those were once resources of mine...

Yup, we've got plane traffic.

Yup. The government has just imposed a moratorium on daytime flights in Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), because, apparently, the increasing activity is exceeding the capacity of the runways, leading to delays and cancelled flights.

"The government has imposed a moratorium on new daytime flights to decongest the runway of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). 

"We have a runway congestion problem today. Hindi natin namalayan na may runway traffic na umusbong sa pagdami ng mga aircraft population at flight schedules sa loob ng nakaraang mga taon,” Transport Secretary Manuel Roxas said in a briefing.

Data from the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) showed  that the fleets of commercial airlines doubled to 119 today from only 62 in 2008."

(Source: Link)

It's funny because the PNoy administration is supposedly focused on tourism. And tourism usually involves, well, airplanes, right? If the government really prioritizes tourism, shouldn't it have long considered the expansion of airports before launching a massive (albeit faulty) tourism campaign? But no, infrastructure development remains as slow as a turtle; the impeachment trial is more important than anything, after all.

We have a semi-common Filipino idiom for this blunder:
"Kung kailan dudumi, saka hahanap ng pamunas." (Finding wipes when you're about to take a dump.)

Airport traffic? It's more fun in the Philippines.

In the Philippines, the 'Truth' is like porn: It gets delivered in plain brown envelopes. @harveykeh

The "truth" in the Philippines gets passed around like it is a lewd magazine and whispered from ear to ear like it was a dirty word.



“When I opened it, I was surprised and shocked. I saw transactions records—the name of the bank, the name of the depositor Renato Corona, the deposits, the dates the account was opened, opening balance..." - Harvey Keh as 'reported' on Rappler.com.

Yes, nada.

Recently, Palace spokesman Edwin Lacierda said something interesting:

"When Chief Justice Renato Corona takes the witness stand in his impeachment trial, he will have nothing that can destroy President Benigno Aquino III, Malacanang said Wednesday.

“Nada (nothing),” Palace spokesman Edwin Lacierda said when asked if Corona has the goods on Aquino."

(Source: Link)

Well, I do agree with Lacierda. But only because there's nothing more to be destroyed.

PNoy has already destroyed his own reputation by being a vindictive president, conducting a trial through media, and generally performing below average in solving the country's socioeconomic woes.

Seriously, there is absolutely no need for the Palace to make itself known. It should just let the impeachment trial play out and not butt in.

Inquirer.net Freudian slip! Burka clad lady a 'security risk'?!

What was so threatening about this lady Philippine President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III was shaking hands with? Apparently the editors of the family newsletter were a bit concerned about the safety of their eminent benefactor and beneficiary (see caption below photo).



[Photo courtesy Spot.ph.]

More juicy hearsay stories about the Barretto sisters!

Following the whole brouhaha at the NAIA Terminal 3 involving Claudine Barretto, Raymart Santiago, and Ramon Tulfo, some more factoids surrounding the characters in this spectacle have been re-emerging. Apparently there are a lot of anecdotes about the appalling behaviour of the Barretto sisters. Here are some of the jucier allegations.

Claudine, was once waiting for a domestic flight holding a Philippine Airlines economy ticket. She asked one of the ground crew to be allow her to sit in the business class lounge while waiting for the flight. She was denied, of course, but then she was said to have said something to the effect of “what, you mean you expect me to sit and wait with them” while pointing to the people sitting in the economy lounge.

Then there was the story about how Claudine's elder sister Gretchen who works out at Fitness First in RCBC Yuchengco Building was in the elevator when another lady stepped in. Gretchen allegedly asked her aid to tell the lady to get out of the elevator. The lady then in turn said “get out of my building”. According to the story, it turns out the lady was a Yuchengco.

As ET the Extraterrestrial once say: Ouch!

[NB: Above short article based on a comment posted on Get Real Post]