GRPundit

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...

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"...

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.

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!

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".

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...

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 .

The collective stupidity of Filipino politicians seems to be nearing a point where they may all inadvertently kill the very goose that has been laying their golden eggs for the last half century. One thing that the trial of the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona might actually achieve is to whip all these bozos into a skirt-lifting frenzy that will ultimately result in every one of them revealing the wide array of colours of undergarments they wear to the public. This impeachment trial and the tactics of the prosecution can potentially disrupt a kind of détente amongst Filipino politicians; one that was underpinned by a tacit acknowledgement that any attempt to dig up dirt on the other will simply raise the spectre of a "hidden wealth armageddon" wherein the ensuing tit-for-tat unearthing of one another's treasure chests and skeletons-in-closets will assure the destruction of the veil that cloaks their collective parasitical hold on Philippine societ...

Ironies of ironies. PhilStar columnist Valeria Avila observes Philippine President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III is on his way towards becoming "the most powerful President" of the country -- as powerful as the late former President Ferdinand Marcos who at the height of his power had full control over the Supreme Court and the Legislature. For the sake of discussion, when they successfully remove the Chief Justice (mind you, impeachment is not a criminal trial, rather it is a political exercise) who then would appoint the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court? Yup! You answered correctly, it is Pres. PNoy who will now appoint the new Chief Justice and consequently, that man or woman would now be biased for President Aquino. With this, the dismantling of democracy has begun! When that situation takes place, you can be sure that when the case vs. former Pres. Arroyo would reach the Supreme Court, she would literally hang… after all, these Justices would no longer be...

This is the sort of relationship President Noynoy Aquino would like to have with anything to do with a Corona