It's still unbelievable. Is it really true?
Since the announcement was made on March 17 by the Supreme Court, my phone hasn't stopped ringing and my mails and Facebook account have been flooded by congratulatory messages and shout outs. It must be true!... oh God, it must be true.
Thank you Jesus!
I feel bad for Mar Roxas. The guy gave up his dream to be President and stepped aside for Noynoy. But what does he get for it? A double-cross so vicious and wicked that, if it were a crime, Noynoy would be liable for murder qualified by treachery.
How stupid can you be, Noy? Why did you allow the camp of Chiz Escudero to play a role -- any role -- in your team when you knew Chiz will never campaign for, much less endorse, Mar? You knew the two are potential rivals in 2016 and therefore Chiz was expected to endorse anybody but Mar. As it turned out, Chiz picked Binay, who is now leading Mar in the Vice-presidential race.
Really stupid! Talagang bobo! And if this is an indication of what's inside the kokote of Noynoy, which I now suspect is very little, we're in for 6 years of trouble. Abnoy talaga! And it hurts because I was counting on Mar to help an Aquino Government steer this country to prosperity.
I know we have to stop the culture of paying debts of gratitude, but this is an exception. There is no sleazy quid pro quo or anything like that here. Noynoy was only required to repay Mar with loyalty, a debt of gratitude that Mar deserved considering that aside from the fact he gave way to Noynoy, Mar's other reason for stepping aside was his noble attempt to unite the opposition.
How could Noynoy honestly say sorry to Mar now for allowing Chiz to sabotage the Noy-Mar tandem? He knew or should have known that Chiz would be laying the groundwork for his 2016 bid as early as now. Or was he just so stupid to recognize this? Abnoy talaga! This is the most wicked sabotage I have ever seen and a portent of things to come.
I can only imagine what Mar must be feeling right now. He must be very hurt as we, his supporters, all are. Mar has proven himself and if we're to examine the issues that have been raised against him during his entire public life, we could hardly hear, not even murmurs, of corruption. But ask Makati residents about Binay and the smell is as foul as the Inayawan landfill back here in Cebu. To me, when all you could throw at Mar is the fact that he's rich, it truly shows what we have lost today.
There's only one thing I can say to you Mr. President, wala kan'g utang na loob!
Earlier, I mentioned that I have a "7-3-1-1 formula" for the Senate race. These numbers represent "7" new faces that I'd like to elect to the Senate; "3" incumbent public officials, or former politicians who did good while in power or their family members; "1" leftist, and "1" military officer who had previously tried to overthrow the government.
The reason for the 7 fresh faces is obvious. We need new voices in the Senate, individuals with fresh ideas and who would not succumb to quid pro quo arrangements because they have little or no previous political debts to pay. If we elect 7 neophyte senators now and another 7 of their type in three years, then we will have a new Senate majority by 2013 who can trump traditional politicians in any debate or vote. Right now, my list include the following names:
1. Dr. Martin Bautista -- A balikbayan doctor ala Dr. Juan Flavier. To know more about him, click here and here.
2. Atty. Alex Lacson -- A humble lawyer who authored "12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do to Help Our Country". Know the man by reading his speeches and what others are saying about him at this site.
3. Atty. Adrian Sison -- A lawyer known for making big corporations accountable. He once sued PLDT for attempting to convert its phonelines into a metered service. Because of this, he and a former officemate, Manny Amador (who deserves to be in the Senate, too; but sadly is not running) are now persona non grata at the PLDT Tower in Makati.
4. Yasmin Lao -- A Muslim and a women's equal rights advocate. Get to know her more here and here.
5. Atty. Zosimo Paredes -- I've met this guy and from my impression, he's very humble for a PMAyer just like Atty. Alex Lacson. He will be hard to dictate upon in the Senate. Truly, an officer and a gentleman.
6. Manuel Valdehuesa, Jr. -- A former UN executive, author, and educator. You can read his bio here.
7. Alexander Tinsay -- a broadcast journalist, scholar, church minister and 700 Club host. You can read more about him here and here.
As for the 3 slots I'm allocating to former politicians, incumbents, or their family members, the following I think need to be rewarded:
1. Sonia Roco -- Her husband's track record speaks for itself.
2. Ralph Recto -- For having the balls to pass the unpopular E-VAT, which is the reason why we are not affected by the global recession.
3. Capt. Ramon Mitra -- For the work of his dad to restore democracy in the Philippines in 1986.
Now, you might ask, "Why elect a rebel and a communist to the Senate?" The answer is simple: I want the leftists and the military rebels to see that there's an alternative to their armed struggle, that they can participate in governance, and that in a democracy you cannot impose your ideology on others. You have to work within the system. You can shout 'til you're hoarse, but at the end of the day, you have to abide by the majority will. I want the following to get this chance:
1. Satur Ocampo or Liza Maza
2. Gen. Danilo Lim or Col. Ariel Querubin
That's it. I hope you follow the same formula and vote for these candidates. A lot is at stake in this election. If we fail to choose the right leaders, this country will be a lot worse by 2016.
You'd know a legend when his reputation precedes him hours or even days before his arrival. Once in grade school at Capitol, we were told he was coming. We shuddered at just the thought of him being there.
He inspired fear not because he was fearsome, but because he represented discipline, perfection, an unmatched yardstick for what is best and right. Even patches had to be stitched the right way. Woe to those who sport long hairs during formation because he'd cut their locks to the point their next hairstyle would be worst than a "bagol". Maayo pa'g magpa-upaw nalang.
When he's around, you have to stand erect. You had to or else. And this is true from the squad members to the officers, especially the "staff members". When he picks you to be one of his top brass after a grueling COQC, you're honored, the toast in the campus; but it comes with great responsibility. You have to be just like him -- smart, snappy, unmoving, erect. Hell, you can't even go to the comfort room to relieve yourself. You pee where you stand! I'm not kidding. This actually happened.
But outside of Pathfinder, he's a gentle guy who gives a hearty laugh when he hears a good one. A mentor, a great teacher, according to Joyce, but for me he's a legend. A standard you can approach, but never match. A larger-than-life figure who deserves the reputation he's earned.
I am absolutely certain he's had a lifetime impact on everyone who'd passed through him, even those for a fleeting moment. And that is why I believe he's not really "dead" because he lives in each of us.
So long, Sir! 'Til we meet again!
If mistakes are truly the best teachers, then we are learning a lot in our Practice Court class. However we put it - rookie missteps, case of jitters, oversight - mistakes they are still and quite a few of them made me cringe.
Take for instance what happened during the cross-examination by the defense counsel only a couple of weeks ago. The prosecution objected to the questions on the ground that they were "leading". That to me takes the cake and it is representative of the many mistakes we are witnessing as this course progresses. Evidently, we are not yet lawyers, but it's good for our sake and our future clients that we are not. Hopefully, when we get our license, we won't commit the same faux pas.
With respect to the civil case, initially I felt it was a big letdown because I had imagined a compelling storyline with twists, intrigues and suspense like a well-written legal thriller. But, alas, the mock trial turned into an ordinary "he said, she said" affair that had an anti-climactic ending. On second thought, however, it's just as well for in the real world legal issues are rarely the page-turners they are made out to be in works of fiction. More often than not, cases drag on not because the legal question involved is complicated, rather because parties refuse a simple ending like accepting a settlement.
Which brings me to another sober reality: There's a world of difference between analyzing a question in an exam and making quick decisions in the courtroom. At least in the former, you can afford to take your time somewhat to chew on a question and frame your answer. In the latter, you need to be always alert and ready to spring up to object and pounce on an opening. This may strike some as a moot point, but to me it is a reminder that in actual practice the pace is faster, the stakes are real and the cost of sloppiness could mean the difference between freedom and the electric chair.
This is the closest to the real thing and it helps that the trials are being conducted in a real courtroom. If there ever was a time in all my years in law school that I felt almost like a lawyer, it was at 10:30 every Saturday morning during the past 3 months. Putting to actual use Rules of Court that until recently we can only read in textbooks beats any high you get for scoring big in Remedial Law.
Sure there are many slip-ups and I made a few of them during my stint as defense attorney. But there's a reason why this course is called Practice Court and it can be summed up by the following question:
"Is it not the whole point of this exercise?"
Leading your honor!
While reading Inquirer.net tonight, I saw this screaming headline: 7 in 10 Filipinos won't give up on RP.
How about that? This contradicts completely what I think is the popular belief: That many Filipinos would jump at the chance to migrate. I mean, why do you think many are back in school to take up nursing or caregiving? Just the other night, one of my boardmates who took the nursing board last month told me there were 80,000 of them!
According to this Pulse Asia survey, 54% of Filipinos are actually staying put. Of the 1,200 respondents, only 20% said they would do so when asked what they will do if it were possible to migrate to another country. I don't know about you, but to me this is absolutely surprising to say the least.
All this time, I have held the belief that many Filipinos have lost hope in this country and that, if they could, would leave in a heart beat. I for one considered this option two or three years ago when I almost gave up on my dream to finish law school.
But I don't blame those who are leaving and I've got the highest respect for our OFWs. The truth is, we will be relatively fine while the rest of the world reels from the current economic crunch. We have $30 billion in foreign reserves, virtually all of it from remittances.
Still, for this country to truly reform and begin the slow march to recovery, we need our middle class, the same professionals who are now leaving in alarming number. They constitute our educated, hard-working social segment, who are numerous enough to influence the direction this country should be heading.
This survey is a good start. Accordingly, 72% of our ABC classes (no less) do not agree that the country is hopeless. And that's the best news I have heard in a long time. As they say, hope springs eternal.
For 150 years, we've been taught that life as we know it today is a series of gradual evolutions, that men started out as apes, that a singular cell or something more basic sparked it all. In the last century, logic and the scientific method have set out to prove this, succeeding in many instances to cast doubt on the Biblical claim that God created life and the universe.
But what they have done, it must be emphasized, is simply raise doubt. Like defense lawyers in a criminal prosecution, all that they have accomplished is plant in the minds of the jury the seeds of doubt -- that their client might be innocent. Ironically, modern scientific advances in the past decades are proving to be enemies rather than allies of Darwinian scientists.
In this article at Y-Origins.com, there appears to be a trend towards admitting intelligent design by and, of all people, atheists, agnostics, and even hard-core Darwin acolytes. Almost all branches of fundamental science -- astronomy, molecular biology and paleontology -- as this article would show points to evidences that life, humans, and the universe are not products of happenstance.
Scientists from all over, who set out to prove Darwin, have yet to find the so-called "transitional fossils" to prove his theory that life is the result of gradual evolution. The truth is, no such missing link will ever be found. In fact, Darwin himself, unable to reconcile his Evolution Theory and how eyes have developed, admitted to a friend later in life, "to this day the eye causes me a cold shudder."
As chilling as that shudder he felt, emerging facts uncovered so far by scientific studies are cold repudiations of his suppositions. Before long, more and more will be quoted as the following scientists have:
"There is for me powerful evidence that there is something going on behind it all. It seems as though somebody has fine-tuned nature's numbers to make the Universe. The impression of design is overwhelming." -- Paul Davies (British astrophysicist)Today, many in the scientific community have adopted this motto: "Following the evidence, wherever it leads." Finally, science is facing up to the reality of God. It's a victory for those who have always believed there is room for God in all scientific discoveries and in the end science will only serve to validate His existence.
"I find it quite improbable that such order came out of chaos. There has to be some organizing principle. God to me is a mystery but is the explanation for the miracle of existence, why there is something instead of nothing." -- Alan Sandage (winner of the Crawford prize in astronomy)
"The exquisite order displayed by our scientific understanding of the physical world calls for the divine." -- Vera Kistiakowsky (MIT physicist)
"For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries."
