My Day in Court

Something I will be doing more regularly for Newsbreak (here).

Early Returns 2

Two of my readers, seiji and incarnadine29, want to know what I think about Mike Defensor (look at that smile), particularly his new 'Tol personality (c/o Boy Abunda). My short (a little irony here) answer is: I try not to think about Mike Defensor at all, I find that my days are better that way.

But life's like that, we can't always get what we want. So, I am constantly bombarded by Mike Defensor's really fake smile and his really pink shirt (what's with that? Is that a way of letting female voters know he's in touch with his feminine side or something? Whatever, it looks bad and TH on him; makes me want to stop wearing my pink shirts for a while)--all courtesy of Boy Abunda. And what's with the 'Tol? It's from the vernacular for "brother", utol and it's also a play on his not being that tall. As far as platforms go, apparently, Mike is projecting himself as a short brother. Oh well, at least he's honest.

Seriously, Mike Defensor is someone I would not want to inflict on this country that I love for one minute more than I can help. So, pardon me if this is the last entry on him. He is known famously for being devoid of any real sense of principle, other than what is good for him (he's been known to be that way since college); he once stood up to denounce a famous tollway project by an equally famous family and when pressed for evidence, folded (at least Alan Cayetano didn't fold) in public. That's the type of person he is--the quick fix, the compromise. He is a JDV in the making and that's not a compliment in any way.

So, the sooner we erase Mike Defensor from our collective consciousness, the better. I'm not voting for him for any position ever.

No Joke.

Ang daming bad sa administration ngayon pero ba't di sila lagot kay Joker? Ang tahimik nga niya e. Baka naman joke lang yung kay Joker, na "pag bad ka, lagot ka."

Pero, ito hindi joke: pag di pa nagsalita si Joker tungkol sa militarisasyon at paggamit ng pondo ng gobyerno sa kampanya at di siya tumiwalag sa TU (make up your own meaning for this acronym), wala na siyang mukhang pwedeng iharap sa taong bayan.

Ako, di ko siya iboboto at hinihingi ko na huwag na rin ninyo siyang iboto. No joke.

Pichay and Posters

I never thought I'd find anything nice to say about Ben Abalos, the COMELEC Chair. As the last week ended, however, he had a sound bite that was funny; commenting on all the posters of Team Unity Senatorial wanna-be Butch Pichay that were sprouting everywhere, he said something about "pechay" being planted all over, even in cement. That merited a chuckle.

Predictably, Pichay denied any involvement either personally or by his staff; never mind that the posters looked identical to those he presumably knew about and authorized. Predictably, he cried "sabotage" and said that his opponents were trying to make it look like his staff did it so that he would be disqualified (Oh, happy day, should this happen!).

One suggestion perhaps: require all candidates to have ALL posters carry the COMELEC seal before any are posted. Similar to the cigarette packs that must contain the safety warning, all posters should have a COMELEC certification that is prominent and distinct; any poster that does not have those would clearly be unauthorized. So, posters bearing this certification that appear in a place where there should be none will then be directly attributed to the candidate whose mug appears on it.

Waiting for the 3rd . . .

What are the odds that in my less than ten years of teaching law, I'd be able to say I taught law to two Bb. Pilipinas Universe winners?*

After my Research Assistant won that major beauty title over the weekend, I now find myself unable to attract applications for a second RA apparently because interested parties think all my RAs should be beauty queen material; this would have been so funny except that those applications I’ve already gotten are from male law students. Come to think of it, that makes it even funnier.

In the meantime, there's hope for beauty contests if a 22-year old who lists among her talents "case digest making" (and this I can attest to, as she practically wrote half a case book that's attributed to me) can win the top prize.

Congratulations Tere; for someone to whom the decision to join didn't come easily, this one looked easy for you because you worked extremely hard for it.


*And both were in my criminal procedure class.

I don't get it #s 1-3

I don't get it #1:

When a married man tells his wife he's going for a facial and scrubs once every week or oftener, shouldn't that have given her warning signals, at the very least?

I don't get it #2:

Why do Kris Aquino's sordid affairs have to unravel on national television?

I don't get it #3:

Why am I even blogging about this? Perhaps for the same reason you can't take your eyes off a car crash or an execution.

Early returns

The circus is officially in town (some would say the zoo, but I love animals and I think it's a disservice to animals to compare politicians to them; at least animals can be loyal). Some thoughts on early political ads and taglines:

Itanim natin sa Senado - Pichay. The best reason not to be vegetarian. Bad pun, even worse pic.

My guy, Magsaysay. - Vic Magsaysay. Couldn't he be more original?

Pag bad ka, lagot ka. - Joker Arroyo. The worst part of this campaign tagline is that Joker doesn't have a sense of humor. Well, I'm bad and so too is his primary benefactor--the Arroyo woman and the Arroyo men. With apologies to all my Assumptionista friends and readers, will Joker make them and not only me lagot? I don't think so. (And what's with the absolutely lame analogy of being the dragon of the Senate? Where'd that come from? Sir, there are no dragons; at least not anymore. Is that the subliminal picture you're pushing? That you'll go the way of dragons?)

Ko-Recto sa Senado. - Ralph Recto. In the post-EDSA era, when Ralph's father used to lawyer for the Marcoses and was so successful at getting the goat of the powers that used to be (Joker was one of them, I remember), his detractors came up with a stinging tagline when Raffy Recto ran for the Senate--ang Recto na hindi Claro (a play on the name and reputation of the late Clayo Mayo Recto). I wouldn't go as far as saying Ralph is the Recto who's not Claro--in fact, he's very clear on where he stands on a lot of issues, particularly the VAT and that might spell doom for much of his chances of making it to the Senate. Of course, his being Mr. Vilma Santos will help.

The jury's still out on the other candidates.

Healing and Hope in Him

Hosea 6: "[1] Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down , and he will bind us up.
. . . [3] Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth."

Healing and Hope from Him who is the source of both: my prayer this lent, not only for myself but for all those for whom I care.