Atty. Mak, if calling for snap elections is illegal, tell me what's not?

Is appointing a fixer as COMELEC COMMISSIONER illegal?
Is buying election returns illegal?
is kidnapping an election official's family to compel her to cheat for a candidate illegal?
Is bribing military officers to make them cooperate in election fraud illegal?
Is transferring a general who refuse to cooperate in the cheating illegal?
Is the use of government funds for midnight projects that promote an incumbent's re-election illegal?
Is bribing COMELEC officials with envelopes containing PHP 30,000 in Arroyo's La Vista house illegal?
Is calling the COMELEC COMMISSIONER to get an update on the cheating illegal?

You're saying that calling for a snap elections to undo all the evil schemes your famous client did is illegal? Yes, maybe you're right . After all, what does the people's voice have to do with elections. So long as your client can pay and force people to vote for her, real elections can never be legal. For indeed, when the law of the land is power, giving voice to the powerless is illegal.

By the way, you should update your resume, Mr. Election Law Expert. You should add another specialty to your resume: coup d'etat. And when you retire with all that legal fees you get from representing whom Dean Jorge Bocobo refers to as the Moral Midgets, please write us the book on how to turn an elections into a coup d'etat. It must be an interesting read.

Why do I like Buble?

Michael Buble is no Frank Sinatra. I don't even think Buble can do justice to Matt Monro's "Speak Softly Love", the only other singer that Frank considered worth listening to. But here I am finally convinced to dish out hard-earned cash for original CD's of Buble's two albums. I ripped them on Itunes and now they're playing on the Ipod Nano.

Well, Buble has the precise diction, the clear words rolling from note to note, and the big band sound that reminds me of my care free days as a child of the 70s. But I yearn for the depth and roundness of the Chairman of the Board's voice. Buble simply does not have it. Perhaps, it was a mistake to expect that Buble can measure up to the Chairman of the Board. Surely, there must be another reason why I like Buble?

i was singing along Buble's version of the Summerwind, when I realized why. Buble is the first baritone to finally make it big again since the time Lou Rawls and Nonoy Zuniga were pushed out of the airwaves by Michael Jackson and the rest of those high-pitched male pop singers. I really hated it when I went to videoke bars, and found that I could only sing old Sinatra songs, because Top 40 male songs were, more often than not, sung by tenors and some in falsetto voices too. Finally, baritones are fashionable again, and the next time I take the microphone in the videoke bar, my wife will have no reason to tease me for singing old-fashioned Sinatra songs. Indeed, thanks to Buble, Sinatra songs are Top 40 again.

De Quiros: I refuse (Part II)

"...I demand to know what moral authority you have to conscript my loyalty as a citizen. As I said a couple of months ago, I refuse to give it. I refuse to be a good citizen to a bad president. "Bad" in the sense of lame or fake-my apologies to the lame and fake. I refuse to serve, I refuse to defend, I refuse to pay my taxes. Feel free to consider me a destabilizer. I was, I am, I will always be. If I weren't so, you would never have tasted the power you now use so wantonly.

Feel free to arrest me as well. I can always admit that anxious as I was to protect my country, I called up people who sounded like Jojo Binay. For this:

I... am...not...sorry."

More here

Why it's hard to do business in the Phils

A client of ours, a wholesaler and retailer of computer parts and accessories, received a subpoena from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for violating the Radio Control Law. How a computer wholesaler and retailer can fall under the weak arms of the NTC puzzled me for a moment until I read the charges.

Apparently, under the Radio Control Law, retailers of Bluetooth devices and WIFI routers and WIFI capable laptops should register with the NTC before they can sell these devices. I browsed at the requirements for registration, and two items stuck out as unreasonable. The NTC is requiring that the shops should employ a supervising licensed Electronics Communications Engineer (ECE) and a technician with a first class radiotelephone operator’s certificate. My client blurted out that this is crazy, because USB devices and WIFI routers are incidental items in computer retailing, and for them to be required to hire a full-time ECE and radio technician for these incidental items is too burdensome. Indeed, there is no argument that Bluetooth devices and WIFI routers should be registered with the NTC. But to require retailers to hire fulltime ECE’s and radio technicians? That’s really going to push prices for these computer peripherals upwards. Either that or the computer retailers will take Bluetooth devices and WIFI gadgets out of their inventories and push them over to the radio retailers (if you can find any). So if you are going to buy a computer, you will buy it with the computer shop, but if you want Bluetooth or WIFI, you have to find a licensed radio retailer, who must employ an ECE and a radio technician to sell you Bluetooth and WIFI.

Why is it hard to do business in the Philippines? Too. Much. Government.

Where's the Motion for Reconsideration on the EVAT TRO from the Gov't?

Don't believe Bunye when he says that GMA blah blah blah wants to implement the EVAT immediately.

I read the Supreme Court decision on the EVAT law constitutionlaity. The last line is the real curious item. It says,

"There being no constitutional impediment to the full enforcement and implementation of R.A. No. 9337, the temporary restraining order issued by the Court on July 1, 2005 is LIFTED upon finality of herein decision."

I find this really weird, because normally a temporary restraining order is lifted immediately, if there is a finding that there is no basis for its issuance, without waiting for the finality of the decision. The TRO was issued earlier, because there was a cloud of doubt, as it were, that the EVAT law is unconstitutional. But with the decision that the law is constitutional, then the cloud has been removed. So why does the TRO hold?

To the non-lawyers, think of a TRO as quick-fix drug. The doctor gives it to you, if it looks like you are sick. But if it turns out that you are not, the drug is immediately withdrawn from you. No need to wait for a final decision. In the case of the EVAT law case, it seems the quick fix drug has not been withdrawn, even if the doctor says we're perfectly well.

Geez, I just don't know if I I can cite this case in the future.

That is why when Bunye claims that "She (GMA) is determined to have the TRO issued by the Supreme Court lifted as soon as possible," we know that is pure hot air. The Government should have filed its own Motion for Reconsideration for the lifting of the TRO, as discussed above if it really meant to have the law implemented. Having that last line is all they need to have reversed. The last line must have been an oversight. Jurisprudence can surely back up the Motion. But where is the Motion Mr. Bunye?

An idea hit me the other day. What if every Filipino taxpayer intervenes in the case and files a Motion for Reconsideration? it will take forever for the Supreme Court clerks to file those pleadings in the docket, and it will effectively keep the decision from maturing into finality. It will also delay the lifting of the TRO perpetually. Well. it might work. But if I start it, I would definitely get a show cause order from the Bar Confidant for clogging the dockets and fomenting suits.

Don't get me wrong. I don't want the tax measure implemented, especially when I know it is intended to cover the shortfall in the budget that was partly brought about by lavish government spending for the re-election of the sitting President. But if the law is valid, then it should not be suspended. If it's a bad law, then the people responsible for its passage should get the bad press, regardless of the political weather. I hate it when laws become unpredictable. It makes me think that our people are not worthy of the sacrifices of our heroes who fought for self-government. Bonifacio must be turning in his grave (whereever it may be.)

Famous Trials of the Philippines: The Gomburza Trial of 1872

Today we begin a series on Famous Trials of the Philippines. This is not intended as a scholarly study of these trials but rather a mere re-telling of what has been written about these trials. In the future, I hope to build these trials their own sites, complete with graphics and pictures. But for now, it will be a series of blog entries. Inspiration of course is from Prof. Doug Linder's Famous Trials site.

Introduction

Any discussion on famous trials of the Philippines can only begin with the trial of Fr. Mariano Gomez, Fr. Jose Burgos and Fr. Jacinto Zamora, (GOMBURZA). The case stemmed from the Cavite Mutiny, an event best described as an overnight disturbance, but which event led to the trial and execution of the three secular priests in the last few decades of the Spanish era in the Philippines. Historians marked the day of their execution as the day when the term “Filipino” became ingrained in the minds of the citizens of colonial Philippines leading to the advent of the Propaganda Movement in Spain, and eventually the Philippine Revolution of 1896. Rizal himself admitted that were it not for the three martyr priests, he would not been part of the Propaganda Movement and would have been a Jesuit priest instead. In spite of its significance, however, the proceedings of the trial have been kept hidden for many years. Fr. John Shumacher, a Jesuit historian, claims that until the present an objective history of the trial cannot be made until the trial records in Segovia, Spain are released to researchers. In 1896, at the start of the Philippine Revolution and twenty-four years after the trial and execution of the three martyr priests, members of the Katipunan extracted testimonies from captured friars who testified that the whole thing was a set-up. Considering, however, that the testimonies were extracted under duress, historians have argued on the credibility of the story.

The Cavite Mutiny

It is the late 19th century, and one of the key issues of the day is the secularization of parishes. Can the parishes be entrusted to the care of the local clergy? Fr. Burgos and Fr. Gomez championed the rights of the Filipino secular clergy to become the parish priests of local parishes over the claims of friars. Fr. Burgos was outspoken in his quest, and even wrote to newspapers in Spain for this cause. His insistence of secularization irritated the friars who belittled the abilities of the Filipino clergy to govern the parishes. Fr. Burgos's outspoken disposition on this issue even merited a warning from the Jesuit provincial, that should Fr. Burgos continue to speak and write about the secularization issue in public, Fr. Burgos may not turn to the Jesuits for help.

The story begins with the arrival in Manila in 1871 of General Rafael Izquierdo y Gutierrez. On the day he assumed control of the colonial government, he declared that “ I shall govern with a cross and the sword in hand.” Whatever he meant by that, it seemed that the emphasis was on the sword.

At that time, the Spanish government subjected the natives to forced labor and the payment of an annual tribute. The workers assigned to the navy yard and the artillery engineers and the arsenal of Cavite, however, were exempt from these obligations. These artisans were chosen from the infantrymen of the navy. They did not have any rank while they render service to the army. But General Izquierdo changed all that when he issued an edict removing these privileges, requiring them to pay tax and render forced labor, and removing from them the rights acquired from retirement. This edict is believed to have caused widespread dismay among those affected who staged the mutiny.

Soon after the publication of the order, forty infantry solders of the navy and artillerymen led by a certain Sergeant Lamadrid seized the Fort of San Felipe in Cavite. Sergeant Lamadrid and his band of mutineers killed the officials who resisted. At ten o’clock in the evening when the rebels entered the fort, the rebels fired a cannon to announce victory to the city. But at dawn, the following morning, the rebels failed to get the support of the soldiers who remained loyal to their regiment. From atop the walls, the rebels called loyal soliders, induced them with promises to make them join the movement, but nothing proved successful. Instead, the regiment hurried to prepare an attack on the rebels, which caused the mutineers to hide in the fort, hoping that Manila would send the rebels help, but none came.

Instead, a column composed of two regiments of infantrymen and one brigade of artillerymen with four cannons came from Manila to quell the rebellion. After a few preliminary assaults, which were not successful, the loyal forces decided to force the surrender of the mutineers by starving them, as it turned out that Fort San Felipe did not have any provisions. With the blockade in force, the mutineers realized their doom and flew the white flag over the walls of the fort.

In spite of the white flag being flung by the rebels, the loyal forces decided to divide into two groups to prepare for the assault of the fort. While this was being done, the principal gate of the fort was opened, and a small group of rebels carrying the flag of truce stepped out. The loyal forces allowed the rebels to take fifteen steps. When the rebels were near enough, the Spanish commander ordered his soldiers to fire. Nobody among the small group that stepped out survived. Thereafter, the loyal forces assaulted the fort, firing shots as they entered it. The rebels offered very little resistance, as the mutiny was completely suppressed.

The aftermath of the mutiny was a mass purging of people who have been suspected of having led or supported it. On the day the news of the uprising was received in Manila, the Governor-General immediately caused the arrest of prominent priests and civilians as conspirators of the mutiny. Among them were Fr. Jose Burgos, Fr. Zamora, (curate and co-curate of the Manila Cathedral), Fr. Gomez (curate of Bacoor), D. Agustin Mendoza (curate of Sta. Cruz), Don Feliciano Gomez, Don Antonio Regidor (eminent lawyer and municipal councilor), Joaquin Pardo de Tavera (counsellor of the administration), Don Enrique Paraiso, D. Pio Basa (old employees), Don Jose Basan, Maximo Paterno, Crisanto Reyes, Ramon Maurente and many others.


The Trial

The sergeants and soldiers taken prisoners at the fort were court martialed and immediately shot, some in Manila and others in Cavite. Soldiers of the marine infantry had their sentences commuted to ten years of hard labor in Mindanao. Meanwhile, the clerics, lawyers, businessmen accused were tried by a special military court. Appointed fiscal of the government was a commandant of the infantry, a future governor of the province, Manuel Boscaza. The defenders were some officers of the infantry who were given only 24 hours to prepare their defenses.

The rebels were charged with the crime of proclaiming the advent of a republic in agreement with the ideas of the leaders of the progressive parties of the Peninsula. During the trial, the principal witness was a certain Francisco Saldua, who testified that the mutiny was a conspiracy, and confessed that he was a part of if. He wished to be pardoned in exchange for his testimony. He testified that for three times he delivered messages to Fr. Jacinto Zamora, who had then gone to Burgos’s abode. Saldua said that Sergeant Lamadrid and one of the Basa Brothers told Saldua that the “government of Father Burgos” would bring the fleet of the United States to assist a revolution. He also testified that Ramon Maurente was financing it with 50,000 pesos, and Maurente would become the revolutions’ field marshal. Saldua also testified that the conspirators met at the home of Lorenzana.

Some military witnesses testified that they were told that should the uprising succeed, the president of the republic would be the parish priest of St. Peter. At that time, Burgos was the parish priest of the Manila Cathedral, which was known as St. Peter as a parish. Fr. Jacinto Zamora was his co-curate. Other military witnesses mentioned the name of Fr. Burgos, or the native curate of St. Peter, as the one who would be president, but likewise this knowledge was only heard by them from someone.

Enrique Genato testified that Fr. Burgos, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Regidor, Rafael Labra, Antonio Rojas and others spoke of clerics, wars, insurrections and rebellions at secret meetings. Marina Chua Kempo testified that she heard the conspirators speak of a general massacre of Spaniards and that Lamadrid, the leader of the mutiny, would be governor or captain general. Fray Norvel testified that the Creoles were inciting the people to rise up in arms against Spai, and that he saw Burgos passing subversive pamphlets.

Fr. Burgos’s landlady testified as a sort of character witness. She vouched that Fr. Burgos was a peaceful man, devout to the virgin, and with no liking for gossip. She said that others might talk of guns and cannons and cry “Fuera oficiales, canallas, envidiosos, malvados! or Viva Fiipinas libre, independiente!”. But Fr. Burgos would advise them to seek reforms without spilling of blood or the recourse of violence.

A curious piece of evidence was a note found in the belongings of Fr. Jacinto Zamora, a gambling and card game afficionado. The note said, “Big gathering. Come without fail. The comrades will come well provided with bullets and gunpowder.” (Nick Joaquin claims that this is a joke for bullets and gunpowder were idioms among card players to refer to gambling funds.)

Captain Fontivel, Fr. Burgos’s counsel, moved to dismiss the case for lack of evidence. But the Governor General rejected it and ordered the court martial continued. The defense then moved that Saldua be called to the stand. But the court claimed that Saldua was too ill to be called to the witness stand.

After eight hours of discussion, the Council of War condemned to die in the garrote the three priests Don Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez, and Jacinto Zamora. Saldua was likewise sentenced to die. The others were either sentenced to ten years of hard labor or sent to the Marianas for a period ranging from two to eight years.

At 11 o’clock in the evening of February 15, 1872, the Council of War dictated the sentence and asked the accused if they had anything to say in their defenses. Burgos and Zamora expressed their innocence, maintaining that they had no relation with the rebels of Cavite and that there had been no positive evidence against them. The curate Gomez, an old man of seventy years, (Nick Joaquin claims he was 85) said that he was sure his judges would consider him innocent, but seeing that he was denied confrontation with his accusers, a lawyer for his defense chosen by himself, would be useless, the trial over, in influencing those who already decided that he was guilty. The accused were led to the military jail and on the following day, the sentence was pronounced on them by the Commissary of the government himself. As part of the sentence, the Governor General ordered the Archbishop to defrock the priests as has been the custom, but the archbishop refused to defrock the three martyrs until evidence of their guilt was presented to the archbishop. The evidence was never shown to the Archbishop.

The Execution

On February 16, 1872, a big crowd gathered to witness the execution. Saldua, with a smile on his lips for he thought that his pardon was forthcoming led the march. Saldua was followed by Burgos, who cried like a boy, bowing to friends as he recognized them from the crowd, and then Zamora -- who had gone mad and had a vague stare -- followed. Last in line was Father Gomez who with eyes wide open, head held high, blessed the natives who were kneeling along the road.

Saldua, expecting a pardon that never came, was the first to go to the scaffold. Then Fr. Gomez was called. Replying to his confessor, a Recollect, Fr. Gomez said, “Dear Father, I know very well that a leaf of a tree does not move without the Will of the Creator; inasmuch as He asks that I die in this place, may His will be done.” Minutes later, he was dead.

Fr. Zamora rose when his name was called. He had gone mad two days before and he died without a final word.

Fr. Burgos was the last to be called. Upon mounting the scaffold, he cried to Commissary Boscaza, “Gentlemen, I forgive you, and may God forgive you like I do.” Then he sat to his death chair.

Suddenly, he stood up and cried, “But what crime have I committed? Is it possible that I should die this way? My God, is there no more justice on earth?”

The friars went to him and obliged him to be seated again, begging him to die the Christian way. Fr. Burgos obeyed, and as he was being tied he rose exclaiming: “But I am innocent!”

“Jesus Christ was also innocent,” exclaimed one of the friars.

Then Fr. Burgos stopped resisting. Then the executioner knelt before the condemned man saying, “Father, forgive me if I have to kill you. I do not wish to do so.”

Fr. Burgos repleid, “My son, I forgive you, comply with your duty.”

Then the executioner did, and thereafter, Fr. Burgos was dead.

The natives who gathered to witness the event knelt and recited the prayer of the dying. The Spaniards who saw the reaction of the natives panicked and ran to the city walls of Intramuros.


The Aftermath

After the execution, the Spanish colonial government prohibited people from talking about the execution, and the records of the trial were kept from the public. Jose Rizal soon published the novel, Noli Me Tangere", the plotline of which includes a creole character, Crisostomo Ibarra, who was set up by the friars that led to his being charged with sedition by the authorities. Nick Joaquin says this was Rizal's allusion to the fate of the three martyrs.

On February 15, 1892, twenty years after the event, the La Solidaridad, the newspaper founded by the members of the Propaganda Movement, which included Jose Rizal, in Spain, published an account of the mutiny, trial, and the execution written by Edmund Plauchut, a Frenchman supposedly living in Manila at the time of the trial and execution, from whom most of the above narrative was derived.

A few months earlier Jose Rizal dedicated his second novel El Filibusterismo to the three martyred priests. Appearing on the cover of the novel is a picture of the three martyred priests.

Then in 1896, after achieving an early success as the Magdalo faction of the Revolution in Cavite, members of the Katipunan extracted a testimony from Fr. Agapito Echegoyen, a Recollect, who said that he learned from a fellow friar what really happened. He said that the heads of the friar orders had held a conference on how to get rid of Burgos and other leaders of the native clergy and had decided to implicate them in a seditious plot. A Franciscan friar disguised as a secular priest was sent with a lot of money to Cavite to foment mutiny, and negotiated with Saldua to denounce Burgos as the instigator of the uprising. Afterwards, the heads of the friar orders used a large bribe—“una fuerte suma de dinero” – to convince the Governor-General that Burgos should be arrested, tried, and condemned.

Another friar, Fr. Antonio Piernavieja said that a certain Fray Claudio del Arceo disguised himself as Father Burgos, went to Cavite to spread the idea of an uprising. When the mutiny was suppressed, the friars exerted pressure on the Governor General through his secretary and a lady with great influence on him, plus a gift of 40,000 pesos.

Conclusion

Fr. John N. Shumacher opines in his book, “The Making of A Nation: Essays on Nineteenth Century-Filipino Nationalism” published in 1991, that the testimonies of Fr. Agapito Echegoyen and Fr. Antonio Piernavieja on the alleged conspiracy against Fr. Burgos are not credible, because they were extracted while they were captives of the revolutionary army and made under duress. And perhaps, we can add that they were also hearsay. Thus, until we have a firsthand account of this alleged conspiracy, this question of whether the trial was a set up may not be put to rest. For if Burgos Gomez and Zamora were indeed innocent of any crime, what motive could we attribute to Governor General Izquierdo and his military trial court for having acted as such against the prominent priests? Or is it possible that the three martyr priests were just circumstantial victims of Spanish hysteria in the wake of the Cavite Mutiny?

Historians note that the significance of the trial of the three martyr priests lies in the fact that it marked the day that nationalism was born in the minds of the Filipinos. By today’s standards, the trial of the three martyr priests could hardly pass the basic tenets of due process. Clearly, the evidence against the three priests is at best hearsay, circumstantial, and by no means establishing any guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Thus, it can be said that Filipino nationalism may have been borne out of the cry for justice for the three martyr priests, but justice could not be obtained from the Spanish colonizers.

The foregoing accounts were taken from Edmund Plauchut’s article “The Philippine Islands” in La Solidaridad, February 15, 1892, and Nick Joaquin’s “How Filipino was Burgos?” in A Question of Heroes, published by the Filipinas Foundation in 1977 and reprinted recently by Anvil. Nick Joaquin based his trial accounts from Manuel Artigas who had copies of the trial records. Of course, Fr. Schumaker is saying that the authentic records are still in Segovia, Spain and prohibited from being disclosed to researchers. Finally, the date of execution has been officially marked on February 17, 1872 but according to the La Solidaridad and Edmund Plauchut, it took place on February 16, 1872.

Values Education by Gary Granada

Huwad na eleksyon
Kick-back at kumisyon
Suhol, lagay,
Graft and corruption
Ano ang solusyon
Ang sabi ng leksyon
Ika ay values education

Huwag kang mandadaya
Huwag kang magsinungaling
Ang mga panata
At pangako’y tuparin
Huwag kang manggugulang
Huwag kang mgsasamantala
Huwag kang manlalamang
Ng iyong kapwa

Gloria
Huwag kang manggu-Gloria
Huwag kang manggu-Gloria
Gloria Gloria Gloria Gloria
Huwag kang manggu-Gloria
Huwag kang manggu-Gloria
Gloria Gloria Gloria Gloria
Huwag kang manggu-Gloria

Ang pahalagahan
Kailangan ng bayan
Bahay, pagkain, kalusugan
Makapag-aral
Trabahong marangal
Hustisya at kapayapaan

Ngunit inuuna
Ng gobyerno ang utang
Pinatitindi pa
Ang gera, logging, minahan
Dahil di malaya
Sa dikta ng dayuhan
Lalong lumalala
Ang kahirapan

Gloria
Huwag kang maggu-Gloria
Huwag kang mang-e-
Erap Ramos Cory Marcos
Gloria
Huwag kang manggu-Gloria
Huwag kang mang-e-
Erap Ramos Cory Marcos

Gloria…

Download the original song here. (Linked from PCIJ blog.)

Didn't I say somewhere in this blog, that she is going to be lampooned in accordance with our great tradition of protest arts and literature? This is the first of such efforts. Bring them all out now. While we are at it, I propose we remove her picture in our kids' classrooms. She doesn't deserve to be there.

What the Adarna Myth Tells us about Writing and Blogging: Words from the late NVM Gonzalez

Today is September 8 birthday of the Virgin Mother and a late friend NVM Gonzalez, National Artist for Literature and fellow Mindoreno. I was wondering if NVM were alive, what would he be telling the bloggers today? And then I remembered Pete Lacaba's quote from NVM which I'd like to post here for all the bloggers.


"Ang hindi ko malilimutan kay NVM ay ang sinabi niya sa isang forum tungkol sa tungkulin ng manunulat. Hindi ko pa siya kilala noon; nabasa ko lang ito sa isang artikulo tungkol sa nasabing forum.Ayon kay NVM, ang manunulat ay dapat tumulad sa bunsong prinsipe sa kuwento ng Ibong Adarna.

Kung natatandaan ninyo ang kuwento, maysakit ang amang hari at gagaling lamang siya kung maririnig ang awit ng Adarna. Sinubukan ng panganay at ng panggitnang prinsipe na hulihin ang Adarna, pero nang marinig nila ang awit ng Adarna, sila'y nakatulog, at iniputan ng ibon, at naging bato.

Para hindi siya mapatulog ng nakararahuyong awit ng Adarna, sinugatan ng bunsong prinsipe ang sarili niya at pinatakan ng dayap ang sugat. Sa gayon, hindi siya nakatulog, hindi siya napatakan ng tae, hindi siya naging bato, nahuli niya and Adarna, at napagaling niya ang maysakit na amang hari.

Hindi rin dapat kalimutan na tumulong ang bunsong prinsipe sa isang matandang pulubi sa daan, at mula sa pulubi niya natutunan ang sikreto ng paghuli sa Adarna.

Bata pa ako nang una kong marinig ang kuwento ng Ibong Adarna, pero kay NVM ko natutunan ang pagbasa dito bilang sagisag ng tungkulin ng manunulat. Para mabigyang-lunas ang amang maysakit, kailangan mong bigyang-halaga ang pulubing naghihikahos. Higit sa lahat, kailangan mong tiisin ang hapdi ng dayap sa sugat para hindi ka ipaghele at iputan at gawing bato ng Adarna. "

The quote originally appeared here.

Bloggers should really be akin to youngest prince in the Adarna myth. We should listen to the powerless for they may tell us how to stay awake while the politicians dazzle and lull us to sleep. For once we have fallen asleep, the politicians will bless us with their poop and turn us into stone.

Notes on the Impeachment Vote

I spent last night and the entire morning till noon today listening to the speeches of the congressmen as they explained their votes on the Justice Committee recommendation to dismiss the amended Lozano complaint and the Lopez complaint under the one-year bar rule and the original Lozano complaint for lack of substance. I have really given the Opposition no chance at all to get this past the House Plenary. But I watched the show, and I must say I am pleased with what I’ve seen.

Cheez Escudero and Alan Cayetano did a fine job interpellating Congressman Villafuerte who looked really idiotic juggling those papers and making up excuses for bungled citations and cluttered reasoning. I still don’t know where Edcel Lagman got his silly doctrine that a complaint signed by a lawyer is already verified. Verification must show that verifier had the competence to know the facts he is verifying. As a matter of fact, the verification must state that the verifier knows the facts of his own personal knowledge. In the case of Lozano’s complaint, he cannot possible say that he knew the facts of the impeachment of his own personal knowledge, because the allegation of election fraud was based largely on the Garci Tapes. He did not have personal knowledge of the fact of cheating in the elections. So how can we say that just by signing the complaint, Atty. Lozano has already verified his complaint on the basis of his lawyer’s oath? Silly.

And this restrictive interpretation of the one year bar rule that the first complaint to be filed, even when Congress is not in session, bars all other impeachment complaints is the craziest idea I’ve ever heard. As my good friend Atty. Punzi said, it leaves the power to impeach the President to the receiving clerk, because the first complaint she receives in a year will be the only one considered for the year. I bet you after this episode we can expect Congressman Pichay to file an impeachment complaint against the President everyday, which ensures that the President will not be legitimately impeached in perpetuity. Crazy idea.

I must say some of the speeches moved me. Rep. Riza Hontiveros-Baraquel regretted that that Congress couldn’t be part of the process of reforming politics in the country. Rep. Rey Magtubo delivered a damning speech about his years in the house. Rep. Darlene Antonino Custodio made an early morning plea to the D.O.M.’s in the house “Can you feel our pain?” That made my hair stand. Dudut Jaworski's speech on the youth vote was noteworthy. And JDV revealed why the House had to kill the impeachment right there and then: the Senate cannot be trusted to give Arroyo a fair trial. Gotcha old man. That is the reason for all this farce. Why did you have to make Lagman and Villafuerte make a fool of themselves? Stop pretending that the Congress is bastion of reason, for the truth is it is the house of greed and self-interest. That much we already know.

But I’m proud of the young congressmen Cheez, Alan, Edmund Reyes, and Abaya. This fight is too big for them, so they lost it. But a good fight is also its own reward. Their time will come. I just hope that they won’t let the system get into them. For when the next Gloria Arroyo type becomes president and her dogs are too old to be around, we know we have these kids to hold the fort. Bravo.

Let’s hope that all those ugly, smelly (mga amoy lupa!), pot-bellied old-timers in the House who represent the worst of our politicians will retire soon.

Statement of Unity: Bukluran Para sa Katotohanan

We come from all walks of life, from different political, cultural, and economic persuasions, different points of view. But in diversity, we find a cause for unity. That cause for unity is our common objective to secure the truth.

We all seek the truth. We want the truth to come out. And yet every means for seeking the truth has been frustrated; every avenue for arriving at the truth has been blocked; and every opportunity to find the truth is being closed.

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s response to our call for the truth has been to suppress evidence, hide her accomplices, engage in a grand cover-up, sow fear, foment distrust and use every instrument at her disposal to encourage division among our people.

We will not be divided in these critical times.

We say with one voice, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo must go. For the good of the country, she must go. For the sake of our nation’s future, she must go. For the preservation of hope as a motive force in our national life, she must go.

We are united by the belief that this crisis must be resolved in a manner that is peaceful and democratic. Without the truth, there cannot be peace; without the truth, there is no genuine democracy. The truth must set our nation free.

Unite for the truth. Demand the truth. Defend the truth.

Kami ay ang Bukluran Para sa Katotohanan.

AKBAYAN Citizen’s Action Party
Ateneo Concerned Faculty and Youth
Bangon, Pilipinas
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN)
Be Not Afraid
Black & White Movement
Citizens for TRUTH (Transparency, Responsibility, Unity, Trust, Hope)
Citizens for Truth, Resignation, Impeachment, or Ouster (C4T)
Coalition for National Solidarity
Counsels for the Defense of Civil Liberties (CODAL)
De La Salle
FPJP Movement
Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC)
Interfaith Movement for Truth, Justice and Genuine Change (IFM)
Kilusan ng Makabansang Ekonomiya (KME)
Laban ng Masa
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)
Peoples Assembly for Genuine Alternatives to Social Apathy (PAG-ASA)
Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP)
Reporma
Union of Muslims for Morality and Truth (UMMAT)
United Opposition (UNO)
Unity for Truth and Justice
UP AWARE
UP Diliman Student Council (UPD USC)
White Ribbon Movement
Women March
Youth DARE

Supreme Court makes history

Today, the Supreme Court upheld the E-VAT Law as valid and constitutional. But it also maintained the temporary restraining order against its implementation to allow its oppositors to file a motion for reconsideration. Jojo Bunag must be scratching his head.

This is amazing. Justice Escolin and Justice Relova, esteemed retired Supreme Court justices who taught us remedial law in the Ateneo, never taught us that this could be possible. A law's application is suspended, in spite of the ruling that it is valid. And, the ground for the suspension is meant "to allow the filing of a motion for reconsideration"?

Got to get a copy of that case. I can sure have a lot of use for that. Tsk tsk tsk What these interesting times do to our laws...

Sun Tzu Advice No. 17: Fool if you think it’s over

Sun Tzu says, "Do not press an enemy at bay."

It is strange to have a client who will hire you to sue herself. Politicians can be amusing sometimes. But we all know it wasn’t right. It was not right that Oliver Lozano’s impeachment complaint was initiated and sponsored by GMA’s crowd. It was not right that the people’s once a year shot at the impeachment process for legitimate grievances was stolen from them by the very people they elected. It was not right that we would never be able to get to the bottom of the Hello Garci Tapes and the Comelec pay-off as narrated by Zuce. The legal process has been subverted. The lone argument for the rule of law has been lost.

And so, before they pat themselves in the back, the Administration should expect the people going back to the streets. They should expect their ugly faces being lampooned in the editorial cartoons and on the web. The people will be all over them. They have pressed their enemy, the people, at bay.

Ma’am, it’s time to fortify the Malacanang gates. Make them high. Make them strong. And may God have mercy on your soul.

Where is George Washington?

My wife and I are opening a children’s library to address the needs of the new generation to rediscover the pleasure of reading books. We took advantage of the discount sales in Powerbooks and National Bookstore this weekend, and we have gathered a hefty harvest of children’s books. In the course of buying the books, I managed to sneak Adrian Cristobal’s "The Tragedy of the Revolution" in the shopping list, as I argued that our children need to be familiar, if not enamored, by Philippine heroes. Cristobal’s book is full of illustrations, pictures, and even replicas of Bonifacio’s letters that could excite young and old minds alike. I thought, it might be a good start.

When we got home, I opened the big book immediately and gathered my older sons, Juancho (six years old) and Hans (four years old) around it. Juancho was particularly impressed, and judging from his reaction, I expect that he would be opening this book regularly. But Hans -- well, after I announced that the book was about Andres Bonifacio, he asked, “ Where is George Washington?”. I dismissed his question as a joke, but after I explained to him who Andres Bonifacio was, I still am not sure if he understood.

Hans’s innocent question has made me feel guilty. What are we feeding the mind of this child? Cable TV, computer games, foreign written children’s books, Pixar and Disney movies? And what a shame it is that my Filipino son knew George Washington before he knew Andres Bonifacio. And this brings me back to my point, we need to make our children familiar, if not enamored, by our Filipino heroes. For it is only through the awareness and understanding of their history that our kids will appreciate what is to be Filipinos and find their place in the world.

But for a Filipino parent, the task is difficult. Mass media is dominated by Hollywood. I have not seen a decent film of Andres Bonifacio in my life. And Cristobal’s book is one among few books on the man that is accessible to all ages. There is very little about Filipino heroes on the bookstores and video shops. In spite of the fact that our history is never lacking in material, our mass media have not given our children a decent fare of Filipino heroes. It is quite an irony that in the age of mass media, Filipinos would have to pass stories about their heroes by oral tradition.

Why? One word says it all: chicken.

Our media moguls are afraid to exploit the untried and untested as they are afraid to lose money. And so they give us their regular mediocre material that rakes in the cash. But they are unaware that if only someone would dare, they would find a generation hungry for their heritage. And it might even be a more profitable proposition, for what could be a better reward than the certainty that our kids will carry on with the ideals of our heroes and avoid the sins of their forefathers?

Hollywood did it to them. Hollywood did it to us. It took away our courage -- the courage to be ourselves. Let’s not allow it to do the same to our children. I won’t allow it anymore. No. Not to my Juancho and Hans.

History Lesson No. 1: Why the revolution failed (and probably also why this nation will)

“The Revolution failed because it was badly directed, because its leader won his post not with praiseworthy but with blameworthy acts, because instead of employing the most useful men of the nation, he jealously discarded them. Believing that the advance of the people was no more than his own personal advance, he did not rate men accoding to their ability, character and partiotism but according to the degree of friendship or kinship binding him to them; and wanting to have favorites willing to sacrifice themselves for him, he showed himself lenient to their faults. Because he disdained the people, he could not but fall like an idol of wax melting in the heat of adversity. May we never forget such terrible lesson learned at the cost of unspeakable sufferings!”

Apolinario Mabini
from Nick Joaquin’s A Question of Heroes

The full text of Mabini's "The Philippine Revolution" can be found here.

William Esposo on Raul S. Roco: Filipinos lose the best, keep the worst

I'd like to post the last paragraph of William Esposo's column today in the INQ7.net, if he doesn't mind. I'm close to tears after reading it. and I'd like to keep it etched in my memory forever. I hope it moves you too.

"I am sadder for the upper and middle class members of our society who found refuge in the lesser evil. I can understand how much more difficult it would be for the masses to discern what is good for them. I can understand their attraction to showbiz types who comfort, humor and entertain them in the misery of their daily existence. But the supposedly more educated, more informed upper and middle class members of society who we expect to have better sense and propriety - there is no reason at all for them to select the lesser evil.

Because of them, the lesser evil has made our country a virtual hell."

No Sun Tzu today.

Saklolo Leano: A Seasoned Litigator to the President's Defense

Two years ago, I summed up my list of Ten Best Lawyers in the Philippines.Today, the number 8 man on my list hit the headlines: Saklolo Leano. According to news reports, Sak -- as people are fond of calling him -- was appointed as co-counsel for the defense of the President in the impeachment trial.

I blogged:

"8. Saklolo Leano

He is considered as one of the few experts in aviation law, and is constantly battling the world's best lawyers in this field. I had the privilege of working with him in the multi-billion peso construction arbitration case against a French contractor and would forever be in awe of this great lawyer. Sak was our hitman against the French's expert witness, a lawyer-engineer with very impressive academic and professional credentials. Sak cross-examined the expert witness like a cook peeling off the skin of an onion. He was subtle, precise, organized, logical and persuasive. The French tried his best to live up to his client's expectations but he was no match. At one high point of the cross-examination, Sak, with his pleasant and clear voice told the witness, 'Mr. Smith, I am very sorry to say this but you do not have the slightest respect for the Philippine courts.' We won PHP 700 million in that case."

Legal 500, a publication, which rates and recomends lawyers based on their expertise, lists Platon Martinez Floes San Pedro & Leano, Sak's firm, as one of the top litigation firms in Manila.

Unlike the defense lawyers in the impeachment trial of Erap Estrada, Sak is a charming mild-mannered lawyer. He doesn't have a reputation of being a cheat. And he is not likely to offend people in the event that he has to object to every question of the prosecution team a la Atty. Flaminiano in the Estrada impeachment. The only factor that might go against him is that Sak is now in his late sixties or early seventies. I hope he will be able to stand the rigors of this impeachment trial. But I'm sure, he will be able to live up to his reputation, give the President a fair trial, and help the nation uncover the truth.

Raul S. Roco: grand answer to the clarion's call

I took this photo on December 30, 2003, the day Senator Roco filed his certificate of candidacy for President, and also my wife's last day as a reporter for ANC.

The last line of the San Beda College alma mater song goes "Bedans will answer the clarion's call, for San Beda, our country and God." I thought that it was a cliche, but we sang that hymn every school day in high school. And each time we did, my schoolmates and I got a little more committed to its meaning. Raul S. Roco wrote that line, and the rest of the lyrics of the Bedan hymn in his youth. And somehow, in his death, we can say his place in history is secured, his life highlighted by the lyrics he wrote for his fellow Bedans.

He was an English major. He claimed he wanted to be a poet, but because of the urgings of his dad, he turned to law. And poetry's loss was law's gain. Of the many laws he authored as a congressman and senator, one of the most important is the Securities Regulation Code. The law was passed as a reaction to the BW Scam. It demutualized the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), removed the broker's monopoly of the PSE, and transplanted key concepts of American securities law to the Philippines, such as tender offer, independent directors, and the code of corporate governance. What is amazing is that then Senator Roco was successful in getting this key legislation passed while being an opposition senator. And President Estrada, who is blamed for the BW scam, even affixed his signature on it.

During the impeachment trial of President Estrada, Senator Roco was the sage voice among the senator-judges. When Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago questioned Jasmin Banal, a young lawyer witness, for moving from a high paying law firm to a low paying law firm, and insinuated that the move was unbelievable, Senator Roco rose to save the lady and the rest of the legal profession from embarassment. He asked Jasmin Banal what was written in the marble etching at the Malcolm Hall of the UP College of Law, where Jasmin Banal and Miriam Defensor Santiago studied. Roco guided Jasmin as they quoted Oliver Wendell Holmes. "The business of a law school is not simply to teach law or make lawyers but to teach law in the grand manner and to make great lawyers." And it served as a reminder to all lawyers that the business of lawyering is not simply to practice law (and make a lot money) but to practice law in a grand manner and to become great lawyers.

His work as Education Secretary is likewise remarkable. He was the only Education Secretary who successfully implemented the scheme of paying teachers' salaries through automated teller machines (atms). For years, syndicates resisted the scheme, because they made money on teachers who had to encash their pay checks from banks. Capitalizing on the teachers' needs for money, the syndicates discounted their checks at usurious rates. And teachers had to live day by day on their low salaries that get even lower when discounted with loan sharks. The atm machine removed the syndicates from the equation as teachers got their salaries in full through the atm. The scheme also eliminated the teachers who existed only in the payroll and saved the department a lot of money for other things. In one forum, a teacher complained that she was too old to go to an atm machine. Roco's undersecretary Ernie Pangan quickly remarked, if you are too old to go to an atm machine, you are too old to teach.

For two years, I had the opportunity of negotiating corporate acquisition deals with his law firm. He hovered in the backgound, but his associates' work bore his marks; they were meticulous, competent, persevering, and ethical. His law firm and its work is also one other lasting legacy he would leave the legal profession and the nation.

Roco never became President of this Republic. But even then, he became a great lawyer, congressman, senator, and education secretary. True to his word, he answered the clarion's call, and he did it in the grand manner. He made us all proud we are Filipinos. May he rest in peace.

Second test on Zuce's story: What dinner at the lower level?

Zuce's affidavit states that "Upon arrival at PGMAs residence, they were brought to a lower level where the dinner tables had already been arranged but we waited for 2 hours before GMA arrived at around 9:00 P.M."

He said "lower level". Note this detail. They didn't have dinner in a room or in a garden. They had it at the "lower level".

The term "lower level", does this mean the basement of PGMA's house in La Vista? Why then didn't Zuce say it was the basement? Does this mean that PGMA's house in La Vista has a lower level, which is not necessarily the basement of the house, and 27 people or so would fit and have dinner there with tables arranged? This is easily verifiable.

And if the Administration's attacks against Zuce is true (that he was a minor functionary and therefore could not have been involved in sensitive matters), how come he is familiar with PGMA's house in La Vista? Are minor functionaries of the government allowed at PGMA's private La Vista house? What kind of security guards do they have in that subdivision that minor government functionaries are allowed to have dinner at the President's private home? Perhaps, Zuce is a minor functionary, who is major enough, as it were, to be allowed to go to the President's private abode.

Maybe Zuce is just imagining that PGMA's house has a lower level where 27 people could have dinner?

The devil is in the details. Does PGMA"s house in La VIsta have a lower level?

How to Test Zuce's Story

Two words: "Travel Reports."

Every government official who is sent to "out-of-town" meetings is required to make a travel report soon after arriving from the trip. In this travel report, she states the itinerary for the trip, the time spent on a particular place, the purpose of the meeting, and a liquidation of advances for the trip. She is also required to attach the plane ticket, the boarding pass, the airport terminal stub, and the official receipts for food expenses. This type of paper work is a serious matter attended to normally by government officials, because a mistake in the travel report here and there can spawn a few administrative and criminal cases. A supervisor level official in the government has made enough travel reports in her career to get to that level.

Michaelangelo “Louie” Zuce, the presidential staff officer, who presented an affidavit, stating that 27 COMELEC provincial election supervisors from Mindanao were treated to a dinner in the La Vista residence of the President sometime in January 2004. See PCIJ background article here. Zuce claims that GMA arrived at 9:00 pm after dinner. Baby Pineda, wife of Bong Pineda, introduced the COMELEC officials one by one to the President. The President then asked the COMELEC supervisors to support her in the 2004 presidential elections. Other things happened that night, but at the end of the night, Zuce writes that "While we were living, Mrs. Pineda gave RD Johnny Icaro of Region 4 white envelopes for all of us. When we opened them in the vehicles, we found that each envelope contained P30,000."

Did this happen? Is Zuce a fake? Check the travel reports. They should be in the Finance and Administration office of the COMELEC regions.

Sun Tzu Advice No. 16 "Deception does not work in politics."

Sun Tzu says. "All warfare is deception."

Whoever advised the President to take the charter change to the top of the agenda has employed a clever ploy. It's obviously a diversionary tactic, a way to skirt the issue by bringing out a new one in the hope that the second one will be more controversial and bury the old one. It's also a litttle carrot for Speaker Joe De Venecia, an ally of the President, to ensure that he does not move over to the other side and sign the impeachment complaint. And the President chose the State of the Nation Address as her stage to bring out the charter change card to employ the pomp and glamor that goes with this state ritual in highlighting the charter change agenda.

But here is the problem: deception works in war, but not in politics. Again, I attribute this mistake to poor intelligence work. All she has to do is look at the list of people out to get her to resign and she would know that the charter change plan will not work. Did her advisers think that they can divert Cory Aquino's attention away from the real issue of the day? Did they think Senate President Drilon will buy that? And the Makati Business Club -- I can almost hear them say, "Geez, thanks, more instability to ruin business."

What about her allies in the Senate? Senator Joker Arroyo's voice has not been heard lately. Do her advisers think Senator Joker Arroyo will continue to stay silent now that deception is about to be employed. Senator Manny Villar's quest for the Senate Presidency and the Presidency of the Republic is about to be smothered by charter change, do they expect him to be quiet too?

Ma'am, history has been unkind to liars. Deception can get you nowhere. Ditch the plan.

Blogs of the Round Table: Can we handle an impeachment verdict?

I might not have internet connection to join the Blogs ofthe Round Table this morning as I need to be in Tarlac by 11:00 am. So I'm posting my thoughts ahead and hopefully people will find it a worthy read.

If we are looking at the impeachment as a peaceful way out of this crisis, all we need to do is find the answer to one question: Can both parties accept defeat?

The question is relevant, because naturally the impeachment will come to a conclusion. At the end of the process, there will be a verdict. Will this verdict be accepted? Are the parties open to a scenario of losing? Can Gloria accept a verdict of guilty without the Villaraza lawyers hauling off the controversy to the Supreme Court for a TRO or some other legal maneuver that their lawyer wizards can think of? Can the people accept a not guilty verdict without staging another walkout and another stakeout at EDSA?

If the answer is yes, then impeachment might work. If the answer is no, then impeachment might bring about more dissension than consensus, and even the dismemberment of the Republic!

Heaven forbid. Heaven forbid.

Sun Tzu Advice No. 15: Don’t Make Mistake No. 3

Sun Tzu says, "Those who are skilled in warfare will always bring the enemy where they want to fight, and are not brought there by the enemy."

Mistake No. 1: The Apology
Mistake No. 2: Micro-managing the Crisis
Mistake No. 3: Truth Commission

The Truth Commission is not her battleground. She would be under extreme pressure to appoint men and women of integrity to make the idea work. She would have to give that commission broad powers to investigate. They should be able to issue subpoenas, examine witnesses, cite people in contempt, and hold public hearings. It is going to be another spectacle for her enemies to feast on. Worse, she will not be able to control it. Any person of integrity who would accept appointment on the Truth Commission will not be susceptible to political pressure. They would not be beholden to anybody but the truth. And as everyone knows by now, the truth is going to hurt.

Ma’am, don’t make Mistake No. 3.

Sun Tzu Advice No. 14: "Whack those Phones"

This crisis started, because somebody tapped Garcellano's cellphone.To muddle the issue, the pro-GMA camp also brought out Erap's tapped conversations with former general Joselyn Nazareno.

Last night, somebody told me another cellphone story. It's not another wiretapped cellphone conversation, but a cellphone call simply etched in memory that pointed to another compromised institution.

Allegedly, after the Supreme Court issued the temporary restraining order (TRO) against the implementation of the VAT law, SOMEBODY called Mr. Cesar Purisima. The voice on the the other end confirmed that the TRO has been issued. "Yung hinihingi niyo sa Supreme Court binigay na." This phonecall convinced Mr. Purisima it was time to go, and it was time to go with a bang. Is this story true? Who made that call to former Sec. Purisima? Why did it convince him to leave? What did Mr. Purisima mean when he said that he cannot give further details on the TRO or the VAT, because it would get him into trouble? In the Philippine Star headline today, Mr. Purisima denies having a hand in the publication of the story, which came out in Boo Chanco's column from the same newspaper, "This has no basis". Mr.Purisima is further quoted, "I wish to make it clear that I never gave Mr. Chanco an interview on these matters, and that I never made any such statement or opinion in any foum or to anyone else. In fact, I wasted no time in calling Mr. Chanco to personally ask him to reveal his sources, because I did not have any participation in the publication of his article or in the utterrance of any statement or opinion therein contained."

Those cellphones, tapped or untapped, pose a danger to national security.

Ma'am, whack those phones.

Sun Tzu Advice No. 13:"Watch out for the Renegades"

Sun Tzu says, "If the enemy is strong, take something important from him and he will do as you please."

The opposition might not have intended it, but the resignation of the eight cabinet members and two senior finance officials took away a lot from GMA. The renegades, as it were, lent a lot of credibility to the GMA administration.They helped managed the economy through the hard times, although the hard times are still around. Without them, GMA's government is left mostly with operators who will take GMA's warrior agenda to the top of the list of every government office in this country. Of course, GMA is still strong, but the renegades were important to her. And if the opposition consolidates and use the renegades against her, she will have to do as they please.

What do the renegades have? They have answers -- answers to questions that GMA has since managed to sweep under the rug, as it were. How much did the government spend in the last few months leading to election for projects that were intended to boost the President's candidacy? How much of these expenditures would have been recouped by the VAT Law? How could they have thought of spending all that money for the President's re-election bid and taking it back in the form of taxes right after? Was that the reason why former Finance Secretary Camacho resigned in the months before the election?

Did the President really suggest that the implementation of the VAT law be suspended because of the current political crisis? Did her nonchalant reaction to the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) mean that she got what she wanted? How could she have wanted to have the TRO against her own centerpiece finance program?

Who recommended Garcellano to the Comelec? Why was he appointed to the Comelec in spite of his reputation in the past elections? Why was the President calling Garcellano during the peak of the canvassing of votes from Mindanao? What other sins of the President were discussed in their cabinet meetings for which the Filipino people deserve an apology?

The order of the day is to woo the renegades back into the fold. It would not help to call them traitors and ostracize them further by maligning their integrity. Instead, they should be convinced and persuaded that it is their best interest to go back to the side of the President or at the very least stay away from the opposition. If the President is unable to win them back, it would spell her doom.

Ma'am, they have the goods on you. Watch out for the renegades.

SUN TZU ADVICE NO. 12: ”Ma’am, leave this war to the Pros”

Sun Tzu says the king – or queen for that matter – should not meddle in the war.


Thus we may know that there are five essentials
for victory:
(1) He will win who knows when to fight and when
not to fight.
(2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior
and inferior forces.
(3) He will win whose army is animated by the same
spirit throughout all its ranks.
(4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take
the enemy unprepared.
(5) He will win who has military capacity and is
not interfered with by the sovereign.

If you read between the lines of the statement of the ten cabinet officials who resigned en masse yesterday, you will find that the President is committing one basic mistake in the management of the Gloriagate Crisis. The statement of the ten cabinet officials is implying that the President was making decisions with the paramount concern for her political survival rather than the national interest. What does this mean? GMA appears to be managing the political war herself.

In Ricky Carandang’s interview this evening, former finance secretary Cesar Purisima said that the President herself told Purisima that the implementation of the VAT law should be delayed. The VAT Law would have caused an increase in the prices of commodities, including gasoline, had its implementation not been restrained. A political manager at war would have seen this as another source of discontent that would propel more people to the streets. But economic managers have maintained that the VAT Law was urgent and necessary for the country to get out of the economic mess. Well, it seems GMA, the political war manager, prevailed over GMA, the PhD in economics, on this issue. I don’t know if this confirms the rumor that the President herself maneuvered to have the VAT Law restrained by the Supreme Court, for which reason Purisima decided to leave. But before Purisima made that statement about GMA’s decision to delay the implementation of the VAT Law this evening, he did not confirm that it was a factor in his decision to resign, saying that there are things he couldn’t say lest he would get into trouble. Go figure.

In her statement the other night, GMA also said that she decided to make the apology a couple of days ago against the advice of counsel. Well, I thought making the apology was GMA’s biggest blunder in this crisis. Now, it appears her biggest blunder is actually the fact that she is running this political war herself. “Hands on leadership” is how they call her style. But that goes against the basic principle of war that the sovereign should leave the war to the generals. This management style already got her into trouble when she ran her own election and post-election operations -- that’s why they got her on tape with Garcellano remember? This hands on style will only get her into more trouble.

Why should the queen not run the political war? The political generals know better. The skills required for governance are radically different from the skills required for running the war. More importantly, only the objective detachment of a professional can figure out an emotionally wrenching experience such as Gloriagate. Look at all the mistakes that she has made. The apology is a blunder, because it woke up the already pacified Susan Roces. Delaying the VAT Law implementation is another blunder, because that caused her to lose ten key cabinet officials, who not only resigned, but also went on air to call for her resignation, disgruntled that her warrior agenda has ruined her governance agenda.

A lawyer who has himself as a client has a fool for a client. Atty. Punzi puts it better. A barber goes to another barber for a haircut. Have you ever seen a barber who cuts his own hair? As it is in the legal profession and the barbershop, so shall it be in this political war.

Ma’am, with very little time left to salvage your cause, you have to leave it to the pros.

Neither here nor there

Ateneo Law School has recently released a statement on the Gloriagate Scandal. The Inquirer quotes Ateneo Law School Dean Cesar L. Villanueva as follows:

"We do not demand that the President resign, but we do ask of her, as the duly proclaimed Chief Executive of our Republic, to determine what is best for the country, and that her decision be made with the best interest of the nation in mind," the Ateneo Law School said in a statement issued by Dean Cesar L. Villanueva."As our President, we must rely on Ms Arroyo to make the proper decision, and once having made it, to then follow what would be in accordance with the terms provided for in our Constitution," he said.

"As our President, we must rely on Ms. Arroyo to make the proper decision, and once having made it, to then follow what would be in accordance with the terms provided for in our Constitution," he said.

This is a safe position to take. It's what old lawyers say as "neither here nor there" argument. And you might be wondering why this is how they stand. I have a theory. The Ateneo Law faculty is composed mostly of law practitioners in the big law firms in Makati who are counselling big time business supporters of the President. These lawyers are beholden to their clients who do not like their lawyers to be nosing around politics, especially when it threatens business. Now, as big business has thrown its support to GMA, can we expect their lawyers to take a diffferent position?

Compare the Ateneo's position with that of UP, and you wonder why these law schools have different takes on Gloriagate. Well, UP Law School is dominated by law academicians. Their roster is full of LLM's from Ivy League schools, and many of them write good and competent legal papers that affect social policy. JJ Disini and Sassy Lawyer can correct me if I'm wrong, but my impression is the UP law professors are not beholden to big business. Thus, UP Law's stand on the matter is clear, idealistic and principled.

Is there something about being an academic that makes you throw all caution to the wind, so to speak, when you find something condemnable and you condemn it? And is there something about being a lawyer, that makes you hesitate -- and perhaps, even cower in fear -- in the same situation?

How come UP and Ateneo do not have the same position on Gloriagate? UP Law is run by academics, and Ateneo, by lawyers.

Where have you been all my life?

My curiosity was sparked when Atty. Alfredo Tadiar once made a quip in one of those arbitration hearings I had with him a few years back. He was struggling with the laptop where he was typing the terms of reference of the case. He said we should pardon him, because he "was used to a mac." The techies among us in that hearing made a wry smile. While it was indeed an apology for the delay in the proceedings, it was also a snide remark to the others in the room who think that pcs are all there is to it in computing. For many years, I've been using the pc -- think 5 and 1/2 inch floppy disks and 640 kb ram. And while I've heard of macs before, I never gave them serious attention, because of the "incompatibility issue" with pc users who dominate the environment. Besides, there were very few times in my professional life that I could walk into a computer store, armed with serious mullah to take everything in sight. And even then, my serious mullah was not enough for the price of a mac. But Atty. Tadiar's quip made me think, " one of these days, I'd find out what's with this mac folks that make them proud."

Yesterday was one of those days. I was prepared to buy a mac mini just to give the mac format a try. If it didn't work out, I thought the kids could use it for their own needs. But blame it on the wife and the friends who talked to me before I walked into the Power Mac Center in Megamall, for when I walked out of it, I had with me instead an IMAC G5 17 inch, 2 ghz, 512 mb with 160 gigs of memory.

I tinkered with it for less than an hour, after which I told myself, I think I already know how it works. It's very much like windows without the hang times, the long boot, and the spyware. To deal with the compatibility issue, I also bought a Microsoft Office for mac. When I plugged in my USB drive (in the keyboard!), my docs were all accessed by the mac. So I can say now for sure that the compatibility issue is not an issue. It's a myth. I have not spent more than 24 hours with this beauty, and I'm already wondering where has it been all my life.

My kids love the nanosaur game that came bundled with the mac. The 17 inch screen has solid realistic and detailed rendering of images that could even be better than those in the latest playstation. The dinosaur animation is incomparable to anything I have seen. And in spite of stunning graphics, the mac doesn't slow down or hang. Pardon me, but I really feel liberated.

The best thing about this mac is -- it is a work of art. Everything is in the monitor. The display is the computer, as the Apple website says. "The iMac G5 hangs suspended from a graceful anodized aluminum stand and its widescreen display lets you retouch photos and surf the web while you chat with friends or scan email wirelessly, thanks to built-in AirPort technology, and see everything at the same time." This is not a sales pitch; it's the amazing truth. Computers can be like this.

One of these days, if I chance upon Atty. Tadiar, I'd tell him, shifting from a mac to a pc is indeed difficult, but shifting from pc to a mac is like discovering you can breathe.

Sun Tzu Advice No. 11: Time to Consider Plan B

Whoever advised the President to make the apology did poor intelligence work. Why did these adivsers ever think that the Filipinos would be happy with an apology? That's pure wishful thinking. To have a President saying I'm sorry to everybody does not appeal to people's interest. It would not make their lives any better. It would only make it more fun to lampoon the President. If these advisers thought that this crisis would go away now, they are wrong. This crisis is now about to dominate everyone's life, and the ending is clearly visible.

"What profits a woman if she gains the entire world but loses her soul?"

Ma'am, the time has come for you to consider Plan B.

The politician of God's love

I had a final chance to be around Jaime Cardimal Sin before his retirement a couple of years ago. It was a Sunday Mariapolis event at Rizal Coliseum hosted by the Focolare community. The Sunday Mariapolis is a whole-day affair where members, adherents, volunteers, and friends of the Focolare gather for witnessing the basic tenets of the movement. The program started promptly at around 9:00am. At around 11:00 am, a little skit was being played out on the stage, when the host halted everything to announce the arrival of Jaime Cardinal Sin, then already feeling the weight of old age. There were loud cheers as people gathered to kiss his hand. And as he staggered his way, I asked myself how long has it been since this great man was "fanning the flames" of discontent against the Marcos regime? Many years after, he was still around, this time sharing the faith with his flock. When he made it to the microphone to speak about how happy he was that he made it to the Mariapolis that day, tears fell from my eyes. There was no burning issue of the day. No president to topple. It was just an occasion for an old cardinal to be with his flock, and the struggle was for the strength to make it to the stage. The thought came to explain the tears, this man truly loved his flock. And his politics was not about power for himself or for a dynasty. It was about God's love. And like God's love, his politics was constant and consistent. You can not accuse Jaime Cardinal Sin of ever being on the wrong side. His place in my history book is secured.

I feel blessed to have lived in the time of Jaime Cardinal Sin. May he rest in peace.

Sun Tzu Advice No. 10: Time to use the "P" word.

Sun Tzu says, "If you are strong, you attack. If you are weak, you defend."

The President can still win the battle for public approval in this controversy about her wiretapped conversations. GMA should show everyone that this controversy is less about cheating in the elections, but more about private conversations being kept private.

It's time to argue the case for the "P" word. It's time to tell the State it went too far. Private time is private time. As in the case of an ordinary individual, whatever the President does on her private time is beyond the public domain. The right to privacy is a fundamental principle of the Filipino's social pact with the Philippine state. Violate the right to privacy, and the social pact is broken.

At first, everyone may disgree with the invocation of this right in this particular case. Yet, imagine for a moment, that Mrs. Arroyo is not the President. Take this case in isolation of the political reality. Is it really proper for the people to feast on her private cellphone conversations? Is it right for the State to meddle with anybody's phone calls without the proper procedures?Do we all have to explain to the Philippine State the meaning of our conversations?

The question of the day is not whether she is one of the voices on the tapes, but whether anyone has any business listening to the tapes. First things first. If the State will uphold the right to privacy of a sitting president, the most public of this country's private citizens, then the State will uphold the right to privacy of the rest. Is anybody arguing that the President has no right to privacy? It's preposterous. It's like saying she cannot close the door when she goes to the bathroom. The privacy she enjoys is the privacy we can all enjoy. How can anyone argue with that?

If people think that the "Hello Garci" ringtones are cool, then they missed the point. The joke is on them. Somebody has spooked the highest official in the land. What makes them think it cannot happen to them? Their darkest secrets will never be safe, and they will never be able to live with it. Senator Serge Osmena has been distributing copies of the wiretapped conversations of the President to challenge the Justice Secretary to sue. But Senator Serge should watch out, for what if he too has been spooked, and the tape is mixed with those he distributes? One of the voices in those tapes might turn out to be his. What dark secrets of the good senator would be revealed? Will we find out what really happened in his Eskapo story with the late Geny Lopez? The right to privacy that he is violating might as well be his.

While I still believe that waiving the benefits of the anti-wireapping law is necessary in order for the people to bring the crisis to the courts instead of the streets, I am also saying that the President should raise the issue of privacy to the bar of public opinion. She should appeal to their sense of decency. Decent people do not listen to private conversations, for at the end of the day, no one is perfect. Each has his dark little secret, and no one has the right to publicize someone else's dark secrets -- most definitely not without consent.

Ma'am this is your strongest argument: "The right to privacy has primacy." Sun Tzu says attack.

See Atty Punzi's accompanying blog lecture on the right to privacy here.

(revised post)