117. Apple, Privacy, and the State (6)

It's hard to say the state cannot touch a convict's mind, especially if that mind plotted against the state. But the test between the liberal and the conservative is precisely at this hairline boundary. Let's assume first that the state has the ability to open up a criminal's brain and find out from its parts the data that it needs to uncover the plots and conspiracies in the criminal's mind. While at it, the state might as well find out how to turn this criminal into a Buddhist so it won't kill any living being. All of a sudden, the promise of peace is in the horizon;  what with all the criminals in the world becoming Dalai Lama adherents? But is that how we want to do it? Every criminogenic mind becoming a Buddhist? The state tweaking people's brains? Yet, what if the state becomes good at this tweaking job and to prevent revolution and reform, it does it to everyone who has problems with the status quo? The citizens would lose their power over the state, such that the citizens would be the beings of the state. It's not going ro be pretty. Speculation? No, its applying Nietshche's will to power. The state would do everything for power, its actions would be dictated by its desire for more power. Humanity will not stand a chance if it allows the state to encroach the data in the human mind. So, the state should never be allowed to access the human mind, regardless if it's the mind of the most notorious criminal. 

116. Apple, Privacy, and the State (5)

Exploring the brain is not equivalent to controlling it. In the context of the Art of War, however, assuming we consider the tension between the state and the individual as a state of war, exploring is intelligence gathering, which is the key to victory. When Sun Tsu says be like water which follows the curvatures and holes of whatever it contains, he is talking about intelligence gathering in the context of war. So, if we allow the state to explore the inner workings of the brain, we are empowering the state to defeat the citizen's brain in the event that the state and the citizen ends up in a conflict like a war. Nietzsche would agree that to know the brain is to have power over the brain. Should we allow the state to have power over our individual brains? No. It's an Orwellian scenario I'm painting, but this is  pretty much what will happen to us if we allow the state to be governed by paranoia and empower it take over our brains. Thus, the state should never know what is in our brains. The physical matter? Sure, in the interest of science. But it should never have access to our thoughts. It should never know how, why, and what we think. It's our last inch of power against the state. If we give up that little space, we give up our freedom. We give up our humanity. We become mere creatures of the state.

115. Apple, Privacy, and the State (4)

There is a Gary Larson cartoon which depicts a couple awake in bed in the middle of the night and the wife holding a pillow with which she apparently hit her husband's head.  The husband is muttering, "I'm not responsible for what I do in your dreams." And I won't explain that further in order not to kill the humor, but move straight with an event I remember from our law school days. Manuel Morato, then Chair of the Movie TV Radio Classification Board, was brandishing his idea to the law school lot about his legislative proposal for his agency to have the power to approve movie scripts before they are actually made into movies. I was outraged by the proposal which explains why I still remember that incident. Censor scripts before they are made into movies, this is a proposal for mind control after the dictatorship has fallen in the Philippines. Morato's bill never made it into law, but you'll never know, as the old guard of morality is hovering around the portals of power. The point is the state should never be allowed to control the inner workings of a citizen's mind. It is the most private of a person's private domain, the last frontier where the individual can assert his individuality and humanity against the state. In the citizen's mind, the citizen and the state are equal. It is where free will resides and it is only through the exercise of the free will by citizens that a state can exist. The state does not exist by itself; it exists because citizens with free will decide that they want the state to exist. Thus, the state should not encroach on the domain where a person's free will resides -- the citizen's brain. This is the core of the right to privacy, the human brain. It should be off limits to the state, now and forever, a categorical imperative that saves the citizen and the state as well. So, Apple it's not about the customer. It's about the citizen. 

114. Apple, Privacy, and the State (3)

Let me start by saying that my iPhone is an extension of my brain. Of course, the extension is not physical, albeit I do not think that can be discounted in the foreseeable future. Everything on my IPhone came from my brain. It has the data from my brain, the names of the people I deal with, my conversations with them, my correspondences, even drafts of my intended communications, drafts of my thoughts, blogs, ideas, notes, images not just of people, but also places and institutions. Not only does my iPhone have my brain's data, my iPhone also does some of my brain functions, like keeping my memories, communications, mathematical  calculations, brain mappings, even logical circuits for logical thinking. It is part of my brain. The phone does not have my entire brain, but a lot of my brain functions have been outsourced to my iPhone. As a matter of fact, if I lose my phone, I'd be crippled. It would probably take me more than a month to get a normal life, and I would need another iPhone to do it. Somebody said what technology extends, it amputates. That is a fair statement and sadly my brain functions that have been extended to the iPhone have sort of mortified. I cannot add or subtract without an iPhone, neither can a write a freaking sentence or a paragraph without the iPhone. I cannot remember what day it is in the week without looking at the iPhone or remember what I'm supposed to do tomorrow without my iPhone.  Thus, the iPhone is indeed an extension of my brain. I have a feeling this is the case  with a lot of other people, especially those with iPhones. So, I'm saying for some people, and they could be a lot, the iPhone is an extension of their brains. Thus, if the government messes with my iPhone, it's messing up part of my brain.  Now, Apple why are you not arguing it this way, you capitalist pig? 

113. Apple, Privacy, and the State (2)

In the previous paragraph, we said Apple's stand on the right to privacy is motivated by its promise of privacy to its customers. By approaching the issue this way, Apple is doomed, legally and morally, so to speak. For all intents and purposes a private contractual obligation is subject to compelling state interests and this has been carved out in the jurisprudence on the US Constitution and probably in the Constitutions of other countries as well. It's the same idea that underlies the prohibition on trading of illicit goods, such as drugs and other contraband. The freedom to contract is limited by what the State permits as legitimate contracts. Thus, by anchoring its objections to the order to decrypt on a contractual obligation, Apple is headed to defeat. Even if we do the test of the categorical imperative on the clash of values between state security and inviolability of private contracts, there is no contest that state interest would prevail for it can be argued that  the right of the state to protect itself against illegal contracts, especialy those which jeopardizes the state's existence, is fundamental. Without the state, there would be no room for rights, as there would be no social order. 

112. Apple, Privacy, and the State (1)

Apple refuses to decrypt a terrorist's iPhone because of privacy concerns in spite of an order from a court which is ordering it for national security reasons. Let's be Kantians for a while and tackle the issue as a purely secular problem. Apple is arguing that the universality of the right to privacy applies even to criminals whose purpose is to kill people in support of a political or social agenda. Kant's categorical imperative urges people to act only according to the maxim by which people can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. Apple seems like it is acting like the American hero, protecting the right to privacy of everyone, good or bad people alike, because it believes in privacy. Yet, the Apple statement anchors its position on privacy on the customer-businessman relationship of trust. It has  sworn that its customer's data is private and therefore it would stand by it, regardless if one of it's customer turns out to be a terrorist. In effect, Apple is putting forth two things on the table: (1) the universality of the value that compels it to honor its word to its customers which binds its to 2) protect the universality of the right to privacy of its customers. Yet, the way Apple words its statement appears to be that were it not for the promise of privacy, it would have honored the court order. Tim Cook says, "Our commitment to protecting your privacy comes from a deep respect for our customers. We know that your trust doesn't come easy. That's why we have and will always work as hard as we can to earn and keep it." Thus, if we break down this dilemna further, it appears not to be about privacy but about the promise of customer experience. In other words, it's really what about they promised the customer. Aye, there's the rub. My iPhone sucks at battery life and I'm hunting down the  Apple marketing material that addresses the promise of how my battery would work and pin down Apple to it for a breach of its promise, the point being, this is not about the right to privacy, but a play for more iPhone customers -- hey look at us, we would defy the US Government for you and your iPhone dollars.  Baloney.  Where is the fun in that? But for the next paragraph, let's assume Apple is sincere...

111. The Eternal Warrior

The Lakers were playing the Spurs Friday night (Saturday morning in Manila) and I arrived home just in time to watch the last two quarters. I wasn't expecting the Lakers to win, but at the very least I wanted them to give a good fight. The Lakers were down by a few possessions and I decided to hang around and see if this game would be one of those come from behind wins for the Lakers. Everytime the Lakers are playing the Spurs, I always remember the magical Fisher shot, 0.4 second shot in the 2005 play-offs that gave the Lakers the 74-73 win. I've always wished I would see that moment reincarnated in every NBA game I watch, especially with a Lakers-Spurs match. But Saturday was different. Down by 5 late in the fourth quarter, the Lakers needed a basket to stay in the game. Kobe took a three point shot that bounced off the rim, and Brandon Bass tapped him the rebound. Kobe reached down the floor, and I saw him wince. He ran after the ball but didn't try to get it;  he was just protecting it from a Spur who might run a fastbreak on it as it went out of bounds near the Spurs bench. Kobe then clutched his hand. The announcers speculated that he might have hurt his finger, but his face was expressionless. Gary Vitti, the Lakers's trainer, approached him and they were talking nonchalantly.  Then, Gary held Kobe's right hand as Kobe bowed. Gary appeared to be pulling the hand while looking away and Kobe jerked as if in sudden pain. Then, Gary tapped Kobe's head saying something like, you'd be fine. And just like that, Kobe was back on the floor. No nothing happened. Apparently, Kobe dislocated his right middle finger and asked Gary to put it back in place. In the ensuing possession, Kobe scored on a lob shot. The effort would be fruitless however as the Spurs pulled away.  The Spurs won 119-113 but Kobe owned the night. I got what I wanted to see, a good fight from the Lakers. Yet, more than that, I realized I have learned another lesson in life. What you're gonna do if you dislocate a finger? Ask someone to pull it back in place and carry on. No whining. No cursing. No blaming. As Stoic as can be. Like many other injuries or setbacks in life, get it healed or get it fixed and carry on. With my aging body at forty-five, I would be injury prone and sickness prone too, but I'd take it from Kobe in his last game with the Spurs, leave it to the experts, take it all in style, and carry on. As Stoic as can be. 

110. Debates are useless

The logic of adversity is the logic of deceit. That's why debates hardly ferret out the truth. Candidates put in adversarial positions are going to slug it out like roosters in a cockfight, each one vying to be the best in sync with the metrics set by the organizers of the debate. The casualty is the truth. Let's have a dialogue instead. Put the candidates in their most relaxed state, tell them there are no grades, no one gets credit for anything, let them put their best ideas on the table, and let them decide which ideas the winners of this elections would push. It's one country after all. No more debates. Let's have a dialogue. 

109. Homo

My metaphysics teacher, Fr. Roque Ferriols, S. J., used to digress a lot from his daily lecture topics to inject his views on social issues, and more often than not he held the unpopular view. One morning he was raging about contraception and his principal argument was that the reproductive purpose of sex should not be divorced from its pleasures. They go together in the human body's sexuality, pleasure and conception, otherwise it was a subversion of man's sexuality. I never heard him speak about homosexuality and I am tempted to predict his opinion based on the same premise of his argument against contraception. Instead, I would use the same premise to argue that homosexuality may be a threat to human existence.  A human homosexual union would not produce an offspring. If everyone becomes a homosexual, conception of a baby would become a medical procedure. This is a consequence of  sex divorced from reproduction. Nobody would get pregnant unless a doctor intervenes. In other words, if homosexuality becomes the norm, humanity will not stand a chance of surviving. Now, I'm going to invite bashers here who would take shreds of this argument and bloat it out of proportions. But, at least, keep this premise intact: human sexuality cannot be divorced from its reproductive purpose.  It is not just a Catholic view, it's also the teleological view. I am betting, however, that homo sapiens have superior intellect and we should be able to direct our erotic desires to return to heterosexuality when homosexuality has become the norm and has shown that is indeed a threat to humanity. In the meantime, when homosexualty is enjoying its reputation of being the revolutionary idea, the human telos is in crisis. 

108. Conspicuous Consumption in Social Media

Purely theory and nothing personal folks: social media has become the platform for displaying conspicuous consumption. When we post our expensive meals on instagram, or our recent trip to Disneyland in our Facebook timeline, or our new gadget conquests, aren't we doing it to elicit envy? Perhaps, we are genuinely happy and grateful about our blessings, but shouldn't we be sensitive about how others might think? Thorstein Veblen observed that in an American neighborhood in the 1920s people buy stuff they don't need to make others envious of their social status, and I'd like to believe FB, Instagram, and Twitter, are virtual neighborhoods of the 21st Century. The advent of digital photography and smartphone apps that make it easy to display our simple pleasures, which to others, might be more complex and expensive, have made us insensitive about how others might feel seeing us with our trophies as we climb social brackets. But it pays to be cautious about these things, lest things get out of hand. We might not be intending it, but with each upload of those expensive stuff, like Bryan Poe-Llamansarez's Marty Macfly Nikes, we are falling into the world that Thorstein Veblen observed. Fine, if you're not prepared to agree, but at least be wary of the tax lady, Kim Henares. 

107. Name a Book that Changed Your Life

Pambungad sa Metapisika by Roque Ferriols, S.J. is that book. An intellectual adventure can ruin you, but this one would always ground you and keep you from sliding to extremes. I have been blessed to have encountered this book in my studies, as it had sufficiently armed me for a lifelong path of critical thinking. What wisdom can there be in a statement that goes, after having said everything that can be said, the most important thing has not been said? Beyond concepts, words, and  abstractions is being, and it is in the pursuit of being, after reading this book, that I have decided to chart my life and resources. The book tamed my intellectual conceitedness, which is the common weakness among beginning thinkers, as it introduces the reader early in Socrates's words, "I know that I know nothing." When any activity, intellectual or orherwise, begins with this premise and attitude, there is hope for dialogue and peace in the world. 

106. Not by Bread Alone

The peasants have no bread? Give them yeast and flour. Teach them to make dough. Government should build community ovens and supply the fuel. The bakeries will go out of business, but the people will never go hungry. They will have bread, of their own baking, for breakfast, dinner, and lunch, even for a midnight snack, or a snack at any time of the day. Marcos had a similar idea with the nutri-buns. But only the bakers made money, and the children, no longer hungry at the belly, were hungry for Voltes V. So, Corazon Aquino ignored the nutri-bun project, and gave them democracy. Voltes V returned and we finally learned it's a rip off from the history of the French Revolution. And we face the hunger problem again with babies getting nourishment from coffee creamers made with cornstarch instead of milk. So, I propose the community oven. The government supplies the materials for dough, keeps the oven burning, and mothers will bake bread for their kids. Yet, bread is not enough. 

105. Ave Maria

Getting inspiration from National Geographic's December 2015 issue which featured an impressive article on Mother Mary in history, I drew up a playlist in Spotify called "Ave Maria". I have so far listed 22 songs.

The most familiar song in the list is Bach's Prelude No. 1, which has been recorded by Pavarotti, Bocelli, the Vienna Boys' Choir, and Yo Yo Ma. Franz Schubert's Ave Maria is particularly meditative and Pavarotti's version sends a certain chill down the spine. The Three Tenors' version is in there too, but Pavarotti's powerful voice shows he really owns this song. Bocelli's version of Guilio Caccini's Ave Maria is amazing, and it is the kind of song that sticks to your head, as the two words "Ave" and "Maria" go up and down the scale, while you go about your day uncertain of things but assured someone like your mother has got your back. Charlotte Church and Julian Lloyd Webber have their versions, and if you put the three versions on repeat shuffle, the day is fully covered. A note in Wikipedia says it was actually Vladimir Vavilov who first published it and credited it to "Anonymous" in 1970. But subsequently after his death, someone credited it to Caccini. It has since become very famous worldwide. I can understand why this is so because the beautiful melody highlights the singer's range and tone and the simple lyrics gives it a hook that stays with the listener forever. I have listed three Filipino songs from the Jesuit Community's Bukas Palad. My personal favorite is Stella Maris which my wife, Maria Celeste, sang in the last night of the wake of her late grandmother Maria Corazon. I've often wondered how this song will sound without a sophisticated choral and instrumental arrangement, but just a duet, harp or guitar and a flute, accompanying a soprano. I will be on a hunt for more Ave Maria songs, and I hope to make this a gesture of my lifetime devotion to Mother Mary. The Spotify link to the playlist is here: https://open.spotify.com/user/12136842473/playlist/3MX4tEc1iDwMkt4jAGESqB

Update: The list is now up to 38 songs as of Feb 13, 2016.

104. Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday means we are all going to die. When a priest crosses ashes on our foreheads, he mumbles the words, "Remember that dust you are, and to dust you shall return,” which comes from Genesis 3:19. As a kid reared in a Catholic upbringing I have often found this disconcerting. Youth kept my mind off mortality, and my energy, I was sure, was not go going to give up suspending entropy. Indeed, it is unlikely that a kid will have a death mindset, and yet every year the Ash Wednesday service puts it on my head, physically and symbolically -- I'm going  to die. This reminder of death, however, forshadows Christ's death on Good Friday, and hope beyond death as preached in Easter Sunday, when Christ's resurrection is celebrated. This year as I go on my 46th year on this earth, Ash Wednesday, speaks to me more clearly of death and pain, which is no longer a remote eventuality. I will die, as everyone will, sooner than later or later than sooner, but more certain than certainly. It is time to embrace life and welcome its challenges and pains as it is time too to embrace death and welcome its promise of renewal. 

103. Scene in search of a story

The man was tied to a hospital bed, diagnosed with terminal cancer, weak, but able to communicate. His friend travelled a long way to be with him. As his friend stood before him and he, a weak septuagenarian in contrast with his past as a warlord of his town, said, "Friend, no matter how large the ocean,  I realize it has limits."

His friend was quiet as the words were spoken. 

"I told you before, we should not abuse our power."

Silence. 

"But it's too late."

Silence.

"I don't have much time to live. I would not last two weeks."

Silence.

And the memory of the crime for which the man was jailed and tied to his hospitable bed was the unspoken word that engulfed them. No one could speak.

"I never approached you when you were up there. I knew it would be trouble. But I am here now, my friend, to visit you because you are sick. I pray we will see other again."

Silence.

The friend kissed him on his forehead and quitely left the room.

102. Apple and Its Strategy of Feeding on Our Conspicuous Consumption

When I started using a Mac in 2005, I was finally relieved of the viruses that plagued Windows. I thought I joined the elite group of computer enthusiasts who could afford to blow 100 grand on a white machine.  I often sneered at my fellow lawyers who continued to toil on what I perceived as inferior products of Apple's competitors, and I enjoyed listening to MacCast, a podcast exclusively on Apple products. This feeling of superiority is the same feeling that Thorstein Veblen observed in his Theory of the Leisure Class, where he hypothesized that people of leisure consume not because of need but because of the want to be better than their neighbors. Well, I don't belong to the leisure class as I have to toil day and night to keep body and soul together, but I think that indeed, conspicuous consumption has been prevalent in this age of technology, where everyone is in a race to have the fastest, spunkiest, coolest, and often most expensive gadget in the world. Within months I have accumulated six IBooks, one MacBook Air, three IMacs, and two MacMinis. I've assigned the lBooks and MacMinis to the associates and staff in the office and used the IMacs and MacBook for work. We were probably the only virus free law firm in the country. But soon enough, Apple was updating its  operating system in rapid succession, and the Apple system I have in the office was outdated in less than two years. Suddenly, the threat of computer viruses has been replaced by an even more serious threat of absolecense. With this trend I reckoned, our office would have to spend more than half a million pesos on Apple computers every two years, which is too much, considering we only use the computers for word processing and email. Yet, I caught Apple's strategy early enough: Apple is going to dump us with new and cool stuff every six months, feeding our propensity for conspicuous consumption, and blurring our vision on how much money we should be spending on its gadgets, which we will take away from other items in our budget such as wellness and health. Thus, before Apple could make more moves to convince us that our old Macs are no longer cool, we shifted back to Windows, which  is no longer prone to viruses, at least for the moment. But Apple is unrelenting. The strategy of preying on people's propensity for conspicuous consumption is also employed on iPhones, which  went from  small to big, thick to thin, and which   was originally a music hard drive that grew antennas and became phones and internet  devices. This has got to stop. People shouldn't be blowing serious money on smartphones every year. Unfortunately, we all fall into this magical daze whenever Apple has a new product, and like the kids lured by the Pied Piper of Hamelin, we follow Apple's lead and, in exchange for a year of gadget bliss, we give it our money in reckless abandon.

101. Rizal's Memory

In that story by Jorge Luis Borges, Shakespeare's memory is transferred from one person to another through a telephone call. The premise sounds preposterous at first impression but Borges executes it well and the possibilities of  Shakespeare's memory inhabiting a modern human brain becomes entertaining and profound. I have been toying around with Borges's scheme and have wondered whose brain from my own memory of historical characters would be cool and handy in 2016. Let's imagine Rizal's brain, for example, which would be relevant to smoothen out some blurred lines on his biography, such as his recantation. Perhaps, Rizal's brain can be asked to finish his third novel, Makamisa. Maybe he can even do a review of his, "Mi Ultimo Adios," or at least give it his own title. It may be of interest to Rizal enthusiasts, but we must also be wary of the torments that lurk in his memory -- his dead baby, his aging parents, the revolution that he spurred which led to his execution, and  his sweet stanger, Josephine Bracken, whom he left behind a young widow. As in Borges's story, the amusement tapers off when the host realizes, it's not going to be easy. We don't want to do this. Beautiful Borges story. Let's keep it at that.

100. Campaign Finance Issues: Why no independent election expense?

In Ejercito v. COMELEC (G.R. No.212398 November 25, 2014), Ejercito argued that an election borne by a political supporter without the knowledge and consent of the candidate should not be counted against the candidate's expense limit. The Supreme Court said, however, that in this jurisdiction the concept of independent election expense is not applicable. Thus, a political advertisement worth more than Php 23 M, which Ejercito claimed was paid for by a supporter, was deemed as overspending against Ejercito's limit of barely Php 4.5 Million, leading to his disqualification. As a matter of fact, Section 4 Rule V of Comelec Resolution No. 9991 known as the Omnibus Rules on Campaign Finance, requires all political expenditures to bear the written consent of the candidate or the political party. What is the implication? If, for example, I print on my own volition my advocacy for the presidency of Allan Carreon, the intergalactic ambassador, I would need Allan Carreon to sign off on it, otherwise I have just committed an election offense. Further, whatever money I spent on the sticker is charged to Allan Carreon's election expense limit. Poor guy. If the Martians decide to bankroll his campaign without his knowledge, he could be disqualified not as a nuisance but as an election overspender, like Ejercito in 2013. 

99. Back to the Past

At the January 5, 2016 conference for adoptees, adoptive families, and foundlings, human rights lawyer Glenda Itong said that she found the Royal Decree issued by King Charles IV in February 19, 1794 extending legal protection to foundlings. The decree was effective in all of Spain's colonies, including the Philippines.

Subsequently, the Spanish Civil Code was enacted and the essence of King Charles IV's foundling decree was in the provision on Spanish citizens which deemed that all foundlings found in Spanish territory are deemed Spanish citizens. When the Philippine Civil Code was enacted in 1950, however, this provision on foundlings was left out in the text. Curiously, the Family Code which was enacted in 1987  also left this out. This makes me wonder how the best legal minds of the 50s, including Arturo Tolentino whose Annotations on the Civil Code are standard texts in law schools, missed it. The repealing clauses of the Spanish Civil Code, the 1950s Civil Code and the Family Code are expressed, such that the Family Code appears to be the actual state of the applicable law on foundlings, which sadly does not state anything. In Tecson v. Comelec, the Supreme Court said that "(A)n accepted principle of international law dictated that a change in sovereignty, while resulting in an abrogation of all political laws then in force, would have no effect on civil laws, which would remain virtually intact." Is it possible therefore to argue that the King Charles IV's Royal Decree on Foundlings is still good law? For, indeed, how can a new law repeal something and be totally silent on a specific provision and therefore discard a centuries old legal framework on the protection of perhaps the most vulnerable human beings on the planet? An entire vacuum has been left out and that leaves King Charles IV greatest achievement as King of Spain in the dustbin. As Justice Marvic Leonen asked in yesterday's oral arguments before the Supreme Court, "Are we called to be legalists, or are we called to be justices?" I'm sure Rizal would be turning in his grave if he learns that the Spanish Crown treated foundlings better than the sovereign Philippines. And Manuel L. Quezon, who preferred a government run like hell by Filipinos, would be cursing at the lawyers who messed up.

98. Natalie Cole

I used to joke around with the lyrics and burst into song, "I craze you like miss you." I drove other people crazy indeed. I was a teen-ager and played the piano for long hours with the old reliable Jingle Song Book Magazine. I was particularly amused with the shifting of the keys in  "Miss You Like Crazy"  and would play it endlessly through the night.  But more than that I was proud to be a Natalie Cole fan. The lady had class, and the bonus was she was Nat King Cole's daughter. Her pinnacle of success came when she did the duets with her late dad's recordings, which was technically marvelous. They sounded like fresh recordings. That was a magical feat considering how Nat King Cole's old recordings sounded on CDs -- they sounded really old.  But the duets with Natalie made them sound new. And I'm not just saying new in the sense of bit rate but also in the sense of artistry. Yet, Natalie Cole soon drifted away from the recording scene. Meanwhile, I graduated from law school and soon found a job, I had more freedom to pursue my musical interests. But there was no new Natalie Cole album in the late 90s and 2000s. So, I indulged instead in Pavarotti, Bocelli, Louis Armstrong, Silje Nergaard, Sting, True Faith, The Dawn,  Rivermaya, Eraserheads, and a lot more, including the boxed set of The Beatles.  Then, about three years ago, a new Natalie Cole album popped out of the iTunes store. It was her Spanish album, which was the first recording she's had in many years. I downloaded the songs immediately, and for several months, it was the only album on my playlist. I listened to it while waiting in traffic, jogging, reading, waiting for the airplane, and whenever I wanted to lift my spirits. Listening  to familiar songs in another language opens us to the various creative possibilities in life and awakens us to humanity's immense capacity for enjoyment of familiar things. Perhaps, it's just Natalie Cole, the cool mezzo-soprano with that precise diction and clarity of tone.  Who knows? I learned that the songs in the Spanish album were originally Spanish songs but were popular in their English translations. Natalie Cole actually recorded those songs in their original Spanish versions in 2013 and made them sound they were new. Sadly, she had a drug problem, which  was the reason why she stopped recording after those years doing duets with her dad's recorded voices. When she came back with her Spanish album, it was a triumph not only against the drug menace but also against the temptation to wallow in dark obscurity. Indeed, after a string of successes, dark obscurity is tempting and easy, but she came back and it was good. Unfortunately, she is gone now.  Natalie Cole -- she's never going to make old songs sound new again. But I'm thankful for having had the privilege of listening to her in this life. Rest in peace Natalie Cole. 

97. What is your most prized possession?

Time. This is such a limited resource, and  I have to cram my life into it. A big chunk of it I give to my family and friends, an equally sized chunk for work, and a much smaller one for recreation. The rest I have to allot for exigencies that come my way. Unfortunately, not everything I spend time  on is worth it, and sometimes I cannot tell.  For whom would I give up my life? Coincidentally, I have the same answer as above. I would give it up for the same people I spend my time on and in the same order.  As for material possessions, my books are all I have. I have them everywhere in my house and in my office. I've started collecting books as a kid when travelling back and forth my hometown, Pola, Or. Mindoro, gave me lots of time to read in the long commute. Now,  I also have books in my Kindle and Audible apps in my phone. 

Specifically, if I have to travel for a month, I would bring the fiction anthology of Jorge Luis Borges and David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest. These are books I keep going back to for the past five years and probably for many more years to come. If I lose them, I would not get affected at all. After all, I only need these books when I have time to burn. And indeed, I've lost them more than once before. Luckily, Jorge Luis Borges would turn up again in an old suitcase or knapsack. And David Foster Wallace -- I would buy him again, which is what I did this Christmas when I realized I may find some time to read during the break. Regarding free will and destiny, I have long concluded that it is a foolish enterprise to determine if we make our own destiny or God has provided us with definite paths and conclusions. The brains that could comprehend the complexity of this mystery do not belong to humans. So I tread along in life observing, waiting to be amazed by what turns up every now and then, and grateful for all this energy and time. 

This is a reply to F. Sionil Jose's blog post, http://www.fsioniljose.com/blog/what-is-your-most-prized-possession. Frankie's Two Filipino Women, which he later released as Three Filipino Women, was the first Filipino fiction I read. I was a twelve year old kid then and unfortunately too young to understand it. But words and images from the book would turn up in my dreams -- like Cadena de Amor and Pobres Park. 

96. A vote for Mar Roxas is not a referendum on Aquino

Unless the Aquino fans want to break their hearts or their political strategists think people are really stupid, the idea that a vote for Mar Roxas is a referendum on the Aquino Presidency should be thrashed. It is not true. The PNoy magic is non-transferrable. The approval ratings and the polls have it. This is like the Ramos endorsement of Joe De Venecia in the 1998 elections. Ramos and JDV were called the jumping twins as they went around the country jumping together on stage in an attempt to share Ramos's winning moment with Joe during the early days of the Edsa Revolt when Ramos jumped for joy amidst the initially false information that Marcos has left. Bad myth, bad execution. JDV was an unknown in 1986 and people were more enamored with the idea that Erap would be president. Thus, whoever thought  Mar would be benefitted if they peddle around the idea that a vote for him is an affirmation of the PNoy Presidency should be sent his walking papers and  learn from the writers of Kalyeserye. As a matter of fact, people are suspicious that he may be leveraging government assets for his campaign. Further, people are not entirely happy with the  Aquino Presidency. Nobody is ecstatic about PNoy anymore. If you're Mar Roxas enjoying the President's endorsement, you're handicapped, because you're not expected to criticize the administration. But people want to hear criticism. They want change, they're tired of the finger-pointing system of PNoy. They want to hear somebody speak and say this is where PNoy made a mistake, so this is what should be fixed. If you can't do that, then you are nothing but a power-hungry sycophant. In Tagalog, sipsip. In my entire life electing people from grade school  elections, PTAs, political parties, local and national elections, the sipsips never win. So, bust the idea. PNoy is not equal to Mar. Mar is not equal to PNoy. 

95. Ms. Universe should have X-Men powers

and Mars should be represented. It's (wo)man's arrogance that we have these contests, and we call the winner with a name clearly too much for the feat. Allan Carreon, intergalactic ambassador, should have been a judge in that contest instead of presidential candidate about to be disqualified by the Commission on Eliminations. Everybody's talking about Steve Harvey's mistake in announcing Ms. Columbia as the winner, but nobody noticed the worst mistake of all, they did not invite anyone outside of the Milky Way Galaxy, not a word from another star, not even a text to the black holes. I wonder what Stephen Hawking has to say about this. So, congratulations to Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, Ms. Philippines,  for winning. That was the most graceful way anyone won that title, but let's get this straight: the title Ms. Universe comes with an asterisk -- for want of human technology, no person outside of planet earth was consulted before this title was bestowed. 

94. #1 Defining Moment of the PNoy Administration: PNoy appoints J.Sereno as Chief Justice

I don't remember the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court being ever immune from politics. Teehankee wouldn't get appointed by Marcos despite his seniority. Cory Aquino would appoint him eventually after he administered her oath in one of the rare occasions that the republic had two presidents. Marcelo Fernan got appointed in exchange for his political work for Cory in Cebu. Narvasa got appointed for his work in the Agrava Commission. Erap appointed Davide as a favor to Lucio Tan. Panganiban was appointed by Gloria Arroyo for his active role in EDSA Dos and installing the acting President GMA. I'm still figuring out the story about CJ Reynato Puno, and I'm betting it's through his freemason connection as the freemasons led by then DPWH Sec. and former General Hermogenes Ebdane wielded considerable power and influence during the GMA years. When Puno retired, the post of chief justice was contested between J. Carpio and J. Corona, and GMA appointed J. Corona during the period in which midnight appointments were banned. The story is Carpio was punished, as it were, for that stinging ponencia in that PIRMA decision, which permanently shut down GMA's hopes of perpetuating herself to power. So, when Corona was impeached the big question was would the President appoint Carpio? There is no question Carpio had more gravitas. Carpio was in the mainstream pack of the legal profession. He was the founder of Carpio Villaraza and Cruz, which I would liken to the Bulls and Lakers dynasties combined in the NBA, having been plucked from obscurity by Fidel V. Ramos, leading the Estrada impeachment as well as prosecution, and having powerful government posts in the GMA era like the Department  of National Defense, Ombudsman and justice of the Supreme Court. Justice Sereno had a stellar career as well, albeit none in the judiciary. Unlike J. Carpio, she had no powerful organization backing her up like masons or a latin sounding fraternity or a law firm. All she had was a small religious organization. But Aquino appointed J. Sereno, a young jurist with no political or commercial backers. It's like one of those classic chess games in which Kasparov would offer a rook in exchange for apparently nothing and Topalov's jaw would drop. I'm still making sense of it, but one thing is sure, the appointment insulated the Supreme Court from the power brokers that dominated the judiciary for the last forty years. It's a shot to the future. Finally, no single law firm, lawyer, or litigant, can command an en banc review of settled cases at the whim of a single handwritten note, as Estelito Mendoza used to do. This is the single long lasting legacy of the PNoy Administration, a Supreme Court that would not be a rubber stamp for powerful competing interests in the republic. And Aquino would get what he wish for when the Sereno-led Supreme Court would overrule his Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as unconstitutional. So stung was Aquino with the defeat that he went on a media rampage assailing the Supreme Court, but the deed is done. As CJ Sereno once said, "Excuse me, I don't serve Presidents."

93. #2 Defining Moment of the PNoy Administration: PNoy eliminates Marwan, sacrifices SAF 44

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92. #3 Defining Moment of the PNoy Admin: PNoy pursues the Spratlys claim

More than a claim for territorial rights, the Spratlys claim is about standing up to a regional bully. The geopolitical landscape has changed a lot since the Marcos years, and China has become a dominant force. The Arroyo regime flirted with this nation in more ways than one, what with NBN-ZTE deal almost coming to existence with bribery and corruption in all the high places. China has succeeded in dictating national policies, particularly the claim for the Spratlys. PNoy's decision to revive the Spratlys claim by commencing arbitration proceedings against China and rallying other asian nations against its expansionists tendencies is a big break from recent history. Never mind our poor military capability, for commencing the arbitration is a chance for the country to show the world that we are rational and non-violent people. The all star legal team sent to litigate the case before the Hague is positive we can win. Personally, I think it can go the way of Nicaragua vs. USA, which Nicaragua won but could not enforce. But we never know.

91. #4 Defining Moment of the PNoy Admin: The President signs the RH Law

I was against the RH Bill provision that allowed abortificients to be sourced and peddled with public funds. But I realize more than a population control measure, the RH Law was also about the State breaking up with the Church. There have been a lot of times that the Church was wrong, but the State cow-towed to it. The RH Law was one of at least two items that the Church has lobbied not to be inscribed in the annals of Philippine law, the other being divorce.   And so it happened, after intense debates, including the below the belt name-calling Team Patay employed by the parishes to label those pro-RH bill candidates running for the senate, the RH Law was passed and signed by the President. Lo and behold, the earth did not shake, nobody got struck by lightning, doomsday did not happen. The Churches "patay" scenarios did not come upon us. I still believe the State should not buy abortificients. But the RH Law is about statecraft, political will, and spending a lot of political capital. Whether it was a wise move is a matter that history would decide. 

90. #5 Defining Moment of the PNoy Administration: Napoles surrendersto the President

It's probably #1 in another list of most dubious spin stories of Philippine history. Malacanang said it was like Luis Taruc surrendering to Magsaysay in the 50s. But I couldn't buy that unless they showed that that criminal also got special treatment in prison. The Napoles scandal was an obscure illegal detention case picked up by the Inquirer, allegedly fueled by a woman's wrath against an ex-lover, which uncovered what congressmen have been doing with their "soft" projects from their pork barrel for many years and across administrations in the post-Marcos era. The PNoy Administration's anti-corruption rhetoric created the conditions for this scandal to be exposed, but it was apparent it wasn't prepared to accept its consequences. When asked if PNoy knew Napoles before, PNoy would allude to his poor memory and excuse himself from giving a straight answer. Around the same time, the COA report on the pork barrel came out and one of the biggest spenders turned out to be administration ally Cong. Boyet Gonzalez, the majority floor leader of the House of Representatives, who allegedly spent about half a billion pesos in basketball leagues and burgers. Curiously, PNoy's own pork barrel records showed that he didn't get any, as the COA complained they couldn't get any records from the Department of Budget. Napoles would soon reveal that it was Butch Abad, PNoy's Secretary of Budget, who taught her how the racket works. I've been a fan of Abad since the days of Salonga-Pimentel, and I found the story really hard to believe. But you tie up this story with how PNoy received Napoles in Malacanang and how he turned her over to the PNP riding all the way from Malacanang to Camp Crame in the evening traffic, coupled with the fact that she was treated as a special prisoner, allegedly because people were out to kill her, and you suspect this defining moment is not a positive one at all. What is clear, however, is that the comparison with the surrender of Taruc to Magsaysay in the 50s is hot air and we will not get the true story until many years later.

89. #6 Defining Moment of the PNoy Administration: Corona sitting on a wheelchair before the impeachment court

The last hold out in the regime change from Arroyo to Aquino was the Chief Justice, Renato Corona. The Corona-led Supreme Court nullified PNoy's Truth Commission and issued an injunction against the hold departure order of Sec. De Lima of the Department of Justice. Chief Justice Corona left the PNoy Administration with no choice but to take him down too, as he showed no indication that he was going to cooperate with what the PNoy Administration wanted to do, especially in the light of the Supreme Court's active defense of Arroyo's right to travel. The nation had a daily dose of a legal spectacle in the impeachment trial, and it was lawyer time again, the second impeachment trial in a span of 12 years. The drama was lost on the first day of the presentation of evidence when Cong. Barsa, who was a prosecutor, argued with Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile as Barsa asked for a postponement. Like in any other trial, there were mishaps and incidents that highlighted the unpreparedness of the lawyers, but CJ Corona's legal team showed that it had more professionalism, wit, and acumen. Unknown to the public,  the President, Sec. Mar Roxas, and Butch Abad had been talking to the senator judges secretly and were offering them additional budget allocations, later known as the "Disbursement Acceleration Program" in amounts averaging Php 50 M in exchange for the conviction of CJ Corona. Meanwhile, evidence of CJ Corona's dollar accounts were admitted with no less than the new Ombudsman Conchito Carpio Morales and Asst. Commissioner on Audit Heidi Mendoza presenting the evidence. Thus, on the penultimate day of Corona's trial, CJ Corona was forced to admit he had dollar accounts not declared in his Sworn Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth, because these were covered under the Bank Secrecy Law. He also claimed that he had saved them since he was a student. He walked out of the hearing after his speech and was barred by the Senate marshalls. His lawyers, ever so quick to the draw, crafted out an excuse that he had an attack of hypoglycemia and brought him back on a wheelchair, his face the mark of defeated man who left his fate on the hands of his enemies. When I saw this on national tv, I knew that it was just a matter of time. But Chief Justice Corona decided to wait for the voting instead of resigning, probably a wise decision on hindsight as the subsequent revelation of the DAP offered to the senators in exchange for his conviction have tainted the voting, and the three senators who voted to acquit, Miriam Defensor Santiago, Joker Arroyo, and Bong Bong Marcos, proved to be the conscience vote. I hope CJ Corona writes a book and reveal exactly what was on his mind when he was wheeled back to the Senate that fateful afternoon. He must have been aware that the senators have been dangled with the DAP as compensation for his conviction; his lawyers once protested about it for which Atty. Judd Roy was reprimanded. This is where I say the PNoy Administration crossed the line, as it were. They have used the method and implements of the despised Arroyo regime against the last remnant of the Arroyo regime and in so doing became no different from it. The Aquino and the Arroyo regimes now stood on the same side, the corrupters and the corrupt. The final box on the reform agenda has been ticked, but in the process the reform agenda lost its moral bearings too. 

88. #7 Defining Moment of the PNoy Administration: Arroyo is arrested.

I never thought I would see another ex-President of the Philippines being arrested, but I did on national tv --November 18, 2011. Personally, I thought it was an overkill. The lady looked helpless in her hospital gown, a few days off from surgery, and deprived of dignity by all that medical attachments.  Also, the paper wrestling between the Chief Justice and the Secretary of Justice was a battle that could have come out of a Grisham novel. But the present Chief Executive had to assert his authority against the ex-Chief Executive, who, even if she's been confined  to a seat in Congress, lurked with considerable clout across the entire bureaucracy. She mass promoted everyone before she left office, and the PNoy Administration had to undo that to make financial sense. So the members of the bureaucracy were used as an unwitting tool in the battle for hegemony against the Arroyo regime in the public establishment,  for who doesn't want to get promoted and why would they symphatize with the people who were nullifying that promotion. It was too much. The queen had to be taken down. Some people think it was revenge that motivated the PNoy Administration to chase Ex-Pres. Arroyo. But looking back, I think it was a strategic move for the consolidation of power, and to make sure everyone knows that there was a new President, not just by law, but also in fact.  On hindsight, Ex-Pres. Arroyo may have received a less harsh treatment if she had shown a willingness to cooperate with the PNoy Administration. But the lady had legal traps and zaps laid out for PNoy and his legal team, so the PNoy Administration was left with no choice but to chase her and lock her up in hospital prison. After all, she stole the presidency not once but twice, as Susan Roces put it, and she almost extended her term by amending the Constitution with the Supreme Court voting 7-8. She would always be a looming threat. Never mind if she was sick. In primitive societies, resistance to regime change ends in assassinations. In the Philippines, jailing ex-Presidents is the current method and style.