From street corners, buses and jeeps, e-mails, text messages, people around the world commented, pondered, and paid tribute to a true pop icon Michael Jackson, who died Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles. This is what the council has to say...

Amiel Aguilar Cabanlig says:

What do we do now without Micheal? The king of pop is survived by three children: Michael Joseph, Paris Michael Katherine and Prince "Blanket" Michael. Micheal suffered a cardiac arrest at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. Deepak Chopra spoke to the pop star about suspected drug use six months ago. A dialogue with an unidentified member of the Jackson family, reported the superstar singer was injected with Demerol about half an hour before he went into cardiac arrest. The cause of Michael’s death has been deferred as toxicology experts try to find out the real cause of his death. I hope the Filipinos learn a valuable lesson from Micheal’s death- when our local celebrities die of unusual causes (like Rico Yan, Marky Cielo and even Joel Tantoco) we have the right to know the cause of the celebs death.

Trixie Angeles says:
Michael Jackson's death is being likened to that of JFK's -- or locally, to that of Ninoy's. Everyone can remember where he or she was at the time they got the news. I saw it on the internet and the first thing I thought was, did he OD? Not very kind, for the guy half responsible for defining my generation's entertainment style (the other half was defined by Madonna, no wonder we're more than just slightly freaky).

But eventually, the tragedy of his loss finally caught up with me, so I checked out youtube. There he was, at the 30th anniversary of Billie Jean, beheld by thousands of adoring fans, many of whom weren't even alive when the song was released. There too were those who originally danced to the same tune, twenty pounds ago. Onstage, he wasn't a freak or a pedophile or a Liz Taylor groupie or a Bizarro Diana Ross. Onstage, he was the smoothest thing on two legs moonwalking to his androgynous vocals.

For the moment we will be singing him praises. That is, until the results of the investigations (both financial and medical) reveal yet another sordid detail of his life...

Brian Gorrell says:

Michael Jackson 'Thriller' was the first album I ever bought with my own money. I was twelve years old and Michael Jackson had already set the pop star benchmarks for all to follow over the next two decades. Yes he was a bit strange and yes he was a slight freak show at times, but millions still looked to him for so many things. Fantasy, escapism and creativity were only just three of the magnetic reasons why so many people adored him, even after the shocking allegations against him with regards to young boys. Michael Jackson was always going to have a tragic ending. It was on the cards and he never stood a chance. But we, his true fans will always have his incredible songs to dance to. Even moonwalk maybe.

Paul Farol says:

Michael Jackson is like the Phantom of the Opera, in a way. A disfigured, hated/feared, musical genius. But, who didn't do the moonwalk or aped his moves in his MTV of Billie Jean. Who doesn't know the words to "Beat it" (which oddly resembles the fight scene between the Jets and the Sharks in West Side Story)?
A nephew just heard one of Michael Jackson's songs for the first time yesterday and it was so new to him he thought the song was new. (The song was Bad.)Yup, he's strange but I don't think he really had a normal life. I only hope that his death won't lead to the discovery of more bizarre things about him.

Andro Ramirez says:

Sad Indeed... I know it's morbid... But wouldn't you want to read headlines like these instead...Tim Yap OD'd... on Viagra
Celine Lopez... Suffering Dementia for mistaking Alum as Coke.Imelda Marcos admits crimes before dying of Dengue. Con-Ass proponents dies of complications from A(H1N1)also known earlier as Swine Flu. The rest suffers, heart problems and strokes because of having too much pork.. Gloria Arroyo dies in the arms of Lito Lapid... Because of too much Ecstasy? No, not the drug silly....Enough... Baka kung saan ko pa madala usapan. Rest in Peace to those who passed. And to those who continue to torment the Filipino Nation, I hope you all finally be put to rest.... in pieces...

By: Paul Farol

If all goes as it should, the Philippines will be picking its next President in eleven months.

By putting aside all the talk of No-El, Charter Change, Gloria Forever, military juntas, and whatever else you can think of that can even in the slightest way keep the country from holding elections in May 2010; this leaves us space to really consider the possibility that we may not really have a choice of who to vote for.

The reality is that the choices are already being made for us even as we speak.

Every time we read about some survey touting a list of possible winners in the 2010 elections and every time we see or hear a Presidential candidate’s TV ad, we find that our options are narrowing down because more and more people are now conditioned to vote for one or another candidate in particular.

This situation has arisen because the Comelec has ignored the very spirit of the Fair Elections Act.

By allowing self-declared Presidential candidates to cause the publication of PAID popularity surveys and by allowing them to advertise as much as they can, the Comelec has created a situation that favors candidates with billions of pesos to spend on a pervasive advertisement campaign.

It is in this situation that writing about my choice for President has me looking like Don Quixote charging at windmills. Or perhaps, to put it more bluntly, talking about my choice for President winning in 2010 may make me seem like someone talking about an impossible dream.

My choice for President in 2010 is Senator Richard “Dick” Juico Gordon and I’ve heard people say that he’d only win in an ideal democracy, to which I say, I am treating the 2010 elections (and the elections after that) as a test for my ideals. I have decided to be as ideal as I want to be.

The reason why I chose Dick Gordon as my Presidential candidate is because electing the President of this country is not about choosing a candidate with the most money, the biggest political backing or the highest popularity rating. If that were the end all and be all of what a Presidential election should be, we ought not to have elections at all – let’s just have SGV ring up and certify the numbers for us.

We must remember that the Presidential election is really about choosing someone who will lead our people in solving the very serious problems that they face every day. And if you ask me what makes me so sure and so certain that Gordon is the right person to vote for as President, I’ll point out that it is only because he has already proven his qualities as a leader.

While other candidates make a big deal in their TV commercials about their affinity with the poor, Gordon has actually lifted people out of poverty. While other candidates promise to change the country without explaining how, Gordon has actually delivered on his promise of changing the country -- albeit, one part at a time.

He turned Olongapo City from sin city to model city.

He led 80,000 volunteers to convert the wasteland that was the abandoned Subic Naval base into the country’s first Freeport, a tourism and investment destination that drew in around P 3 Billion in foreign investment.

He led the country’s tourism industry through SARS, coup d’etats, and conflict in Mindanao to achieve foreign tourist arrivals of 2 million a year in 2003 – because of his work with Wow Philippines, tourist arrivals continued to grow until this day, where we have over 3 million foreign tourist arrivals. He led the Philippine National Red Cross into becoming a leading institution in disaster response and management, evolving beyond providing blood services and charity work.

Among the laws he passed as Senator, two major laws have already begun to change how our countrymen will find jobs and how they will place their votes.

Just recently, Senator Gordon passed the Tourism Act of 2009 and this law will enable our country to compete in tourism with Singapore, Hongkong, and Thailand. Tourism does two important things for our people and it is summed up in two phrases, “Tourism means jobs” and “Where tourism advances, poverty retreats”.

Gordon also passed the Amended Automated Election Law and pushed for its implementation so that in 2010, we will have automated elections that will put a stop to wholesale cheating.

Choosing the next Philippine President should be about choosing the candidate who is best qualified for the position. Gordon has vision, experience and a long track record of succeeding as a leader.

San pa kayo?

Dito na siyempre sa may pruweba.

If you believe Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez Marcos, her husband, a former President of the Philippines who happened to have initiated Martial Law through a con-con in 1967 was Alibaba amassing 7500 tons of gold by the 1950’s long before she became addicted to beauty. Or if you believe Imelda, Ferdinand found 15 billion flocks of ram with golden fleeces long before Jason with his Argonauts fought to be a royal, less than 10 years before he became a president.


I agree. As long as the BIR and Bureau of Customs people are not involved or manning the doors, I will pay to get in.

by Atty Trixie Angeles

We’ve heard it all. Public school teachers railing against GSIS for, among other things, losing their records of payments and making the teachers accountable and liable for such loses. Government employees are told to update their accounts only to be penalized for any errors in the records kept by GSIS itself. Even most appalling is the GSIS’ insistence that pensioners, many of whom are aging and sick, go to the GSIS main office for processing or receiving their e-cards (don’t get us started on that one). Take note, that even if the pensioner has lived and worked all her life in Mindanao, he or she shall be made to go to the notoriously inaccessible GSIS office in Pasay, right beside Manila Bay. There they are made to line up for hours and sometimes, yes, they have to come back and get back in line for several days. Heart attacks (plural) while standing in line have been known to happen.

But does GSIS care?

GSIS is the one institution that has been kept under the close and protective watch of Mrs. Arroyo, whose well known ties with the Garcia family, (Garcia patriarch is father to GSIS’ Winston and Cebu governor Gwen) date back to Hello Garci fame when the province of Cebu delivered one million questionable votes for candidate Arroyo in 2004. So one does not really expect any presidential action on this one.

However, GSIS finally had to find someone to blame for their notoriously unreliable service, and IBM has just been elected to be the whipping boy.

According to GSIS, their IBM computer crashed leaving pensioners and their records in disarray (hello? Nothing new there! GSIS has been known to lose even land titles to mortgaged houses and lots and those titles are just kept in a vault, no computer to blame for that one…). So in all his wisdom, Winston Garcia decides that IBM that business giant with lots of assets he could lay his hands on if he gambles on a judicial system that has worked wonders for his boss. But there is just one problem – GSIS doesn’t have a contract with IBM.

Huh?

GSIS wants to sue IBM even if IBM and GSIS are considered legal strangers. GSIS has a contract with the service provider Questronix Corporation for GSIS’ much ballyhooed computer system. When the system was being put in place, this served as the excuse for any and all delays in the provision of GSIS services such as giving of loans, pensions, etc., which are privileges that GSIS members are entitled to. At any rate, Questronix put the system in place using IBM machines and software. The analogy for this would be if one person bought software from National Bookstore. Under the Consumer Act, National Bookstore would have primary liability for selling defective software. It should then replace the software. However, the supplier would be liable for the damage caused by such software, and if the warranty is not followed. In this case, GSIS is not the consumer, Questronix is. If IBM has a liability it is to Questronix because it bought the software from IBM.

However, Questronix itself says that GSIS is to blame. First, GSIS tried to feed too much information at one time into the system, causing overload. Second, despite warnings, GSIS ignored standard practice and did not institute a back up system (duh?) and did not put in an emergency retrieval system. In short, GSIS could have saved a lot of time, money (not theirs, but their pensioners’) and effort (on government time) if they had just backed up their data, something even we mortal bloggers know to do.

However since GSIS is known more for its finger pointing than for coming up with actual solutions, it now must also solve a new problem. How to pay damages to IBM which is suing GSIS, Winston Garcia and GSIS legal counsel Estrella Elamparo, for libel.

Victorina is known for having grueling arguments in the comments section as well as in its main posts. While I was going through a reader's piece of writing, I couldn’t help but do a rejoinder. So enjoy!

Reader says:

We interrupt this program to bring you another bit of bad news.

It is a Sunday so let us set aside some political squabbles and mourn for the death of an institution of Philippine pop culture – the movie industry. The death of respected movie and television talent manager Douglas Quijano is, pardon the pun, the final nail in the coffin that puts to rest Showbiz – the movie industry as knew it.

Quijano, arguably the best iconic representative of a culture defined by star power, adulation and even mass hysteria (see Nora Aunor, Sharon Cuneta) was found dead in his rest house in Lucban, Quezon. He was 64. Grooming an impressive stable of stars that made him a key power player in an industry that capitalized on the escapism of Filipinos, Quijano managed the careers and the lives of the likes of Richard Gomez, John Estrada, Joey Marquez, Wendell Ramos, Antonio Aquitania, Anjo Yllana, Gelli de Belen, Jay Aquitania, Benj Basa, and Richard Gutierrez. He was the first manager of actors Tirso Cruz III and Aga Muhlach, Quijano helped turn them into the biggest stars of their respective generations. He also discovered Gwapings trio Mark Anthony Fernandez, Jomari Yllana, and Eric Fructuoso.

But like the rest of the movie industry, those names are not adored anymore nor do they guarantee box office hits. They have become TV commodities, begging for parts in soap operas to help them survive and sustain public interest. This might be a tiresome mantra, but technological advancement killed the movie industry as we know it. For one, stars don’t have an aura of mystery anymore. People needed to buy magazines before to cut out pictures of Sharon Cuneta’s wedding. Now, you just have visit your favorite bloggers and websites.

That DVD technology makes piracy easy (and your friendly Muslim vendor makes it easier to watch) is already old news. But it also makes movie making easier, and thanks to Youtube, anyone who has a camera and a good story to tell will find an audience. The masses still adore stars, but they have wisened up. They need cash. In Douglas time, people line up to get tickets and watch tapings. Now, there is a company that specializes on hired clappers. For a price of P250.00 the masses will flock to your shows and concerts and tapings, and clap their hands and shout to the max. Good for PR –but still an optical illusion. It feeds the ego, but not the industry.

I support the movie industry. It is an integral component of our arts and culture. But we hope that our industry leaders, especially those elected in the Senate, can push for real revolution in the film business – where talent, storytelling and world class artistry define our movies. Iran has a fantastic film industry, and it doesn’t even have half of our talent pool, so why can’t we? We mourn for the death of this industry as the movies it produced contributed a lot to our family life and our childhood. But we are also happy that it goes through this difficult times – as times like this bring out our creativity and pushes people like Brilliante Mendoza to seek for better ways.

Amiel Aguilar Cabanlig says:

I admire our Reader’s heartrending sentiment towards the early passing of manager Douglas Quijano. I totally agree with our Reader that Tito Doug will be missed by all of us!

I have worked on and off with Tito Dougs since the mid-80’s; when Danny and Jun Cabrera where still actively making movies. I have seen Tito Doug work grooming his talents; I have even written about and publicized most of his talents and even became a talent myself in several of his line produced movies. However, I couldn’t see how the death of Tito Dougs could put “the final nail in the coffin.”

The talents that our Reader has been yapping about have long lost their LUSTER. Gone are the days of Regal Babies…now we make way for a new generation. Hence, you have John Lloyd-Cruz, Piolo Pascual, Raymond Gutierrez (managed by his mother) and their ilk.

Secondly, since when did we “mourn for the death of an institution of Philippine pop culture – the movie industry?” (I had to make a quick retort to this statement before Victorina gets a thrashing from the UP Film Department.) Yes, the movie industry has taken a new-fangled appearance but I assure you that it is still very alive and kicking. Star Cinema makes at least one movie a month. Mother Lily Monteverde and GMA films can conjure up to five movies a year without batting an eyelash.

Lastly, the digital movie industry has enthused the younger set of filmmakers to produce better quality movies.

Fidel Ramos, through his spokesman Ed Malay, said he will attend the rally only if it reaches a million strong (remember our critical mass). Ramos added, however, that he is opposed to Charter change even before the merger of the rulling Lakas-CMD. Braving possible rain and the spreading of the Swine Flu virus, protesters marched to the country's financial district of Makati Wednesday to oppose an administration-backed initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution through a Senate-less constituent assembly.

Mayor Jejomar Binay says this could be the tipping point!

The Makati rallyists occupied a large portion of the area near the Ninoy Aquino statue to the Philtrust building and Robinsons Summit Center in Makati. "There are probably 5,000 to 5,200 people in the area, especially if you count at least one to three people per square meter," according to an ANC report. At least 5,000 policemen will provide security in the rally, which lasted until 8 p.m.

Victorina tries to make sense of yesterday's CONASS rally…

Trixie Angeles- Like most people, I was disappointed at the turn out and the miting -de- avance feel. In other words, it wasn’t an anti-ConAss rally, although that appeared to be the conceit. It was primarily a means for hopeful candidates to strut their stuff in aid of re/election. True, everyone there rallied against ConAss. But we weren’t really angry, more like going through the motions. The good news was the fact that anti-Conass rallies were held in major cities nationwide; this means that it is a real National concern, and the numbers that matter are no longer limited to Metro Manila participants.

As to whether or not this will lead to real change, I'm not sure.

Another matter of note, only seven senators showed up, which could mean that ConAss can still get by the Senate. I like Paul's suggestions. I also like the Sanlakas strategy of picketing the individual congressmen responsible for Chacha.

On a purely conceited note, I’m in the Iquirer front page, no credit, but am holding the banner of the Gallery of Traitors. Hahahaha.

Kitty Go- First -- like fashion, if there is one too many, the 'look' or cause becomes overexposed, and you can't give it away even at TJ Maxx.

Second--- it is either VERY HOT or rainy, and no one wants to be outdoors in those conditions--the French (July summers probably in late 1700s were not so bad plus it took them 3 Louises before they did anything) and Russian revolutions (October so still nice but enough to worry about coming winter)

Third--- tropical countries, unlike EU, US and northern Asia, do not have a winter that they will freeze or die of hunger in. That means, basic life really ain't that bad enough to revolt over. (See also : African and Caribbean countries)

Imagine if a country with the same conditions in the Philippines had a winter. We wouldn't even be having this email exchange.

Brian Gorrell- It's really is as simple as 1 - 2 - 3.
WHY should people have to rally and protest every time they want their voices heard????
When will it end?

People are too busy.
Too busy to care I'm afraid.
They know they're going to end up with mediocrity no matter how loud they shout, despite how long they rally.
People power is indeed dead.

Paul Farol- It was cute and had the feel of a street concert cum miting de avance. 5, 200? Perhaps.As for using the internet, perhaps an e-mail writing campaign would be more effective.

We can try to clog up the inboxes of congressmen. Or if we're capable of doing it, why don't we get someone to vandalize the personal websites of congressmen who voted for con ass?

A vilification campaign is also worth considering.

Boldstar- Constitutional changes need to be validated by a plebiscite (Article IV, Section 1. The legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives, except to the extent reserved to the people by the provision on initiative and referendum.)

Partisanship, policy representation, ideology.

These are the three usual elements of electoral politics that, by their nature, divide people, oftentimes into the majority and the minority, into the administration and the opposition.
Elections can divide a country, a city, a family, and yes, it can divide and end friendships.

Even with us here at Victorina, the council oftentimes have heated debates which I welcome because it means that we are thinking individuals and we always argue our points. We just have to trust that our friendship and our commitments are deeper than a single issue.

In the Philippines, we have to add a more definitive character of our elected officials – self-interest. That personal agenda that make partisanship temporary, always collapsible, because people are always willing to change parties as long as their self-interests are served.

Clans like the Cojuangcos, the Osmenas and the Laurels have been divided because of elections, and in several times, have caused so much damage that the wounds never heal.
Friendships have been broken because of electoral politics. There are too many instances to single out anyone.

Given these scenarios, is election still an important process in our country’s development?

I must begin with a premise that electoral politics is directly related to political maturity, and by that I mean the degree in which our citizens have developed the capacity to make correct decisions based on social realities, laws and values. It also includes an innate capacity to differentiate personal agenda, and even relationships, from political ones.

The election of 2007 was heralded by many as a sign of political maturity – when most of the celebrities didn’t win. But noted pundit Amado Doronilla begged to differ, and called the Filipino political maturity a myth. In an article published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, he said,

“What the recent studies on the perceived “improvement” of Filipino electoral maturity have noted are superficial and mechanistic manifestations of change, influenced by modern technological means of transmitting political intelligence (TV, mass media) to a broader public audience. The effects of these technological changes have largely been in influencing the political strategies of both Team Unity and Genuine Opposition.

The outcome of the 2007 election is the political messages the Filipino voters are getting from the mass media, with their high-tech information devices. What ensures the normality of the May election was the fact that it was not being held in the midst of a political crisis and national stress. This helps explain why the election has failed to excite political passions.

Those who observed closely the pattern of the 2004 political campaign could not have failed to notice that: first, the Arroyo camp shifted to small “town hall” meetings all over the country from big urban rallies, to counter the charisma-driven campaign of movie idol Fernando Poe Jr.; and second, that 2004 was the last encounter of political pragmatism and charisma (in which charisma lost). It was also an election in which political organization prevailed over a celebrity-driven campaign.”

In that sense, the 2004 election was a watershed. It may have marked the end of the era when movie personalities rose to political stardom that peaked in 1998 with the election of Joseph Estrada to the presidency. Since the experience with the Estrada presidency, fewer show-biz celebrities have been elected to national offices, indicating that the entertainment world has lost its allure as a recruitment ground for political leadership. This receding tide was reflected in the current campaign, where there were only two celebrity-candidates for the Senate -- Cesar Montano and Richard Gomez -- and both lost. ( Sonny Trillanes is another matter that deserves a bashing.)

What Doronilla is basically saying that is, while the last elections appear to an improvement, it was not a signal that we are maturing as a democracy. But given the technological advancement between 2007 and 2010, and the global recession that we are experiencing right now, this coming election would the perfect litmus test to see whether we are already politically mature.

Victorina is sorry to disappointment ABS-CBN and the traditional media!

The internet is now become a leading source of campaign news for young people and the role of social networking sites such as Google, MySpace and Facebook. Even in the past elections, senatoriables like Chiz Escudero have used the internet and social networking for his online campaign. Presidentiable Mar Roxas leads in blogging, website and even has accounts in various social media and netw

orking sites.

Pioneering the power of the WEB is the University of the Philippines; the traditional bellwether for political developments in the country. They held computerized student council elections for the very first time in all its 25 colleges and institutes in its Diliman, Quezon City campus. Over the decades, observers have considered UP as a laboratory for future trends in Philippine politics.

This creates a smarter electorate and whoever learns more from the Winner of 2008 US Presidential Election Best Internet Marketing - BarackObama.com may have a considerable edge in the up and coming elections!

And that is the reason why I say, yes, we should have and we will have an elections in 2010. If only to prove that indeed, Filipinos are maturing politically, and our choices are based on what is good for the country, and we collectively believe in.

“Oh no! No, Madame…”
Gen. Hermogenes Esperon,
in his reaction when he was overwhelmed
by emotion upon hearing GMA’s decision
not to run for elections in 2004

As counsel for Maj. Jason Aquino, Lt. Col. Achilles Segumalian and Gen. Renato Miranda, I must appear at their court martial for the charge of mutiny, held every two weeks, in Daza Park, Camp Emilio Aguinaldo. On trial with my clients are 25 other Scout Rangers and Marines accused of participation in an alleged withdrawal of support in February 2006. Among the accused are Victorina’s candidate of choice, Gen. Danny Lim as well as the controversial Col. Ariel Querubin Philippine Navy, Marines. Medal of Valor awardee Col. Custodio Parcon of the Philippine Marines, is likewise among those who are accused.

As one can readily see, this is no ordinary group of accused.


Many are recognized for their bravery and uprightness and have the Gold Crosses and Medals of Merit to prove it. Yet their trial has been on going for three years and witness after witness for the prosecution has repeated the mantra or slyly or grudgingly admitted that there was no mutiny.

The Constitution says that the military is the protector of the people and the State. Since the State is composed of people, territory and sovereignty, the reiteration of the term “people” means that when the State itself acts against the people, the military is legally obligated to protect them.


The provision finds basis in the EDSA I uprising which began with a coup, that is, an attempted coup led by now still Senator Enrile and the man later recognized to be one of our more effective Presidents, Fidel Ramos. To this date, it is said that Cory Aquino’s resentment at Enrile and her contempt for his request for her yellow army to intercede when they were trapped in Camp Aguinaldo, nearly changed the course of history. Enrile, after all, was not only the architect of martial law, a period which saw hundreds of dissidents jailed or summarily disappeared, but also the Defense Minister who oversaw the military tribunals that held, tried and/or convicted even civilians such as Ninoy Aquino and Victorina contributor Mila Aguilar.

Since EDSA 1, therefore, the people have either looked for or expected military intervention. At the recent major rallies held in Makati in February 29 and December 12, 2008 the futile waiting allegedly “for the Marines to move,” led a frustrated crowd to disperse.

















This brings us to the seeming ambivalence by which we view the military’s role in Philippine society. Many subscribe to the view that in keeping with discipline, the military must be apolitical, as it is in any developed country – though there are cracks in the US. There, one officer refused to be deployed to Iraq citing that the US’ invasion was morally wrong and against his beliefs. That is they are against his political beliefs. The court martial ended in a mistrial, and the officer was reinstated in the service.

















There are others who look at the military as the country’s knight in shining armor, whose role is to save us from desperate villains like dictators, aging actors playing President and four foot nine economists. Still others are jaded. They speak with forked tongues saying that the military must be apolitical, but at the same time seek to use the services of shady officers willing to intervene in the election processes in exchange for promotions to, lets say, Chief of Staff or some such position, like negotiator for the MOA-AD. Others, like former superintendents of the Philippine Military Academy say that military interventions are wrong, however, the Constitution must first be amended to remove the protector clause in order to stop those who use it as a basis for any movement.

Even Senator Biazon has weighed in, in light of the controversies surrounding the proposal to amend the Constitution saying that Congress’ move will cause soldiers to take to the streets.

Clearly, the debates are still viewed within the historical lights of EDSA I, whose legacy is imprinted in the 1987 Constitution. The AFP is the protector of the people and the State. Like it or not, it may provide legal basis for military intervention and it is embodied in the highest law of the land.

















Meanwhile, at the hearing yesterday, 05 June 2006, my clients sat through trial stoically. Their actions – or in Jason Aquino’s case, non-actions – on February 2006 have been parsed, held under a microscope, subjected to endless scrutiny, shaken and stirred. Nope, no mutiny there and certainly no coup d’etat. But for political reasons, they must be detained. They did not take to the streets. They did not raise arms. They allegedly talked about protecting the rallyists who were gathering in the streets, moving in from provinces and cities alike. But they must be detained because these are principled officers. Who knows what they are capable of? Esperon, in the meantime was promoted to his level of incompetence -- MOA-AD, anyone?

And still the debate rages on.

by: Trixie Angeles

Victorina’s guest writer, Atty. Adel A. Tamano is the current president of the Pamantasan ng Lunsod ng Maynila. He went to the Ateneo and graduated A.B. Economics. Thereafter, he attended the University of the Philippines and took a masters degree in Public Administration. In June 2005, he matriculated in Harvard Law School's Master of Laws graduate program.

Today, in the Good Times Radio show, Adel announced that he has formally joined the Nationalista Party. The council of Victorina welcomes this fast rising star in the political arena!

__________________________________________

by Atty Adel Tamano

CON. This word perfectly describes the actions of Team-GMA Congressmen who approved House Resolution 1109 at 11:20 P.M. last night. Let’s not get too mired in the legalese and the parliamentary maneuverings; essentially, the aim of Team-GMA congressmen in approving Resolution 1109 is to take the Senate out of the equation in changing the Philippine Constitution, which is absurd because even renaming a road would require the participation of the Senate. Team-GMA knows that they can never get the ¾ vote from the Senate to be able to change the Constitution, via a Constituent Assembly, because Team-GMA does not control the Senate like it does the Congress.

So why is it a mere con? Well because, as in any con or scam, the object is to deceive and divert attention in order to get the real prize: HOLDING ON TO POWER BEYOND 2010. Team-GMA understands that there is not enough time to amend the Constitution with elections happening in less than a year. So the object is NOT to alter the Constitution before 2010 but rather to LAY DOWN THE BASIS for amending the Constitution AFTER the 2010 elections. All Team-GMA needs now is for someone – maybe one of its minions or some well-intentioned individual who wants to stop the Congressional Cha-Cha train – to go to the Supreme Court and get a favorable ruling that says that Resolution 1109 is valid and that the Senate does not have to participate as long as ¾ths of the Congress vote to constitute itself into a constituent assembly.

See, Team-GMA has pretty much given up on winning the national seats, President, Vice-President, and Senators, but they still have a good chance in winning the local congressional seats. So they are willing to lose – what the layman might think are the more important positions such as President, Vice-President, etc. – as long as they have enough Congressmen to amend the Constitution.

So in July 2010, we will have a different President, perhaps an opposition President and new Senators. However, since Team-GMA still controls Congress, then all Team-GMA has to do is to have Congress constitute itself into a Constituent Assembly and propose changing our system of government from Presidential to Parliamentary. Now if the people approve this revision in a plebiscite, maybe a rigged one, then it is Team-GMA back at the helm. So while all of us are so focused on the 2010 elections, Team-GMA is looking beyond that.

Maybe you can dismiss all of this as conspiracy theory or an over-active imagination but nearly four decades ago Filipinos were caught off-guard when Martial Law was declared and the 1973 Constitution was approved in so-called “people’s assemblies,” which laid the groundwork for Marcos’ twenty year rule. So I’d much rather be overcautious than be caught off guard. Eternal vigilance is indeed the price of democracy, particularly when dealing with Team-GMA.