I had already written my column for today when I got word—-through an unfailingly efficient member of the Senate—-that the Makati Regional Trial Court had thrown out Senator Antonio Trillanes’ petition for limited, “functional” freedom. It was about five pm, yesterday (Monday).

As it turned out, Judge Oscar Pimentel denied all of Trillanes’ petitions.

In a sweeping denial of all of Trillanes’ pleas, Judge Oscar Pimentel Monday rejected Trillanes’ motions to be allowed to attend all official Senate functions, to be given access to media and to set up an extension office inside the Marine detention center at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.

Pimentel upheld the prosecution claim that the Department of Justice, “as the prosecuting arm of the government, its shield and sword of law and order, represents not only the 11,138,067 voters who voted for him (Trillanes), but the people of the Philippines, with all its 85 million citizens and counting.”

In the column, I had argued that, despite the self-evident sincerity of Sen. Aquilino Pimentel (no relation, I think), Senate Resolution No. 22 (since renamed Resolution No. 3, after it was adopted on July 25) may be said to encroach on the judiciary’s admittedly limited territory.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

I cannot find it reported either in print or online, except for this mention at RedBlueThoughts, but I do recall watching TV footage of Jinggoy Estrada, the Senate President Pro Tempore, attacking President Arroyo’s ceaseless name-dropping during her State of the Nation Address a day after the annual rite. “Parang si Lolit Solis,” Estrada said, referring to the talent manager and TV host. Apparently, greeting a legion of people on the air is Solis’s stock in trade.

“Parang si Lolit Solis.” As the insult the Estrada scion clearly intended it to be, this is rather lame, yes? It needs to be explained, even to members of the political class Estrada belongs to. It reveals rather more of Estrada than it does of Arroyo. And it doesn’t sting.

When Cory Aquino called Doy Laurel “langaw,” after she had parted ways with her Vice President, the uncharitable characterization must have gnawed inside her Unido running mate.

On the other hand, when Miriam Defensor Santiago called all congressmen “fungus-faced,” I doubt whether anyone in particular felt alluded to. Besides, the sheer entertainment value, of her chosen words, of her manner of delivery, softened the blow of the insult, took out the sting.

Jinggoy’s failed attempt at satire falls somewhere between Cory’s putdown and Miriam’s hyperbole, and it set me thinking: What was, in our history, the best political insult ever?

As Randy David pointed out, there’s such a thing as The politics of holidays:

Most holidays fall on fixed dates in the calendar—like birthdays, death anniversaries, wedding anniversaries, Independence Day and Christmas Day. Others follow the cosmic rhythm of the seasons—like the holy days of Lent in the lengthening days of spring.

By their nature, holidays are never convenient; they are precisely meant to interrupt the routine carved by work in our daily lives. They are necessary pauses, memory markers creating space for special reflection—distinct from the normal weekend or the long holiday breaks we take in order to rest.

At the time he wrote his column, Congress had passed a law that still awaited the President’s signature. She could have vetoed it, but instead, she signed it. And so, Republic Act 9492 is now in force and effect. It makes many formerly fixed national holidays moveable, so as to create long weekends. The holidays that were once permanent fixtures of our official calendar, but which have now been divorced from their original dates, are the following (not including holidays that fall on days that vary from year to year, anyway, like Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Eidul Fitr):

Araw ng Kagitingan - Monday nearest April 9
Labor Day - Monday nearest May 1
Independence Day    - Monday nearest June 12
Ninoy Aquino Day    - Monday nearest August 21
National Heroes Day - Last Monday of August
Bonifacio Day - Monday nearest November 30
Rizal Day - Monday nearest December 30

These are non-working holidays. Working holidays have, obviously, been left untouched.

The most controversial among these new, moveable holidays is Independence Day. Some argue that we now have the (unenviable) distinction of being the only nation on earth, that has divorced its Independence Day from the actual historical date. Other days, too, such as Bonifacio’s birth anniversary and Rizal’s death anniversary, have been detached from their actual dates as well.

The debate concerning our official attitudes concerning holidays got me to jump-start a project I conceived a long time ago, and which I’ve been doing research on, from time to time, for close to a decade.

I’ve set up a Wiki called Official Calendar of the Republic. I invite you to take a look, and if anyone has information they’d like to contribute, kindly leave me a comment here.

Among the interesting things I discovered is that the change in holidays has officially divorced us, not only from the actual dates on which certain events took place, but with our countrymen who once upon a time, until now, always commemorated those dates. For example, see the Month of November.

Bonifacio’s birthday was established as holiday, by law, in 1921. From 1921 to 2006, then, Filipinos always commemorated that day as a holiday: whether it was under the American, the Japanese, or our own flag. But henceforth, Bonifacio Day will wander and be determined more by “holiday economics” than the need to actually recall the Great Plebeian.

Take a look, too, at other months. February or October, for example. There are some months dedicated to a certain theme; weeks also dedicated to a certain commemoration; and days, either determined by law or presidential proclamation, that are meant to commemorate certain things as well. This has been going on for generations, and eventually, since many executive issuances and law are in effect for perpetuity unless specifically repealed or revoked, our official calendar is going to be very cluttered, indeed.

I recently started teaching a class in opinion writing at Letran College, and so far, I’m happy with my class (no, this doesn’t mean there’s any guarantee they will pass).

People I’ve talked to who belong to an older generation, often end up recalling they used to have a subject in school called “good manners and right conduct.” I think all of us will, sooner or later, feeling the nostalgia our elders feel, for the manners of their era.

A professor who blogs is The Bunker Chronicles, and he has a a rather depressing entry on how students behave:

For the third straight class day, one of my Philippine History classes went under the microscopic observation of one of the school’s coordinators. It was a very sorry sight for the coordinator to see the blatant and wanton disregard and disrespect for authority displayed by the students of that class. I was saddened. Although I tried not to say it in class yesterday, but I finally broke out and confessed to them that I might lose my teaching job because of their attitude.

Whoever taught these kids that this is the right way to do things ought to be given enlightenment lessons on the proper way to use our constitutional right to free expression.
Democracy in its purest and finest form back in the days of the free-wheeling Athenians in Greece, wasn’t meant to be like this.

We have democracy simply because each person’s views are different from each other. It was not a license though for anyone to freely trample on other people’s rights. That is already considered an “unschooled” behavior, like mad cows let loose from a corral after being contained inside for days.

But even as you ponder what that blogger suggests, here’s another entry that makes for sobering reading.

A Nagueno in the Blogosphere is one of my favorite blogs. Its written by Willy Prilles, Jr., a consultant on education to the city government of Naga. Read his entry, which is a reproduction of his weekly column in a Bicol newspaper, on the true state of Philippine education:

Four years ago (the earliest data available), only 67 of every 100 pupils that enrolled in Grade I managed to finish Grade VI; as of last school year, it went down to 57. Which means only around 6 of every 10 children entering our elementary schools manage to graduate.

The situation is much worse in high school. Six years ago, 71 of every 100 First Year students were able to secure a high school diploma; as of last school year, it went down to 54.

And here is the rub: remember that only 60% of our children are able to complete elementary and eligible to move on to high school. If we factor this in, the real completion rate all the way from Grade I is this: for every 100 pupils who enter Grade I, only 30 will eventually finish high school. The DepEd used to compute this particularly damning statistic, but it stopped doing so starting in 2005.

To summarize: of every 100 six or seven year olds that are supposed to enter Grade I, only 84 are able to do so; of these 84 only 57 are able to finish Grade VI and move on to First Year; and of these 57, only 30 will be able to graduate with a high school diploma.

Read it and weep.

Ninoy Aquino was elected into the Senate 40 years ago, the lone Liberal afloat in a sea of Nacionalistas. His son and namesake, Benigno Aquino III, celebrated his own entry into the Senate yesterday with a fitting act: He used his first-ever speech on the Senate floor to honor his father’s memory, by nominating “a man who shares my father’s history.”

Noynoy Aquino was the second to nominate Aquilino Pimentel Jr., after repeat Senate topnotcher Loren Legarda. While Loren spoke of Pimentel’s “towering virtues” and described his struggles during martial law as “the stuff of legend,” Noynoy invoked his sainted father’s own high regard for Pimentel. The young Aquino said Pimentel was the right man to lead an opposition-dominated Senate, and called him “the true face of the opposition.”

Only one senator nominated Pimentel’s rival for the Senate presidency: Pia Cayetano, who spoke warmly of her “distinguished colleague” Manny Villar and his “sterling performance” as Senate President.  She described Villar as a statesman who was “respected as a senator, admired as a Speaker of the House of Representatives, and recognized as a titan in business.”

After the Senate voted 15-7 in favor of Villar, five senators took turns explaining their vote. Jinggoy Estrada said his vote for Villar was “a vote for continuity of what this chamber” had done against “a de facto dictatorship.” (He also implored his colleagues to “look beyond narrow divisions of administration and opposition.”) Ping Lacson, who does not seem given to making small talk with his seatmates Jamby Madrigal and Loren, spoke next: He said he voted for Pimentel out of principle and “not because of political attachment, because we have none.” Kiko Pangilinan (Villar) came next, followed by an intense Madrigal (Pimentel) who lashed out at her candidate’s rival in stinging terms: “statesmen are willing to be jailed, businessmen are not made of the same mettle.”

Then came Chiz Escudero. The new senator used his first-ever speech to assert what amounted to a new political principle: He said no one had the right to judge him. 

Hence today’s column: “So young, and so disappointing.”

MONDAY brings the President’s 7th State of the Nation Address, though a valid point’s raised in this article: Why no SONA, if there’s no Speaker by Monday:

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said the rules require that the House inform the Senate via a resolution that it has been organized and was ready to receive the President for the SONA.

“Without a Speaker, a secretary general and a sergeant at arms, there is no organization of the House. If there is no organization of the House, there can be no resolution saying that it is ready to receive the President,” said Rodriguez, a first-termer who is a lawyer.

Anyway, a funny piece in The Professional Heckler on Top 10 Things to Observe When President Arroyo Delivers Her 7th State of the Nation Address.

But let me repeat, here, an objection I raised a year ago back in my blog:

Let me say that some senators and congressmen being a no-show, to my mind, is wrong. Just as the chief executive is required to report to Congress in person, I believe Congress is required to attend and listen (respect for the office, whether or not legitimately held by a person).

I still feel strongly about this. Opposition to try new ways of protesting Arroyo’s SONA shows how muddled people’s minds can get. If opposition members want to show in black, or with black armbands, or waving peach-colored flowers, I think that would be a legitimate protest. They could refuse to applaud, they could all frown and scowl; why, I’d even go as far as to say it’s OK for them to boo and hiss. But I really do think they should show up.

Incidentally, an oldie but goodie continues to be, ahem, The Explainer on ANC: SONA Sources.

I’ve been meaning to do this for some time; this blog has had the good fortune to be read by prolific commenters, and it is only right that we recognize what they do for our particular corner of the so-called blogosphere.

Without them, Inquirer Current would lose much of its electricity, its snap and crackle. In a very real (or really virtual?) sense, this is their blog too.

Let me cite three of them in particular: Bert, Kabayan, and OFW in Afghanistan. They are not often on the same side of an issue, or reading from the same page (if I read between the lines correctly, they were not even on especially cordial terms in this blog’s early days); their frequent interventions, however, have helped turn this blog’s comment threads into a real forum.

If I’m not mistaken, three of our most commented-on posts are Manolo’s discussion of presidential timber in the senatorial forest, his take on Korean assertiveness, and my singing of the post-Zubiri blues. In each of them, you will find, among the other voices, Bert, Kabayan, and OFW commenting away.

Something Bert wrote, in the middle of a sometimes sharp-edged discussion about possible presidential candidates, struck the right note about our role as participants – as posters, responders, reply-ers — in the public discourse. 

Let’s blog, post, argue and quarrel about everything, anything political. That’s one way of making our voices heard. Every one of us, what ever our views, have one thing in common-and that is that we all want the best happening to our beloved country and people. We want the best for ourselves in our lifetime, and the future of our next generations. This common denominator is the one force causing the continuing political upheavals and turmoil happening in all those years in our country resulting from our grim determination to find the ideal government officials we want that could give light to our aspirations. It’s so sad that as of this moment we are still stuck with the lot of them that have failed us, including this present government. Adding salt to injury, advertently or inadvertently, unheeding of our contempt and displeasure we have bestowed them, they are still making moves and plan to perpetuate themselves on us forever by this plan to do the CHA-CHA. ARE WE GOING TO LET THEM? Please reply, the future of the our next generations are in your hands.

Blogger Left Flank points to a mention I made (in my blog) about the ongoing diplomatic tussle involving Filipinos and visas. He says the Korean ambassador was being “snarky,” and that the “apology” the Korean diplomat made was meaningless.

The current fracas is diplomatic par for the course. You don’t like what certain people are doing to your countrymen, make it more difficult for their countrymen to get visas to your country.

However, as news like this: Britain expels Russian diplomats amid Cold War clouds. And this:  Russia readies ‘targeted’ response to London, shows,  from getting nasty about visas, it can be several quick steps to being nasty to each other’s diplomats, and then for countries to be nasty to each other.

I do agree with the blogger above, though. The Korean Ambassador really only apologized for not formally advising the Philippine government that the South Korean embassy intended to put Filipinos through the wringer. So, he said sorry to the DFA but the policy remains in place. But then, no one ever said the Korean’s aren’t aggressive about their interests.

My first column came out today; it is, of course, mostly political, and follows what my editors call a “condo” format. It’s a condominium of uneven but discrete units. Today’s main topic: the real stakes in the contest for Speaker of the House, at least as far as the President is concerned.

Spent the whole day at the Supreme Court-organized summit (and I mean the whole day; it was my car’s coding day, so I was at the Manila Hotel before 7 am and left after 7 pm). I will post about some of the highlights later this week; for now, however, here’s something that can help put Chief Justice Reynato Puno’s closing address —- summarized in this story’s headline —- in some perspective.

“Let us rather engage in a conspiracy of hope,” Puno said.

The phrase “conspiracy of hope,” however, was first used by Ed Garcia, peace advocate and a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission, earlier in the afternoon, to describe the long-term challenge facing the summit’s delegates. Puno paid tribute to Garcia’s presentation (easily the best of all 12 group reports) by borrowing both idea and phrase.

The proclamation of Migz Zubiri as the 12th senator elected in the 2007 mid-term polls —- despite evidence that the results in Maguindanao province were manufactured, by and large —- was deeply depressing news. I don’t mean it wasn’t inevitable; in fact, that was what was wrong with Zubiri’s “victory” in the first place. It was slow-motion theft; we could all see it coming, a mile away, and in the end we couldn’t prevent it from happening.

This same sense of frustration may have moved the Black and White Movement to release a statement, drenched in sarcasm, a few hours after the proclamation. If you need a little pick-me-up, give it a read:

YA GOTTA HAND IT TO MIGZ
 
GOD helps those that help themselves. So when Migz Zubiri thanked God, he was also thanking Gloria, Garci, Bedol, and Abalos: the faces of our modern “democrazy”.

Imagine that.  The power and the glory now belong to Migz, now, if not forever. We commiserate with Chavit Singson ­ how in heaven’s name could Chavit have lost his top rank to Migz?  Poor guy must be really depressed.  What a difference a month makes. Chavit was once upon a time first in Maguindanao: but as we now know, there are lies, damned lies, and statistics.  Even the improbable ones.

Now, Migz owes a lot. When he thanked God, Mama Mary, and all the saints, he was being a grateful person. Grateful, maybe not to the people of Maguindanao, but definitely thankful to all those who helped make his election as credible as Mrs. Arroyo’s 2004 victory. As the second most impoverished province of ARMM, we can only hope Maguindanao gets the attention it deserves from him and that it’s not just the usual suspects, who get to enjoy the blessings helping Migz win will give.

As for the millions of us that voted for Koko Pimentel, we had it coming. We were old-fashioned enough to believe what mattered more was a genuine mandate, that our votes would count as much as the votes for Migz. How were we to know, that neither our votes nor Migz’ votes, mattered at all? What mattered most was never in the public’s hands: it was the counting, and who did the counting, that mattered. It didn’t even matter if the votes were there, and it didn’t matter if all anyone wanted was a chance to vote again, without terrorism and manufactured documents substituting for an election.