Jess Robero of Naga City suspended on the basis of his questioned citizenship….  The Comelec as a whole had dismissed the case; now a part of the whole, four years later, decides to suspend him on that flimsy basis, anyway.The latest is that Makati City Hall is under siege as the suspension of Jejomar Binay has been ordered.  Sounds familiar?

In the first, the opposition (and I include independents in this camp) is poised to win; in the second, the president will win, but there will still be a significant enough opposition to make things a pain in the rear; in the third, the president will win, but the support will be conditional, and thus fickle, going into the challenges she’ll be facing; in the fourth, the Chief Justice has shown signs of putting up a fight which will be problematic for the president.Does the president possess a trump card, in terms of the police, followed by the military?…  But she needs a big win, because she has a couple of big fights lined up as soon as the second half of this year: she has to raise taxes (never popular); she needs to start on her major infrastructure projects (for which she needs taxes); she will have to keep her critics on the defensive by mounting a new effort to amend the constitution: all three add all sorts of dynamics to what may be merely the ritual of going through another impeachment effort.2….  Second, its part of a larger trend that other faiths, without the historical baggage of the Catholic Church, have embraced far more readily, even eagerly: dating all the way back to Gregorio Aglipay’s presidential bid in 1935, the rise of the Iglesia ni Cristo as a political force starting in the 50s and 60s, and the Eddie Villanueva campaign in 2004.

The proclamation  of, and the justification for, the National Language:

Corazon Aquino is in the news, served up three ways: she appeals on behalf of Jonas Burgos; the Palace has instructed that her son be defeated at all costs; and her phone, it seems, has been tapped.The President reiterates her confidence in the AFP chief of staff; the President’s husband decides to drop the many libel cases he’s filed.My column for today is Political idealism.  In the end, I’ve decided to vote for the entire slate of Ang Kapatiran and to vote for Kiko Pangilinan; my column explains why.The Inquirer editorial and the Philippine Star editorial on election-related killings; the PDI editorial points out that this year, there’s a new trend:But even if the number of cases and the number of casualties don’t reach the same levels as in previous elections, there is one difference that should worry both the police and the politicians….  A related news story is another party-list in trouble because of a YouTube video showing one of its nominees promising voters “dividends” from the pork barrel if they vote for that party.blurry brain presents the points he wanted to raise on my show concerning labor and employment.The Lonely Vampire Chronicles on why bloggers have to be vigilant when it comes to proposals to require registration with the government.Pac Daddy on the PNCC’s dimwit SLEX construction strategy.

Lucio Tan’s luck increases: PAL seems poised to gain control of NAIA-3.You saw it coming department: this piece by Rick Saludo, I believe, is significant….  This:And unlike terrorists, governments submit to legislative and judicial review and restraint and electoral rebuff.Hah!Amando Doronila says the Palace is in a pickle because of the (in)Justice Secretary:First, she sacks or suspends Gonzalez, or second, Gonzalez steps down….  The first offers the President a dramatic opportunity to reestablish her badly damaged credibility and to regain public confidence in her ability to ensure a fair and free election and carry out a fair administration of justice.

Our Languages and Our Songs in the Philippines Manuel L. Quezon III The first time I met the great Filipino novelist N.V.M. Gonzalez, it was at a lunch where the discussion drifted to the merits of authoritarianism versus democracy. The relative merits and demerits of the Philippines and Singapore came up. In response, Gonzalez told [...]

It didn’t get its government franchise renewed after the Senate, alarmed by a deal the PNCC entered into with a foreign hedge fund (Radstock Securities), declined to approve the passage of a new franchise law.Ricky Carandang yesterday explained what the deal was, and why it alarmed the Senate….  Last year, Radstock and the PNCC agreed to settle the debt according to the following terms:Under the terms, Radstock would be paid P1 billion in cash, 30 hectares of real estate worth an estimated P6 billion, shares of stock in PNCC with a par value of P2.3 billion, and future cash flows worth P9.38 billion, for a total of P18.68 billion.Which is, of course, a tidy profit for Radstock, which had acquired the debt for 100 million….  In order to settle the debt PNCC effectively liquidated itself and ensured that the P36 billion it owed the government would never be paid.Here’s what it looks like to me: Radstock, perhaps for a cut of the profits, enlists the aid of some people influential with the Estrada Adminstrtion to recognize the Marubeni debt.