The hubbub, Bub, is all about the expected Estrada verdict(s) tomorrow. The online media have put up their competing sites: Inquirer.net has The Estrada Trial while GMANews.TV has Erap Plunder Trial (hat tip to Macuha.com). The scuttlebutt within media circles as to what the verdicts will be, has been fairly consistent for some time now: it will be interesting to see if the scuttlebutt had a basis in fact, or ends up widely off the mark, and the reasons why.
I think Ivatan Blogger who takes a skeptical approach to everything media, the defendants, the prosecutors, the politicians, even the public, does, is probably closest to reflecting true public opinion with regards to the whole thing.
News items like this really has me puzzled: Arroyo likely to be holed up in Palace on Erap verdict day. The easiest explanation is, if you’ve gone through a trauma like May 1, 2001, paranoia and a siege mentality come all-too-naturally to the powers-that-be. Maybe. Or, as The Philippine Experience puts it, maybe it’s a colossal case of political karma. Tingog.com suggests unease is fostered by the case being lose-lose for the administration; I myself am more inclined to agree with New Philippine Revolution’s analysis. Referring to the possibility public protests will erupt tomorrow, the blogger writes,
First, its obvious that the Arroyo administration will do everything in its power to thwart any attempts at unseating GMA. This “Perfect Storm” scenario is quite feasible, but I believe it does not include an assassination attempt. Quite possibly, the hawks in the Cabinet would prefer a scenario of continuous destabilization, because, like I wrote in previous blogs here, destabilization further strengthens this regime rather than weaken it. Any group who’ll attempt to oust GMA must do it in a blitzkrieg fashion rather than opt for a protracted struggle. A protracted struggle only makes GMA stronger.
And the blogger goes on to point out something I believe is quite obvious, which is why the Palace’s paranoia puzzles me:
One, Erap’s conviction will not generate an EDSA 3. Erap’s throng is not than strong unlike the ones seen in May 2002. Second, the middle class remains divided over the issue. I feel that there is no strong moral reason for the middle class to support Erap. And third, there remains no dramatis causa to speak of, only some noise coming from the media.
And this, in particular, interested me. The blogger asks, what’s wrong with Estrada’s strategy, so far? The blogger writes,
Everything. First, he has amateur strategists in his inner circle of advisers. His pr man, Ferdie Ramos, is a total idiot when planning these kinds of actions. Ramos does not know how to create a scenario. He’s an exposurist. He’s not a strategic pr thinker.
Second, Erap’s stance of just waiting for the verdict and telling the people that he’s ready to accept whatever fate he’ll get from the courts is total kagaguhan. This shows Erap’s weak armor. Erap revels in drama. He’s still living in fantasy land. Or he still sees himself as portraying the role of the people’s champion. Erap, you’re playing a really dangerous game. This stance of yours is precisely what led to your ouster. Its good to be popular but its better to be a winner than continue to be a perennial loser.
What Erap should do is lead the people to protest the verdict. If he will not do this, he’ll lose very, very badly…
Hasn’t he, already?
Anyway, for journalists like Lovefull indeed 🙂 who will be in the front lines, take care. It will be a mad scramble, because the court won’t allow live media coverage of the handing down of the verdicts. wits and nuts has a point about the rendering of the verdict being a public act.
The ZTE deal: Abalos offered me $10M, says JDV’s son: In exchange for dropping broadband bid. In Uniffors, who attended the presser and got to analyze de Venecia the Younger’s statements up close, there’s a synopsis of the juicy bits and why they’re convincing:
If Joey had exposed Abalos before the deal was signed, both ZTE and Abalos would have accused him of making wild charges to help his own bid. As far as business is concerned, it was still no harm no foul at that time. It was still all talk despite the fact that ZTE had already made a downpayment because, if the deal fell through at that stage, then ZTE would be the only loser.
Joey spoke at the right time — after the deal was signed and after he gathered enough documentation to screw all those who benefited from the overprice of $130M.
It appears that Joey and his group devised a brilliant strategy to expose the ZTE deal. They released damaging information in trickles.
One drop would force Abalos to issue a statement, the next drop would expose Abalos’ statement as a lie, Abalos would correct his lie with another lie and another drop comes to expose that Abalos was lying about his lies. Abalos is trapped in his web of lies.
I bet the next step is to corner DOTC Usec. Formoso and Mendoza, They signed the deal, a deal they knew was flawed from the very start.
In his blog, Jove Francisco recounted how the Palace has tried to maintain a stiff upper lip about the whole thing.
The Unlawyer points out reasons why governments like loans from China’s government, including the Chinese avoiding putting conditions that Western governments regularly attach to their loans, such as anti-corruption provisions.
1:51 PM: this just in. Supreme Court has handed down a TRO ordering government to stop the ZTE broadband deal.
Administration senators want ‘Garci’ probe halted. Why? See Conrado de Quiros and the Inquirer editorial from last Sunday (and see Jove Francisco’s account of how the Palace intends to fend off further investigations).
And just to note this article: Political realignment has started: Bicol NPs start recruitment by raiding Kampi ranks. Hmm….
Overseas, the latest round of terrorism-related arrests in Europe explained in Target Europe; Singapore’s one-party rule and how it’s maintained, in Chee Soon Juan Back Behind Bars for Opposing One-Party Rule. Also, Osama’s Vision of the Future.
My column last Thursday was Nitty-gritty, compared with GDP (some related readings can be found in Inquirer Current); my column yesterday was Save the titling system; see Pagbabago Pilipinas, which also has a roundup of articles related to the case.
Rasheed Abou-Alsamh on why fraternities should be banned. See Patricia Evangelista‘s poignant column on the death of Cris Mendez.
In the blogosphere, even though the issue has failed to get traction in the media, the detention of Jose Ma. Sison continues to be debated. The Marocharim Experiment says what will be on trial isn’t just Sison, but his entire movement. Neocon blogger The Belmont Club strongly agrees.
Random Thoughts, a Filipino student in the UK. says the Dutch police zero in on people only if there’s reason to do so; and wonders why Sison insisted on staying in Holland (similar sentiments in IsnaypMedia, whose wife is Dutch and who says Dutch prisons aren’t awful).
In his blog, tonyo provides Mrs. Sison’s account of her husband’s arrest, and what she believes was wrong with it. It’s interesting to read Mrs. Sison’s objections (particularly in terms of procedure) and compare her points to a description of the Dutch legal system, and its procedures, outlined by Toby Sterling (a Dutch blogger sympathetic to Sison). Quite obviously, despite their long-term residence in the Netherlands, the Sisons are still thinking in American and Philippine legal terms. But the Dutch system’s different.
Center Sight points out the Sison arrest isn’t a PR boon to the Philippine government, because of its own murky human rights record. He suggests what officials, if they were enlightened, could do:
For help on moving away from a terror state apparatus and mentality, Manila can look to the success of South Africa for ideas. South Africa pursued a very carefully thought-out, tough-minded but open-air program that succeeded far beyond the best hopes held by all going in. For help on corruption, the Philippines can consult the generation-long program by which Singapore rid itself of that problem. Of course it’s not easy, nor even certain, to overcome either problem with solutions based on situations that had fundamental differences from their own, but the toughness, intelligence and work ethic of the Filipino suggests that once set to the task success might come to hand. Especially if this country and others deeply involved with the Philippines genuinely help them.
tonyo also takes up what he says is Alex Magno’s slander concerning the academic credentials of Sison. mongster’s nest points out what a world-historical figure Sison is, and how his detention underscores that fact. Your Daily Fix of Oslec’s Ego is more interested in Sison’s singing.
This entry from [email protected] is chilling: how passengers on the MRT are seconds from disaster.
YugaTech on misinformation concerning a blogger allegedly arrested by the NBI; he points to the Warrior Lawyer’s explanation of the issue. Touched by an Angel looks at the whole thing from a parent’s point of view.
Technorati Tags: Blogging, Edsa, Gloriagate, Hello Garci, history, human rights, ideas, law, media, military, philippines, politics, president, Senate, society
Ban fraternities? Puh-leeze. Just fodder for wagging tongues in an intellectually-bankrupt society. That this topic is in vogue again simply highlights the issue of why it was out-of-vogue in the first place considering that there are many frat-related deaths, injuries, and damages that are still pending resolution.
The case of Lenny Villa’s death-by-hazing alone is a case in point. Considering that Lenny is the son of a once-powerful (or so we thought) ex Deputy BIR director shows how even the priviledged of Pinoy society is not immune to the blatant and happily-tolerated injustice that is now irreversibly baked into Pinoy culture.
The issue is not about banning frats (though there is a case for that along a DIFFERENT stream of thought). The issue is about our collective resolve to envision a society where justice is routinely (business-as-usual) delivered.
Btw, mlq3 are you still a blogger or just a news snippet consolidator/aggregator nowadays (last I heard, software had already filled that niche)? You seem to be spreading your insight thinly across a broad spectrum of increasingly trivial topics. Maybe it’s about time you re-evaluate what your priorities are (i.e., thin on insight, thick in content, OR thick on insight, focused in content).
You know what conservationists say about fishing trawlers that cast large dragnets. You catch a lot of big ones but drag in a lot of small fry in the process. 😉
“Btw, mlq3 are you still a blogger or just a news snippet consolidator/aggregator nowadays”
Come one, have you even heard of dailykos? Quezon.ph is of the same style.
BTW, I like the way it is, Manolo. It saves me a lot of time.
benign0:
the roundup and links serve two purposes. first, it’s my scrapbook, helps me keep in one place articles i find interesting/useful for use at some later date or to flesh out things i’ve written. second, since people read this blog, there happen to be people who rather like the roundup, so while their happiness is not your happiness, vive le difference. third, it helps me keep track of developments/ stories i’m following.
i have been pondering the spreading one’s self too thin, thing, though, thanks for the heads-up on that.
brian, thanks.
“i have been pondering the spreading one’s self too thin, thing, though, thanks for the heads-up on that.”
He, he. Think about it. If you were French, you’d be home 29 days a month only reading and writing. You’ll be on Korina Sanchez maybe twice a year, and corporate types would run away from you thinking it’s an act of treason to detain you longer than it takes to bat an eyelash.
And I’ll be sleeping with pretty students, a different one on each weak, and Benign0 will have to be a communist if he wishes to eat.
And Filipinos will Welga if businesses force them to work over 35 hours a day. I have a dream…
uy. may topic rin palang pwede kung salihan, fratman din kasi ako. ito lang po: maraming dumadaan sa hazing na hindi namamatay. ang sanhi ng hazing deaths ay hindi yung hazing mismo, kundi yung kakulangan ng control ng mga master. sa karanasan ko, pinakamadalas nangyayari ang kawalan ng control kapag may galit (sa anumang dahilan) ang isang master sa isang neophyte. nakakalungkot isipin na nangyayari ang hazing deaths, ngunit wag naman sana lahatin ng mga kritiko: hindi lahat ng frat nakakapatay. tutukan ninyo yung mga masters na sumali sa initiation, wag ang sistema ng mga fraternity at sorority.
@3rdson
ang hazing ay itinuturing na isang krimen. period.
anumang aktibidad na may kaugnayan sa karahasan at minsan ay kumikitil ng buhay, ay walang puwang sa isang civilized na lipunan.
katulad halimbawa ng boksing?
oo nga. at sa tingin ko walang batas ang makakaabot sa madidilim na sulok kung saan nagaganap ang initiation. dapat i-refine ang batas upang hindi siya kasing un-enforceable, at upang maparusahan ang dapat parusahan.
Sa ibang bansa, sumasali ng college fraternities ang mga bata dahil menos gastos sa housing costs, opportunity to network and of course dahil din sa saya ng mga social gatherings. Ang hindi ko maintindihan, bakit Gang ang dating ng “praternity” sa Pilipinas.
“katulad halimbawa ng boksing?”
oo, katulad ng boksing.
Rather than banning all fraternities, they should just ban Sigma Rho which is directly responsible for Cris Mendez’ death. This will serve as a warning to the remaining fraternities.
pedro, napansin ko rin yan. sa tingin ko, kailangan natin i-distinguish yung fraternity na nasa skwela at yung ‘prat’ na mala-‘gang’ ang dating.
Yung una, sa tingin ko lehitimo. Yung pangalawa, parang bansag na lamang. Tawag lang nila sa sarili nila ‘prat’ para madagdagan ng konting kinang. Sa totoo lang, barka-barkada lang naman yang mga iyan.
hiwalay na kategorya siguro ang mga grupong Akrho, Triskelion, at SRB. Hindi ako sigurado pero ang iba dito nagsimulang lehitimong fraternity na dinala sa lansangan kung saan nag-morph na sila into quasi-street gangs. On the other hand, meron din naman – Triskelion ata – nagmigrate naman from being a street gang at nagkaroon din ng mga chapter sa mga eskwelahan.
gayun pa man, parang kulang pa rin sa lehitimong pagkilala ang mga grupong ganito at patuloy pa rin silang bahagi ng underground culture na namamayagpag sa mga unibersidad – kasama na yung mga skwelahan sa u-belt.
takesaku, mahirap ata yun. paano maalis ang karahasan sa lipunan? hangga’t nariyan pa rin ang caveman sa kaibuturan ng ating mga kaluluwa, magkakaron tayo ng moments of stress atavism. pero, maganda nga sa kung wala ng karahasan sa mundo. boring din naman ang boksing e. minsan.
“the roundup and links serve two purposes. first, it’s my scrapbook, helps me keep in one place articles i find interesting/useful for use at some later date or to flesh out things i’ve written.”
exactly. ganyan rin ako. i just can’t rely on google to “remember” everything.
benign0, excellent sniping.
as for the entire frat thing, while 3rdson does have a point in his discourse, the fact remains that fraternities in the Philippines are still the haven of a few sociopathic individuals, who if they make it to initiation master, end up killing neophytes like cris mendez… who probably joined up for something as innocent as making new friends in a an alien environment.
these guys also end up dragging their brothers into wars with other fraternities because these savages found some way to get into college and were able to “blackmail” an organization into supporting their brand of insanity.
the thing is, the way a frat is organised, once you get in, everyone is bound to help you out and support you, no matter how messed up you are. i think some of the more violent ones actually allow these “enforcers” to join their ranks, to defend themselves against the other groups’ enforcers as well.
and i haven’t heard of sanity as a requirement to join any fraternity, and much less as a reason to remain in it.
i joined a sports team in university, so there wasn’t really any pressure to join up with a frat, and we had a couple of fratmen on the team, and they were pretty cool too.
your such a dumbass benigno. Don’t like the “daily dose”? Don’t read it. It’s a blog, things that interest Manuel. He can put up as little or as many personal comments as he likes. His blog, his rules.
If you crave a full hard-on from a commentary, maybe you should read his column.
it’s also interesting how benign0 uses the round-up as fuel for his latest anti-Filipino diatribe… talk about shooting himself in the foot. but like i said, great sniping.
mlq3, thanks for not taking my “observation” personally. It’s a matter of style I suppose. As I said, just some food for “re-evaluation” of what you think your blog really is all about.
Then again, any schmoe with a blog can do a roundup (as evident in John Marzan’s 2-cents on the matter). So what’s a smart guy like you doing what everyone else is doing? 😉
Noong ako’y nag-aaral pa sa kolehiyo, may kakilala akong isang frat member na pilit akong ini-enlist sa kanilang grupo. Dahil medyo wary ako sa mga activities ng fraternity na iyon, sabi ko sa kanya, “bigyan mo ako ng one good reason bakit kailangang sumali ako sa fraternity ninyo”.
Ang sagot niya (more or less) ay ganito: “Kapag member ka namin hindi ka basta-basta magagalaw ng kalabang fraternity o ng kahit na sino dahil alam nilang nasa likuran mo kami at tiyak na babalikan natin sila.”
Napanganga ako sa sagot niya at sa isip-isip ko, “ang tatalino talaga ninyo!”. Hindi ko naman sinasabi na ganoon ang punto ng lahat ng mga fraternities pero dahil sa sagot niyang iyon ay hindi ko na hinangad na sumali sa mga frat-frat.
thanks manolo! 🙂 will definitely be needing lots of care for tomorrow. 🙂 I’ve been getting heads-up that rallyists from the left won’t be joining so I expect that only Estrada loyalists (or those who were paid to do so) would be going. I’m soooo excited for the promulgation. So much to write about. 🙂
It’s hard work being a columnist alone. And then hosting a talk show. and then blogging. I suppose to save time and effort, Manolo just throws the dragnet. then lets us, readers contribute, and give our own opinion, which is way better than just giving only his own. instead of a single opinion, he has a whole slew of opinions from different people with diff backgrounds, on diff issues, everyday. u can still get a dose of Manolo’s sole opinion on his PDI column if you’re hungering for it.
But you’re right Benigno, I’m somehow missing Manolo’s inputs these days. He’s already spread too thinly IMO. But what the heck, maybe he needs the money!
re frats. i’ve been a member of more than one. been a leader too, in one of those i joined. frankly, i saw no benefit in such orgs. facilitated hazings in some occasions. prone nga ang hazings sa deaths kasi lumalabas ang “lucifer effect” dito. trust me. i know. yung hazing leader mismo, dapat malakas ang control sa mga brads nya, otherwise, gulo-gulo na. at least, sa mga hazings i attended, I made sure kept in order lahat. bawal ang mga lungo at lasing umattend (surefire recipe yan for disaster). every once in a while (between paddles) chine check ang mga pledgies. pag di na kaya, pinapahinga. di rin ako mahilig sa physical beatings. yung required paddles lang pinapagawa ko, then the rest psychological torture na lang.
iba kasi ang mindset abt frats pag nasa kabataan ka eh. nung college ko lang naisip-isip na wala naman kwenta yung mga pinagagawa ko nung high school sa mga frats na yon. anyways, sumali ako di naman dahil sa peer pressure. sumali lang ako para ma experience kung pano sumali.
sa tingin ko ang mga h.s. “frats” ay hindi naman talaga mga fraternity. mga barkada lang iyan na nagpepretend na fraternity sila. siguro yan ang dahilan kung bakit napka vicious ng ibang mga grupong ganyan. tipong lord of the flies ang dating.
ibaiba rin siguro ang pananaw sa mga fraternity. halimbawa, maraming nag-komento na na hindi nila nakikita ang kabuluhan ng mga frat. pero, sa tingin ko, pagkakaiba lang ng perspective iyan.
sa law school at sa med, maraming nagsasabi na malaking tulong ang maging parte ng isang fraternity. tulongan, suporta. pag sabak sa tunay na mundo, mga brod mo at mga sis, nakakatulong sa paghahanap ng trabaho. kung minsan, sa advancement pa.
sa madaling salita, meron din namang benipisyo ang fraternity system. it’s just that, ika nga ni devil’s advocate, yung lucifer effect ay overpowering kungminsan.
binanggit ni wiesel (tama ba?) yung tungkol sa banality of evil, o pagkaordinaryo ng kasamaan. applicable din yan dito. hindi halimaw ang mga frat at fratmen. meron lang iba, na ordinaryong tao lang na nalalasing sa kapangyarihang hawak nila sa mga naka-blindfold at nakluhod na neophyte.
sinabi mo pa 3rdson. ibang-iba nga ang feeling pag ikaw na ang nagi-initiate ng mga neophytes. pag wala ka talagang control sa sarili mo, kahit di ka naman normally brutal, eh madadala ka na lang sa mga pinagagagawa nyo.
They should arrest all Sima Rhoans in public service. Tapos problema nang Pilipinas
Nasa Pilipinas tayo…
Ang bansang me krimen pero walang kriminal…
gaya rin lamang ng…”boses niya iyon, pero hindi siya ang nagsasalita”
susunod….namatay sa hazing pero walang hazing na nangyari
i-abolish na lang ang walang kabuluhang mga frat na iyan para mabawasan ang problema ng rp.
Sorry to disagree, BrianB, but I wouldn’t compare this blog with DailyKos, which functions more like a collective. Where a number of A-list (which includes founder Kos) posters gets exposure on the front pages, and 100s, or thousands, of diarists posting in other areas of the site. Then regularly, a number of these second-tier diarists are awarded exposure on its prime real estate and given special mention. Thus, the hundreds of thousands of hits a day.
InstaPundit would be more like it. And aside from this solo-writer pioneering blog, GlennR also writes longer editorial entries in other sites or media. He has even written books.
Of course, if MLQIII wants to go the DailyKos route, that IMHO would also be a good development to consider.
Ke guilty o not ang hatol kay erap, wala namang epekto sa atin. Sure, madedepress ng konti ang merkado (ngayon pa lang, tumaas na ang palitan ng dolyar), pero hihirap pa ba tayo lalo? Siguradong hindi natin ikakayaman ang pagtatapos ng trial ni erap, pero may tsansa man lang ba na umayos ang buhay natin? Wala rin naman e.
Pagkatapos nito, mas marami pang kaguluhan ang hahataw sa pilipino.
HATOL NG (sandigan)BAYAN 2007:
maysala
dapat lang naman ngunit abangan and pardon ni GMA itong hapon.
Guilty for Plunder, not guilty for perjury…
I think now the Erap camp will start reconsidering their stand re pardon. methinks all the other co-accused also has some deep thinking to do. if you haven’t noticed, the judge ordered all the other co-accused still at large to be issued warrants of arrests.
I think its a victory for the fight against corruption in general. And a warning of what awaits GMA et al when they’re the ones out of power.
They’d be easier to forgive if they’d just try to reform no? But they dig in their heels more, and refuse to mend their ways, and in fact, are scampering to steal more from the people as their exit from power looms near! (ZTE anyone?) Perhaps they’re just preparing for the rainy days to come?
This victory, and the fight against corruption would succeed if other “big fishes” are also succeedingly prosecuted with success. not just small fries. Joey Marquez is small fry. Joc Joc Bolante is a whale. the 2 other employees of BIR (or was it BOC?) were small fries compared with Abalos.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not deploring these convictions. I’m rejoicing them! But I’d rejoice more if the law was applied EQUALLY, both to the powerful and the less powerful. Jail EVERYONE corrupt! Period.
due process, devils, due process. you just don’t jail everyone you think is corrupt. someone could do it to you (on manufactured evidence or none at all), and that would not be good. you are being misleading, if not imflammatory. don’t forget, there are vulnerable, one-track minded people, around.
phil. daily inquirer breaking news: “estrada guilty of plunder; perjury rap dropped.”
In the case of Gloria Arroyo, it’s still a case of due process versus Justice.
of course Bencard, of course. if you didn’t noticed, i mentioned “successfully prosecuted.” wouldn’t that imply that the case would have to be tried? and in short be given due process?
cvj, there is no such case, pending or otherwise, or are you still hallucinating? lighten up, will you?
sorry, devils. for a minute, i was focused on your last sentence: “Jail everyone CORRUPT! Period.”
Bencard, for once I’d like to see you post a comment as a member of society at large and not as part of that ‘elite’ club of lawyers. Cvj was talking about justice and not law. Thers is such a thing, you know.
Bencard, ahaha. yeah. I should’ve said: Jail everyone CONVICTED of corruption. But that would’ve been redundant eh? what else are you supposed to do with them? (the convicted)
digressing, things are also heating up in the US with Gen. Petraus’ and Crocker’s report in Congress. FOX makes for amusing watching (esp O’ Reilly and Hannity and Colmes) Plus, there’s this obvious attempt of FOX to copy Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show with a counterpart show of their own. Satisfyingly, their attempt falls flat. Humongously. FOX is increasingly becoming more SPIN-sided, as the BUSH administration is increasingly criticized for its policies, both by foes and (former) friends alike. Besieged by criticisms everywhere, all of which sounds more truthful than their claims, the BUSH administration has no recourse but to fight back with its own propaganda machine. The problem their propagandists face is that, lies are more harder to prop up than truth. With truth, you just pick it up and show it to people and say, whacha think? Am I telling the truth? With lies, you weave a web of them, and then in the end, find yourself stuck in the middle, and you’re food for the big bad spidey.
The BUSH administration is a funny study. In fact, the US and the Philippine’s course of events run almost parallel ever since these 2 idiotic leaders rose in power. GMA herself displays Bush’s siege-mentality. If you aren’t with me, you’re agst me. And shame on you!
actually cvj was using the word “case” not in reference to a “legal case” but in the colloquial sense. Like, “in my case, I’m extremely handsome.” Said statement does not imply that we have to wait for a suit to be filed in court to verify that I am handsome indeed.
In which case (lols), you should be the one lightening up Bencard.
Just you wait, Bencard: when GMA is no longer the one who wields E.O. 464 and CPR, then you’ll see the cases against her emerge. (Unless, of course, it’s her lackey who succeeds her in 2010.) This is stating the obvious, but I’ll say it: fear of retribution is the biggest factor preventing people from pursuing any sort of case against erring officials in this country. You need to be some sort of hero with a death wish (or incredibly well-connected, like Joey de Venecia) to fight City Hall here, even if you are in the right. Erap was untouchable until he was deposed–and now look what happened to him.
Sa tingin nyo, dapat bang isama sa co-accused si Chavit?
Jeg, Devils, thanks much appreciated. The only time i’ve seen Bencard go beyond his being a lawyer was when he defended EDSA Dos.
I agree with everything nick said. 😉
Cvj, in which case, I guess he’s just being “in character.” lol. could that be said the same of everyone here? are u the “left-leaning liberal” here? am i the “overanalazying anarchist?” is DJB the “schizophrenic jihadist?” and Bencard the “straight-in-cast lawyer?”
Karlo, I’ve covered this in blog posts past, but my stand was he should’ve been included in those arraigned. i put forth arguments of pros and cons of this re whistleblowing, but to put it shortly, my point was that we should make it so that the system rewards whistleblowers who show remorse, and rewards only those whistleblowing acts which bears fruit (results in conviction) and also, still punish co-conspirators turned whistleblowers, only to a lesser degree. like plea bargains.
Dito sa atin yung “frat” ay hindi na frat sa traditional na definition… “gangsta” tulad sa music videos.
The Jacobins are now in charge. Erap should insist on being transferred to Muntinglupa. Otherwise he will rot and die forgotten in Tanay convicted of a capital crime of stealing from the people. That will be his historical legacy. A convicted criminal.
If ever there was a time for him to sacrifice his body it would be now. Insist on incarceration as he said he would accept the verdict even though now he will issue bitter statements to the contrary.
They toppled a king in reality and a de-facto couple rule the land.
Anyone who believes that the rule of constitutional rule of law prevails in this country is simply attempting to fellate himself in public.
But that putative decision will be recorded in the books forever and no court will overturn that. The SC of this land is a de-facto constructive legislature cum judiciary.
A partly pregnant court.
Re :hazing.
what about the PMA, where hazing could last up to three years.If hazing to you only means paddling and one time only psy warfare.
Try being, a plebe,lalo na pag anak ka ng pmaayer..
It can either make you or break you.
Buti na lang di ako nag PMA,(napigilan ng ina,at naduwag na din))
Digressing:
Erap Hatol:
Pagpatay ko ng TV’
Reconsideration daw ang balak ng defense dahil madami daw butas ang desisyon.
Kung diretso SC daw aabot daw ng two years?
Medyo nalabuan ako,kung sumablay ang reconsideration,e di SC din ang bagsak.
sabagay one to two months delay lang naman yata eh, dahil two weeks to file the reconsideration and maybe less for the final verdict.
ewan,abangan na lang natin.
Abolishing fraternities would only make them go underground and offer the same result.
That same result,apparently having
some gangsters, and some others with the bond that could be more than brotherhood or sisterhood.