Atty. Leonard De Vera.  Lawyer for Grace Ibuna

Atty. Lorna Kapunan.  Lawyer for Aleli Arroyo

While most of the brilliant legal  minds in the Philippines are embroiled in the impeachment case of Chief Justice Renato Corona,  Attys. Leonard De Vera and Lorna Kapunan are on a collision course to prove who among the women in Rep. Ignacio “Ignacio” Arroyo will inherit the millions pesos (or billions of pesos according to Senator Ping Lacson) that the latter left behind.

This kind of case is what lawyers have always dreamed of.  Multi-million peso cases that create sounds like “Ka-Ching!” in a lawyer’s mind.

On the other hand, the unluckiest Lawyers are the following:

The members of the Prosecution Team

From day one, the impeachment prosecutors from House of Representatives seemed to have enrolled themselves in the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) classes of Senator Judge-Presiding Officer Juan Ponce Enrile and veteran justice of the Supreme Court, Serafin Cuevas.   All who went to the rostrum were subjected to severe lectures as if they have not read the basic of laws and procedure.

No Bribery if Beneficial to Government?

A lot of  first year law students may have rushed to consult their Criminal Law 2 books after reading this news report:

(above) Pagcor Chairman and Macau Visitor Cristino Naguiat

Palace: Freebies for Pagcor OK

 By Christine O. Avendaño

Malacañang on Tuesday said there was nothing wrong with Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) Chairman Cristino Naguiat accepting free accommodations and gifts from the Wynn chain of casino hotels as this was “an industry practice and saves expenses for the government.”

According to presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, Naguiat did not personally profit from the freebies.

In a press briefing, Lacierda said President Benigno Aquino III had accepted Naguiat’s explanation on the matter which was revealed in a dispute between Wynn Resorts Ltd. chief executive Steve Wynn and Japanese gambling tycoon Kazuo Okada.

Wynn had accused Okada of making improper cash payments and gifts totaling about $110,000 to gaming regulators, including those in Philippines—in this case, Pagcor.

The report alleged that Pagcor officials had received dinners, Chanel bags and suites at Wynn Macau, all courtesy of Okada, chair of Universal Entertainment Corp.

“(The President has accepted Naguiat’s explanation) in the matter of being able to save on costs, that is beneficial to the government and chair Naguiat never profited from it personally anyway,” Lacierda said.

“Look, it’s cheaper for us: When they come here we pay for them and when we go there they pay for (our) accommodations. From that perspective, we save more on the cost,” he said.

Asked whether this kind of arrangement was not in conflict with the President’s clean governance campaign, Lacierda said there was no conflict because Okada had been granted a provisional license as far back as 2008 to do business with Pagcor.

(Source: Philippine Inquirer dated February 22, 2012)

Now, a reading of the provision on Indirect Bribery in the Revised Penal Code reads as follows:

Art. 211. Indirect bribery. — The penalties of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods, and public censure shall be imposed upon any public officer who shall accept gifts offered to him by reason of his office. (As amended by Batas Pambansa Blg. 872, June 10, 1985).

Furthermore, Republic Act No. 3019 otherwise known as the “Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act”, provides:

Sec. 3. Corrupt practices of public officers. - In addition to acts or omissions of public officers already penalized by existing law, the following shall constitute corrupt practices of any public officer and are hereby declared to be unlawful:

xxx  xxx   xxx

(c) Directly or indirectly requesting or receiving any gift, present or other pecuniary or material benefit, for himself or for another, from any person for whom the public officer, in any manner or capacity, has secured or obtained, or will secure or obtain, any Government permit or license, in consideration for the help given or to be given, without prejudice to Section thirteen of this Act.

Still, another applicable provision in the Republic Act No. 6713, otherwise known as  ”Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees” should be taken into consideration:

Section 7. Prohibited Acts and Transactions. - In addition to acts and omissions of public officials and employees now prescribed in the Constitution and existing laws, the following shall constitute prohibited acts and transactions of any public official and employee and are hereby declared to be unlawful:

(d) Solicitation or acceptance of gifts. – Public officials and employees shall not solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan or anything of monetary value from any person in the course of their official duties or in connection with any operation being regulated by, or any transaction which may be affected by the functions of their office.

The Macau trip is seen to bring in Big time Gambling in the Philippines.

From the looks of it, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation Chairman and General Manager Cristino Naguiat can be CHARGED FOR GRAFT, INDIRECT BRIBERY and violation of the CONDUCT AND ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC OFFICIAL.  Mind you, graft charges against public officials have territorial effect, meaning even the offenses were allegedly committed abroad, these can be charged in the Philippines.

We don’t see anything wrong.  Presidential Spokesman Atty. Edwin Lacierda (above)

Now, if the Palace through lawyer Atty. Edwin Lacierda has the gall to defend Naguiat and describing what he did as mere”customary or a practice”, they might as well consider as normal the “gift-giving” that is happening at our government offices like the Bureau of Customs  (Hi Mr. Elevado!) and even the National Bureau of Investigation (Hi Atty. Sison!).

The problem with Atty. Lacierda is he even twisted the law by saying that bribe receiving by Naguiat is even “BENEFICIAL TO THE GOVERNMENT!”  DIOOSSKOOOPOOOO!!!

I thought that this is the very evil that President Benigno C. Aquino III wants to eradicated with his campaign slogan “Matuwin na Daan” or “Straight Road.”

Broken Vow?  PAGCOR Chairman Naguiat is seen as one of the most trusted men of  President Aquino.

“MATUWID NA DAAN BA ANG TINATAHAK NI NAGUIAT, MR. PRESIDENT?” (Is this the straight road you are talking about, Mr. President?)

Now, if Pnoy is fast on his guns to sack NBI Chief Magtanggol Gatdula when he was implicated in the shenanigans of his men, why will he not do the same against Naguiat who based on the Inquirer reporthas accepted  dinners, Chanel bags and suites from gambling lord Kazuo Okada at Wynn Macau (is that all Mr. Okada?, how about the “splendid” massage services that Macau is known for?).

One of Macau’s traditional offer of hospitality:  Free “Massage.”

Shame on you Mr. President if you let this bad example (and bad egg like Naguiat) slip through your fingers.  In that occassion, you will be worse than your father and mother’s version of Renato Corona, President Ferdinand Marcos – who actually crafted this law against  bribery and was strict against gift receiving during his time (at least on paper!).

People who are just too gullible about their romance were disappointed to realize that both could have hyped their courting by tweeter since both ended up as image models of a leading canned tuna brand.

Puleezz!

But just like any mabentang (translation: successful) gimmick, a sequel has to be made before gullible people will run out (will there be a day?). Both continued with their high profile public appearances and kept the public guessing about the “real score.”

Angel who seems to be a seasoned business woman than an angel faced actress  spices up this puzzle with declarations like this: “We will not label our relationship.”

Puleezz!

On the other hand, Phil who has been  unmasked as another lackluster sportsman in the form of  David Buenevacz  (look at the Azkals’ faltering record nowadays),  could be doing this charade as a desperate effort  to land  a showbiz job which does not require him to open his mouth and blabber in funny Brit slang.  He must remember that there are a lot of real sports heroes who crashed in the dog-eat-dog world of Philippine showbiz.  Just ask Yoyong Martirez, Bonnel Balingit, Alvin Patrimonio, Onyok Velasco and Benjie Paras!

It is really irritating how the viewing public is continuously tickled pink about their strange relationship.  It seems that both celebrities are blowing a lot of air into their balloon to feign a relationship or absence of it just to be the top  talk of town.  The truth of the matter is: They do not really care if Angel and Phil are really a couple, if they already  beat the sack or whatever.  They are dying to end these cheap gimmicks!

Otherwise, the tired, disgusted and fed-up Filipinos must be itching to ask Gimmick Queen Angel the real score:  Did she or didn’t she?

If you she did already, then stuff your mouth shut!

If not, keep on dreaming lady…

you cannot believe that it is this girl (without my personal description of her) who sang it.

Yes. this lady….a lady that you will not give a second look.

She is Jonalyn Viray, a very exceptional songstress and touted as the next Asia Song Bird after Regine Velasquez (and maybe next on Mariah CArey’s hate list).  Yet whom a lot of critics say is all voice and no “star value” (translation: not pretty).  That is why GMA 7 which place its bets on Jonalyn seemed to move heaven and earth to make Jonalyn not only pretty but sultrier!  See her now.

On the other hand, just try to look at this face and never mind the video below if you have no plans to be disappointed with the singing.

Here is Anne Curtis’s  rendition of the same song sang by Jonalyn Viray above…ang walang kamatayan kantang “Alone” (translation: the immortal love song “Alone”) .

Sabi’ng wag ninyo pakinggan e! (translation: I warned you not to listen!)

You  just focus on Anne’s concert form made up  for her disastrous singing (at least for pure blooded males who enjoyed her skimpy attires that night).  Anne who is dubbed as the Princess of all Media was Princess of all cheap gimmicks that night.  Even bringing on stage a half-naked Derek Ramsey and sexy “leave nothing to the imagination” Christine Reyes.

But mind you, Disastrous Concert Queen Anne packed the Araneta Coliseum that night! Would you believe it? 24,000 screaming Anne Curtis fans!!! Andami talagang bakya at baduy sa Pilipinas! (Translation: its more fun in the Philippines!)

On the other hand, the “Future Songbird” Jonalyn Viray haven’t staged an Araneta Concert yet!  Her biggest concert so far ” Jonalyn Uncovered” at Bagaverde Pasig packs an “overflowing” crowd of 420 which is merely 10% of Anne Curtis’ audience.

Well, that’s what you call balance of nature.  Otherwise stated: “You cannot have it all.”

Porsche 911 Carrera 4.  Ultimate Macho man’s sportscar.

A Porsche Carrera 4 runs like the wind at 187 miles per hour (running with Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK).   Its the ultimate driving machine (sorry BMW!)  When this chick-magnet swooshes through the streets, ladies heads turn, dresses flip over (and panties go down).

Ultimate Hot Chick Magnet.  Grace Lee may have like it.

No wonder even President Benigno “Pnoy” Aquino also dreamed about owning a Porsche and eventually buying one (to replace a BMW).  But the honest “matuwid na daan” bachelor President could not afford the brand new price of a Carrera 4 at $ 96,400.00 (around P 7 Million after taxes).

He only settled for a second hand Porsche and has to sell his old car to buy it!   Sadly, he eventually have to sell it when the chick-mesmerizing powers of the Porsche Carrera didn’t work on him.

Enter Bureau of Customs clerk Paulino Elevado IV who was embroiled in a speeding Porsche-shoot ‘em up controversy.  Unlike his boss Pnoy, Elevado is charting a “Mabilis na Daan” with his sleek white Porsche S (whose ownership he vehemently denies!). This is the same Porsche which was photographed parking in the handicapped slot.

How the heck!?!?  How can a lowly clerk appears to be able to drive a Porsche 911 Carrera S when his very own boss (a haciendero at that) has to be contented with a second hand one?

And more…

Elevado allegedly drove his Porsche 911 Carrera S at high speed to catch a bunch of teenagers who sideswiped and dented his precious sports car.  When he caught with them at a plush hotel in Pasay, he and a companion (perceived to be his bodyguard) allegedly shot the teenagers’ vehicle with .40 and .45 caliber slugs

Video of the Elevado’s Porsche misadventures:

Not less than President Pnoy caught the news and made reference on the Porsche!  As if to say that Porsche riding clerks aren’t threading the matuwid na daan.

Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon was also up in arms when he learned that aside from owning a Porsche, Elevado was pistol packing and allegedly used his licensed .40 caliber Taurus pistol (reportedly worth 40 thousand pesos) against the hapless teenagers whom he accused of scratching his beloved sportscar.  But warn you, Mr. Commissioner, Elevado is ably represented by a lawyer (whose fees, if not probono, will surely be in the thousands of pesos too).

OMIGOD!….only in the Philippines.

A government clerk who is receiving a meager 8,000 pesos salary  (a) drives a 9 million pesos Porsche (b) owns a licensed .40 caliber pistol and  (c) has a snappy lawyer to defend him.

Who the pack is Elevado?? From the looks of it a person who can pull an act like his is only  a son of powerful person , maybe a bagman of a powerful boss (?) or a hardworking but sidelining employee of the Bureau of Customs.  But then nobody really knows who he is.

According to an article by ABS-CBN News, Elevado figured in another controversy, this time for graft and corruption:

Elevado was sued by an importer in 2011 for allegedly violating Republic Act (RA) No. 6713 or the Code of Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, RA No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and direct bribery under the Revised Penal Code (RPC).

The complainant Flor Tagle of Prime Modas, Inc. alleged that Elevado denied the entry of their shipment from China last March 2011 despite “favorable endorsement from the Office of the Commissioner.”

An investigation conducted by the Department of Finance’s Revenue Integrity Protection Service found probable cause to charge the Customs clerk “for trying to extort the sum of P200,000 in exchange for the signature of the district collector of Port of Manila.”

According to the news column of former Senator Ernesto Maceda in the Philippine Star last February 7 , Elevado is allegedly making P 1 million a day and has six other luxury vehicles in his garage.  Maceda’s column is quoted below:

“As the Bureau of Customs celebrated its 110th anniversary, corruption has gone from bad to worse. Last November, 10 “players” were allowed to bring in 1,000 containers each of misdeclared goods containing firecrackers, onions, frozen meat, laptops and rice.”

Last week, Paulino Elevado, Clerk II was caught driving a Porsche, one of 7 luxury vehicles he owned. Customs insiders say that Elevado makes P1 million a day as he is backed up by a senior deputy commissioner. He has reportedly gone abroad.

As the plot thickens…

Who the pack is Paulino Elevado IV and what can the “Matuwid na daan” graftbusters (who are all busy with the Corona impeachment) do about his crime.

From the news reports and opinion columns cited in this blog, it seems that Elevado is the epitome of how corrupt the Philippine government has become.

Where is he now?  Dunno.  One thing sure is he is not in jail for the charges of attempted murder filed against him and his alleged bodyguard.

Again who the pack is Paulino Elevado IV?

For those who were left out of the 2012 Boracay summer, don’t feel bad.

Here are some reasons why  you should not sulk:

1.) Too short a runway.  Caticlan airport’s runway is still not that long.  It will take a couple of years before a modern airport can be realized. 2.) Bumper-to-bumper traffic.   Summer time means thousands of tourists (high society, middle class and even the Kaldero crowd)  streaming to the island like ants.   Chances are you will be caught in traffic along the white beach with the madlang people.3.) West Korea - With the hundreds of Korean budget tourists chomping down kimchis in the island, one will wonder if Boracay has become the third Korean country.

4.) Algae invasion.  Allegedly caused by bursting sewerage, these eyesores taint Boracay’s iconic white beach, spoil postcard perfect shots and maybe irritate city-fragile skin.

5.)  Expensive cheap hotels.  During  peak season (which is suspiciously coined to justify sky rocketing rates for even meager accommodation), prepare to spend a fortune for even the lousiest accommodation.

And the  lastly, the best reason to feel good that you have not booked a suite in Boracay – there are 7,000 other beautiful islands to chose from. If you just want to go to a no-frills and relaxing place with  similarly beautiful beaches this summer, this blog suggests few alternatives:

First and foremost is Coron, Busuanga. Coron is Boracay 30 years ago.  Free of excessive commercialism, it is a haven for tourists who want to have stress free vacation at the beach. Strategically located just less than an hour from bursting Manila, Coron will give Boracay a run for its money.

Any first time visitor will find himself landing in an airport in the middle of no where.  Just like arriving in those African airports in the middle of the Kalahari.  The 30 minute ride into the town is fairly comfortable.  But the town is like a fishing village on steroids.  It is growing, growing but still not as crowded as Boracay.  From the looks of it, Coron has tourism goldmine written across it.

At the town itself, there are two “miss and your busted” tourist areas.  First is the Tapyas Hill where a big cross sits faces the magnificent Coron bay.  Second is Maquinit hot spring which is Asia’s only saltwater hot spring.  These two comes as partners.

First try your luck climbing Tapyas Hill’s 723 steps then soak your aching legs in the hot and salty water of Maquinit.  Perfect combination. For the main dish, Coron island just across the town is the perfect swimmer’s paradise.

Choose from several perfect swimming areas: the scenic Kayangan Lake that monopolizes travel magazine covers including our very own tourism authority’s perfect campaign poster;

Barracuda Lake, a freshwater lake and Twin Lagoons whose inland lakes are so deep that it will make you wonder if a lochness monster is a resident.

Aside from the attractions at Coron island, Coron  has magnificent white sand beaches like Malcapuya beach.

It also has several dive sites where one can be drawn to the eerie depths alongside vintage Japanese freighters.  Eerie dark blue waters in the deep.  Not for faint hearted.

And if one is still not satisfied with just Coron, there is still nearby Culion island and the Jurassic-like island of Calauit.  Both attractions are just a boat ride away.

Coron is bursting with potential in tourism.  It is the next Boracay if not the latter’s best challenger.  Yet, it is still a dew-eyed juvenile which can be honed  to realize its full potential as the country’s top tourist destination.

Jennylyn Mercado

Valerie Concepcion

People have to learn lessons from disasters to avoid it or prevent it from happening. Natural disasters like the earthquake that happened in Central Visayas are hard to prevent but man-made ones can be easily averted if people just learn from the lessons of history.

Watching the movie, “Flowers of War” by famous Chinese moviemaker Zhang Yimou is one learning experience and great reminder.  It is a reminder of great evil that man does.

Based on the book by Geling Yan, it is one of the movies which bravely recalls the harrowing 6 weeks when the Japanese Imperial Army “raped” the China’s capital city of Nanking in 1937. Historians are not in agreement on the actual figures of people massacred, mutilated and raped.  But eyewitness accounts especially  those of  foreigners who helped put up a “safety zone” related stories of mass-devilish acts which up to  now are unimaginable:  A sports-like  contest of beheading the most men, mass murder, systematic gang-rape, murder of children, burying men alive, and wide spread killing and looting.

“Flowers of War” is topbilled by American actor  Christian Bale who played a mortician caught in the middle of the Sino-Japanese war.  Hoping to loot an Catholic Cathedral, he became the protector of  a group of young convent-bred girls and glamorous prostitutes whom he later aid to escape the maniacal Japanese imperial army (as depicted in this movie). Being a typical  Zhang Yimou film, the movie is superb story telling of the heroism, extreme sacrifices and  wanton atrocities of the loop-sided war.

Chinese actress Ni ni who played one of the prostitutes protected by Bale’s character is a beautiful rendition of how humanity can be redeemed by acts of extreme sacrifice and heroism.

Eerie as the film may be, it teaches a lot of lessons for future generation to ponder.  Man can do evil things but it can also do admirable acts that far outweigh the former.

Sadly, there are some sectors in modern day Japan which continue to shun the reality of the Nanking massacre.  The gruesome part of history seemingly torn from the pages of history and is not officially recognized.   The Japanese government is adamant and has not formally apologized for this holocaust.   Author Iris Chang wrote in her novel, The Rape of Nanking that in 1991, censors at the Japanese Ministry of Education “ordered textbook authorities to eliminate all reference to the numbers of Chinese killed during the Rape of Nanking because authorities believed there was insufficient evidence to verify those numbers.” Such a thing is not surprising as even the ones who are directly responsible for the massacre – Emperor Hirohito and his uncle Prince Asaka who was dispatched under Imperial orders to Nanking were given immunity.

For those who wish to learn from history, the movie “Flower of War” is worth watching.

Get the message? Grace Lee, President Pnoy’s current apple of the eye.

The thing…or the shirt says it all….

A Manila cop reporting a suicide by a chinese national suspected of murdering his girlfriend.

Click this video link from ABS-CBN News  to find out his story….

chinese-who-killed-own-girlfriend-dies#ooid=1yOTVnMzpfQ8P2HzJtFVVEz0SmXs9xXG

or click the following video link from GMA 7 news:

The story below is  from ABS-CBN news website in toto.

This police officer, SPO1 Charles Duran, said that the suspect Gong Zhun Yan grabbed his .9 mm caliber gun and fired it at his chin.

“Nung binbaybay namin yung Taft Avenue, pagdating sa may Ayala, paghinto nung mobile namin nahulog yung mga documents ko. Yung iba nalaglag kaya yumuko ako para abutin, para kukunin ko. Maya-maya nagulat ako ginrab niya yung baril. Paglingon ko biglang pinutok na niya,” Duran said.

Authorities rushed him to the Philippine General Hospital.

The suspect, however, was declared dead on arrival at 9:45 p.m.

According to Duran, they did not expect that Go would commit suicide.

“Mabilis ang mga pangyayayari. Nagulat rin kami. Hindi namin akalain na gagawin niya yun dahil tahimik lang siya,” he said.

(To translate and encapsulate SP01 Duran’s follies: He is one fumbling cop who can’t hold on to his papers and secure his pistol.  Too bad for his prisoner – a lanky chinese whose wrists are cuffed – he got a free bullet for his suicide.)

Go was supposed to face charges of murder, theft and traffic violation. His car was seen on closed-circuit television camera ram into his girlfriend on January 14. He then got off his car and repeatedly stabbed her on the chest.

These cops talaga….what do they think of the Filipino viewing public? Aren’t they afraid of public backlash for this latest pulis patola antic?  Regardless of the evil deeds of Gong Zhun Yan, he is still entitled to due process and has to be properly brought to the bar of the law.

Oh c’mon, SP01 Duran…do you really want us to believe that you lost your service pistol to a lanky chinese kid whose wrists are hand-cuffed (as shown by earlier video).

Are you still having a hangover with the now legendary pulis patola antic of the Quirino Hostage Massacre?  No wonder the Chinese (including the Hong Kong nationals) do not trust you.

At the very least, the Philippine National Police (PNP) should discipline this bumbling police officer. Or tuck his gun safely to his waist with a staple wire.