The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,200 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 20 trips to carry that many people.
Click here to see the complete report.
Over the week, the impeachment proceedings on the inclusion or exclusion of the paragraphs 2.3 and 2.4 of the second article of impeachment against Chief Justice Renato Corona. The defense claims these paragraphs should not be included in the article because they have nothing to do with the alleged failure of the chief justice to disclose his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth to the public. The senate, sitting as the impeachment court, spent extensive time to discuss the matter and even required both the prosecution and the defense to submit memorandum to defend whether to include or exclude last paragraphs of the second article. Yesterday, the impeachment court ruled to allow the presentation of evidence pertaining to paragraph 2.3 but not to 2.4.
According to Senator-Judge Miriam Defensor -Santiago suggested the articles of impeachment be amended to avoid confusion but the Representative Angara, one of the spokespersons of the prosecution said there is no need for amendment of the impeachment complaint. Senate-President Juan Ponce Enrile, who sitting as the presiding officer of the impeachment court, is not in favor of amending of the impeachment complaint because it has to be returned to the House of Representatives which would raise another concern about the question on the initiation of the impeachment. Under the constitution, all impeachable official can be only impeached once every year.
Question would arise from ordinary citizens regarding the content of the disputed paragraphs 2.3 and 2.4. Is the defense panel correct that these paragraphs are incoherent to rest of the second article? The press briefings of the defense and the prosecution revolve on these paragraphs when I was in the senate yesterday to cover the proceedings as a Journalism student. I was able to search the whole Article II of the impeachment complaint on The PCIJ Blog by the Philippine Center of Investigative Journalism and posted it here on my blog.
ARTICLE II
RESPONDENT COMMITTED CULPABLE VIOLATION OF THE CONSTITUTION AND/OR BETRAYED THE PUBLIC TRUST WHEN HE FAILED TO DISCLOSE TO THE PUBLIC HIS STATEMENT OF ASSETS, LIABILITIES, AND NET WORTH AS REQUIRED UNDER SEC. 17, ART. XI OF THE 1987 CONSTITUTION.
2.1. It is provided for in Art. XI, Section 17 of the 1987 Constitution that “a public officer or employee shall, upon assumption of office and as often thereafter as may be required by law, submit a declaration under oath of his assets, liabilities, and net worth. In the case of the President, the Vice-President, the Members of the Cabinet, and other constitutional offices, and officers of the armed forces with general or flag rank, the declaration shall be disclosed to the public in the manner provided by law. ”
2.2. Respondent failed to disclose to the public his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth as required by the Constitution.
2.3. It is also reported that some of the properties of Respondent are not included in his declaration of his assets, liabilities, and net worth, in violation of the anti-graft and corrupt practices act.
2.4. Respondent is likewise suspected and accused of having accumulated ill-gotten wealth, acquiring assets of high values and keeping bank accounts with huge deposits. It has been reported that Respondent has, among others, a 300-sq. meter apartment in a posh Mega World Property development at the Fort in Taguig. Has he reported this, as he is constitutionally-required under Art. XI, Sec. 17 of the Constitution in his Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN)? Is this acquisition sustained and duly supported by his income as a public official? Since his assumption as Associate and subsequently, Chief Justice, has he complied with this duty of public disclosure?
On a quick reading, mostly I would follow the school of thought of the defense and the Senator-Judge Defensor-Santiago. Indeed paragraph 2.4 does not belong to Article II and should be in a separate article. The speedy impeachment against the chief justice by the House of Representatives was questioned by Allan Paguia and even by the camp Renato Corona. I went back to the newspaper compilation I have.
According to the banner story of The Philippine Star, in December 13, 2011, the day after Chief Justice Corona was impeached members of the ruling coalition convened in a caucus at past 3 p.m. and 7:40 p.m., Deputy Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella ordered the house secretary to transmit the impeachment complaint to the Senate. There were 188 congressmen signed the eight-article impeachment complaint, which is almost double of the 94 signatories or one-thirds of the House required for transmittal.
Have you ever wonder if indeed all 188 representatives read the 57 page how come no one notice that the Article II was faulty drafted?
Yesterday the Senate sitting as Impeachment Court ruled against introduction for paragraph 2.4 of the articles of impeachment against Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona. Paragraph 2.4 states that the respondent, Chief Justice Corona, is “suspected and accused of having accumulated ill-gotten wealth”. The memorandum submitted last Tuesday by the defense panel to the impeachment Court last Tuesday claim paragraph 2.4 is “irrelevant, improper and violative of (Chief Justice) Corona’s constitutional rights”
The defence is partly victorious in caucus held yesterday morning because the impeachment court favored the prosecution in its decision to allow the latter to present evidences for paragraph 2.3. Paragraph 3 of the Second Article of Impeachment accused Chief Justice Corona for not including some of his properties in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN). The defense requested to delete from the record any and all of the evidence presented by the prosecution pertaining to paragraphs 2.3 and 2.4 due to lack of ultimate facts.
Defense lawyer Tranquil Salvador III said the entire discussion on Article II shall revolve around the presentation of Corona’s SALN. He said that the prosecution team is trying to amend the second article without the required promulgation of the entire House of Representatives. He added that the prosecution is conducting the determination of the probable cause along with the impeachment proceedings. He added loopholes of the rushed impeachment articles are being revealed while the case is being heard in the impeachment court.
On the other hand the house prosecution panel claimed that evidences,such as Income Tax Return and bank records could not be obtained without existence of a valid circumstance identified by the law such as when an impeachment case was filed. In return the prosecution castigated the defense for turning the proceedings into a game of technicality. They cite the then Associate Justice Renato Corona’s decision on Marcos’s ill-gotten wealth saying that “ (Supreme) Court has seen fit to set aside technicalities and formalities that merely serve to delay or impede judicious resolution. In that decision, Corona cited Alonso vs. Villlamayor, “A litigation is not a game of technicalities in which one, more deeply schooled and skilled in the subtle art of movement and position, entraps and destroys the other. It is rather a contest in which each contending party fully and fairly lays before the court the facts in issue and then, brushing aside as wholly trivial and indecisive all imperfections of form and technicalities of procedure, asks that justice be done upon the merits. Lawsuits, unlike duels, are not to be won by a rapier’s thrust.”
Hello is the longest word I can say whenever we have chance encounters. This will be replied by a smile, a wave and almost inaudible hello. Hello could be be a cliché that has lost its meaning because we often use it. Hello could be a filler we can use whenever we are cought off guard and we got nothing to say.
What would I say when I see you smile with your eyes as well? My default mode is to smile back, walk away and regret how I spoiled the golden oppurtunity. You might think my “hello” means “Nice to see you but I got to go”. I hope you would not perceive hello as an empty greating because for me this two-syllable word envelopes the little speeches I have been writing on my mind.
“Hello” you will here again when we have another chance encounter. You will catch me gazing at your eyes smile. I will smile back. My feet would bring me away from you because of nervousness. My actions mean the opposite of what I want because I have always wanted to be with you.
Ang pagdaloy ng ideya ay para ring paghilab ng tiyan na kailangang tugunan kahit saan ka man naroroon. Hindi man ito kasing dalas ng paghinga, pagkain, pag-inom at pag-ihi. Kung hindi ito gagawin magiging lason ito sa ating katawan.
Ako na siguro ang taong pinakawalang sense of timing, heto ako sa harap ng harap ng simbahan ay nakaisip magsulat. Ito na sana ang pagkakataon para ako ay makipag-usap sa mga kakilala pero heto ako hawak ang diary ko sa kanang kamay at nagsusulat sa kaliwang kamay ang paborito kong ballpen, Uni. Takot ako na makalimutan ko ang ideya na di madalas masumpungan. Pakiramdam ko kung hindi ko magsusulat mabubuang ako o dili kaya ay madadagdagan ang pagkabuang ko. Hirap naman kung bigla na lang akong tatawa o magsasalita.
Bata pa ako ay madalas akong sawayin ng Lola ko, masama raw magsalita ng mag-isa lalo na kung tulog na ang mga kasambahay mo. Kasalanan ito ng Napocor noong kabataan ko, noong presidente pa si FVR, noong sa hapon lang ang telenovela sa tv, noong hindi ko mapakinggan ang paborito kong drama sa radyo dahil sa brown out kaya napilitan akong gumawa ng sarili kong kabanata. Pero ngayong nagkaedad na ako kung kelan dumalang na ang brown out at nawala na ang pagkahumaling sa drama ay hindi kabanata ng drama sa radyo ang nililikha ko sa aking isip kundi ang mga “ano kaya” o “what if” ng buhay ko. Ito ay mga kabanata na malabong mangyari sa totoong buhay. Kunyari hindi ako mag-isang kumain ng hotcake with ham sa Tropical Hut, kunyari may kasama akong pumila sa libreng screening art films sa Edsa Shang at UP Cine Adarna at ano kaya kung may kaahawak kamay akong maglakad sa banketa.
Habang ako ay nagsusulat nakita kong dumaan si A sa aking harap. Pinanood ko lang siyang dumaan. Hindi ko siya tinawag sapagkat di ko naman alam ang sasabihin ko. Hindi ko alam kung kelan ta-timing. Si A na pinakakanais kong makita, ngayon ay dumaan lang sa harap ko na di ko man lang tinatawag. Ngayon ay madadagdagan na naman ang mga what if ng buhay ko. Ganito siguro ang buhay ko punong-puno ng what if. Tulad nga ng nasabi ko kanina kailangan ko ang mga itong isulat sapagkat sa palagay ko ay mabubuang ako kapag hindi ito isinulat. Kahit papaano ay maykakataong may makabasa nito. Magustuhan man ito o hindi ng sino mang babasa. Magsusulat ako sapagkat ito lang ang paraang alam kong maihahayag ko ang aking sarili ng hinndi nauutal at hindi biglang titigil ng hindi tinatapos ang pangungusap.
Tulad ng pagtae ang pagsusulat ay isang seremonyas na kailangan kong gawin para mabawasan ang aking mga daladala. Kailangan kong magsulat para hindi ako matawa mag-isa, magmukhang baliw o dili kaya ay matuluyang mawalan ng bait.
My body is not yet prepared to the resumption of classes after the two-week Christmas break. During the break, I usually woke up at 1:30 pm to watch All for Juan, Juan for All segment of Eat Bulaga. After watching Eat Bulaga I read two broadsheets I am required to read everyday or photocopies of our required readings but sometimes I would take a nap until 5:00 or 5:30 pm before I run to office for my 7:00 pm shift.
I had 1:00 pm class yesterday, but I woke up at 1:40 pm. I had a dilemma between coming the class late or be utterly absent. I cannot afford to be absent because we only meet once a week and only three absences are allowed. I chose to come to class and attend at least half of the three-hour class. I arrived at school around 2:30 pm, but I found our classroom vacant. Later I found out that our professor, a professor emeritus from UP Diliman, cannot stand the scent of the fresh paint and was forced to cancel the class.
This is not the first time I was late or absent in a class this semester because I woke up late. During my admission interview, when my interviewer found out I am working in a call center she asked me how I would sleep. I answered, “Bahala na po”. I know before I enrolled that the life of a working student would not be easy. I need to limit some of my activities and allot most of my time and energy to my studies. I no longer go to free foreign film screenings in Edsa Shangrila Plaza and UP Film Institute which usually consumes a big chunk of my time.
Is it not we study to find a job? I got a job already why should I study? I have been in the call center industry for four years and work for three call center companies. The job is financially beneficial but not emotionally fulfilling. At the end of the day you are not viewed as an individual but a machine who generates numbers. They are after for the number of calls you took in a certain number of hours, numbers of customers who gave you passing score in the surveys, number of minutes you spend in a call, number of your overtime, number of minutes you were late, and the counting goes on and on. The number of pesos on my payroll account cannot compensate to the number of times I was cursed, insulted and discriminated. Several times I want to quit but I can not because this is one of the few decent jobs that hires college drop-outs. Getting a college degree is the ticket for me to leave this job.
Leaving the call center industry is not my only motivation to finish college, at 27 I am also planning of having a family of my own. I have hiding feelings for a beautiful lady I met three years ago. I feel inferior she has established career as a writer whereas I am just a college drop-out who works in a call center. I might be egoistic but I just wanted to be someone my future girlfriend or wife will be proud of.
After I found out today’s class was cancelled, I checked the number of units I have to take. I still 84 units left. If I will enroll 12 units each semester it means that I will finish my college in three and a half years. I want to finish earlier than that because it is too late to start career in fourth estate at age 31 so I have to increase my load each semester and take summer classes. My academic adviser would not allow me to add more subjects next semester if I fail any of the subjects I am taking now. I pray for good health and for provisions in the coming years so that I can finish the Herculean task. May the Lord bless me.
Lulan ako ng jeep papuntang Sucat nang bigla kitang maalala. Ikaw na laging umupo sa gilid. Ikaw na halos minsa ko lang marinig magsalita. Ikaw na lagi kong hinihiling na makita. Ikaw na sa tuwing masasalubong ko ay nasasabihan ko lang ng “hi” at kung minsan nakakawayan ko lang. Medyo napasarap ang pagmumuni-muni at walang trapik kaya kahit iang beses na akong dumalaw sa tiyahin ko sa Sucat ay lumampas ako at sa Bagunbayan na ako nakababa.
Maikukuwento ko kaya ito sayo ng personal? May matatawa ka kaya? Hindi ko alam dahil hindi ko sinubukan. Marahil ay matatagalan pa bago mangyari iyon. Maaari ring hindi na. Malay ko baka makapag-asawa ka na pala ngayong taon.
Kung mabasa mo man ito, maiisip mo kayang patungkol ito sayo. Ilan ba ang Pinay na A ang simula ng pangalan? Aber?! Kung magtatrabaho siguro ako sa diyaryo ay ako ang magsusulat ng blind item. Mahuhulaan mo kaya na ikaw ang tinutukoy ko? Minsan mo nang nahulaan ako si pedbanayad baka ngayon ay mahulaan mong ikaw si A.
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* Pasintabi kay Ricky Lee
