You know something? Senator Roco loses his temper with a lot more dignity than Miriam Defensor-Santiago. (With gritted teeth and a lawyerly tick, “He is NOT a member of this COURT!”)
EDSA 2?
CNN’s latest bit on the Philippine political crisis. The crowd at EDSA is growing, and former president Ramos — an ex-general — has arrived from Hong Kong to make an appearance at the protest rally. We may be looking at a military coup to oust Erap before this week is out; I hear that elements in the Armed Forces are more loyal to Ramos.
The prosecution panel in the impeachment trial has officially resigned, unable to continue the impeachment case against Estrada in a Senate that is tainted with bias and blatant support for a corrupt, pro-Erap administration. Amidst heated tempers and raised voices by Senator Roco and the defense counsel, the impeachment court has been adjourned until the House of Representatives can decide on a course of action regarding the prosecution’s resignation.
A local newspaper publisher has disclosed the contents of the controversial sealed envelopes: bank documents related to the “Jose Velarde” account, totalling P1.206 billion (21M dollars), according to Pinoy Times publisher Eugenia Apostol. TV news reports say the suspected drawees include businessman Lucio Tan; Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. CEO Manuel Pangilinan, Jaime Dichaves; and Antonio Evangelista, who owns the company linked to the purchase of the “Boracay” mansion.
Erap Resign?
Raffy has revamped his page, and it is now called “have a nice day.” Sure, Raff. Uh, whatever you say. ;)
Oh, and I uploaded my new design for my homegrown design “business,” Simplesight, a venue for me to offer my HTML services to anyone who’ll pay. There are some cool wallpapers and logo screens there too, all made by yours truly.
Back on the Philippine political front, there’s a big rally later on Ayala, and the EDSA one is growing, with Cardinal Sin officiating a Mass at around noon. I’m hoping enough dissension spreads through the military and the government for a quick, decisive, anti-administration coup d’etat to break out, to oust the current corrupt incompetent in power.
If you’re interested in what else is happening over here in the Philippines, go to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, which has live breaking news updates on their front page.
Edsa II Starts
Blatantly pro-Erap Senators, displaying absolutely no sense of impartiality or justice, yesterday voted NO to the opening of important evidence which could show President Estrada guilty of bribery and corruption. Immediately afterwards, the prosecution panel and Senate President Nene Pimentel resigned from their positions, and a People Power protest was launched. The revolution has started, people. The Philippines is standing up. We’re not going to take this travesty of justice anymore.
PRO-ERAP: The senators who voted against the opening of the sealed envelope:
Francisco “Kit” Tatad
Miriam Defensor-Santiago
Juan Ponce Enrile
Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan
John Osmeña
Tessie Aquino-Oreta
Anna Dominique Coseteng
Blas Ople
Robert Jaworski
Vicente Sotto III
Ramon Revilla
ANTI-ERAP: Those who voted for the opening of the envelope:
Senators Raul Roco
Franklin Drilon
Renato Cayetano
Rodolfo Biazon
Loren Legarda-Leviste
Juan Flavier
Teofisto Guingona
Sergio Osmeña III
Ramon Magsaysay Jr.
Aquilino Pimentel
Netcabins Gets Annoying
Netcabins is beginning to annoy me. The server problems are fully excusable, since these are just the growing pains as they optimize their system, but their poor customer service is getting to me. The lack of advanced warning to users concerning major service changes and upgrades — like these new popup ads — is a glaring lapse, and these FTP login problems are getting worse and worse.
I’m watching these guys for improvement, because they still look very promising, but if these problems worsen, or if they don’t provide an inline banner to get rid of the popups soon, I may have to move again. Digital Rice is starting to look appetizing.
My StorTrooper
Yes, I’m a weak, swayable trend-conformist. Seeing how practically every other blogger on the web is making one, I jumped on the bandwagon and made myself a storTrooper. Then, after finishing it from the base wardrobe, I tweaked the GIF a bit in Photoshop. So there’s my avatar. Does it look like me?
Tuna Melt with Rice
I have cooked up a plate of butter-garlic-cheese fried tuna with rice, and am now wolfing it down with much gusto.
Broken Chair
I have just come home from church to find — in a rather startling manner — that my chair is broken. It gave way under me. I will go to the bangketa outside the grocery later and buy myself a little plastic stool, so I can continue to comfortably sit at my computer desk.
My top-floor apartment window, 6 stories up, faces north towards the airport and the city, and today is a beautiful, clear day. The sun is out, but not searing, and there’s a delightfully invigorating wind blowing and dispersing the Manila smog, so I can see all the way to Ortigas, and even up to the mountains north of the city. What a pretty view for a relaxing Sunday afternoon! I’ll post a photo of it here sometime.
Just to cap off the experience, I have popped La Dolce Vita — music from Renaissance Naples, performed by the King’s Singers and Tragicomedia — into my CD player. Aaahhh, I simply adore ancient music from the Renaissance and early Baroque. Last Friday, I purchased a CD of Thomas Tallis’ Spem in Alium, and it was absolutely beautiful.
Index 4
Index 4 is up. Silvergirl, you may find the concept slightly familiar, but still sufficiently changed, neh?
More Senatorial Consternation
Here’s an opinion column by Inquirer columnist Isagani Cruz about where our senators’ loyalties lie.
Interestingly, those favoring the President have certain interests to pursue, like government assistance to rescue them from financial straits, security of tenure for their relatives, appointments to diplomatic posts or recommendation for an international tribunal, or plain devotion to a common background or former occupation …. The prejudgments of the senators are quite evident during the daily proceedings. The law is only secondary, the evidence of the parties immaterial and irrelevant to the final decision. The basic consideration is personal regard for President Estrada, or lack of it, regardless of the merits of the case.