Serafin Cuevas is the most fascinating figure in TV nowadays. Cuevas, 83, the lead counsel for the defense in the aired-live impeachment trial of Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, is a debater’s wet dream.
He's what law students aspire to be, and what other lawyers think they are too.
The wise and witty Cuevas,, the lead author of the High Tribunal trial manual and member of the University of the Philippines Law Center Committee which drafted the Board of Crimes, is a retired Supreme Court Associate Justice and a former Justice Secretary.
Serafin Cuevas has earned the deep respect of even his legal opponents, captured the public imagination, and earned his place in history.
The Evolution of Juan Ponce Enrile
Johnny Enrile has successfully reinvented himself.
He was one of the architects of martial law, decreed by the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos in 1972. Thousands of people died or disappeared, not counting the tortured and the incarcerated, as freedom died.
Then in 1986,Defense Minister Enrile, together with Armed Forces chief Fidel Ramos, withdrew his support for Marcos. That was the spark that ignited the People Power Revolution in, and Enrile was hailed as one of the heroes of democracy.
But even as Cory Aquino was still adjusting as the new President, Enrile has been pointed as the master mind of the 7 coup attempts that hay wired the momentum of political transformation and nearly destroyed the economy.
Today, Senate President Enrile is the presiding officer of the impeachment trial of Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona
Yesterday, Day 5, Enrile Moment-d.
Congressman Neil Tupaz, lead counsel for the prosecution, asked that the court become more “liberal,” but cannot explain what he meant. Enrile declared he is doing his best to be fair to both sides (and he really is), and if anybody wants to replace him, he will gladly step down, and he banged the gavel.
In one masterful sweep, Juan Ponce Enrile has established and solidified his image as a senior statesman through that elegant speech.
The impeachment trial against Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona began January 16. Serafin Cuevas, lead counsel for defense and former SC Associate Justice, argued a motion for preliminary hearing and dismissal of trial. This was denied by Presiding Officer Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.
Motions to summon Corona, his relatives, House Speaker Sonny Belmonte and other congressmen have also been dismissed. There are 8 articles of impeachment.
The sequence will be 2 (Non-Disclosure of Declaration of Statements of Assets and Liability Net Worth); 1 (Partiality to the Arroyo Administration); and 7 (Improper Issuance of TRO to Allow President Arroyo and Husband To Flee the Country). It's nonlinear, like Pulp Fiction.
Senator Joker Arroyo cautioned: If the Impeachment Court issues a subpoena for Chief Justice Renato Corona's statement of assets and liabilities net worth, then the Supreme Court counteracts with a temporary restraining order, then it could spark a constitutional crisis.
A question from Senator Franklin Drilon delivered a victory to the prosecution. The witness on the stand was SC Clerk of Court Enriquetta Vidal. SC Justices are required to submit their statements of assets and liabilities net worth. Did Vidal bring a copy of Corona's SALN? Apparently she did.
Senator-Judges Edgardo Angara, Jinggoy Estrada, Kiko Pangilinan, Chiz Escudero and Koko Pimentel assured her that she has nothing to fear if she gives it to the impeachment court despite an SC ruling forbidding it.
Senator TG Guingona made clear that the impeachment court is not Congress that's why they took a diffrent oath. Vidal gave the copy.
Happily, she won't be sanctioned, says SC Administrator Midas Marquez.
What REALLY Attracts Good Luck
Philippine Star Lifestyle columnist Wilson Lee Flores guested on Korina Sanchez's new radio morning show on DzMM on January 18, a few days before the Chinese Lunar New Year on the 23rd.
That episode was one of best and most illuminating conversations I ever heard. For me, it crystallized the things I've always believed in.
Wilson, of Chinese descent and good friends with business tycoons and other influential people, shares the true secrets of good fortune.
Feng shui is fine, but infinitely more powerful are: positive thinking, hard work, helping others, respect for parents, and of course, prayer.
I am extremely gratified to know I'm on the right track. Thank you, Will Soon Flourish!
Stories & Videos:Philip Pestaño, The Bourne Legacy, Ted Failon, Neuro-Linguistic Programming and more
Videos:Fatima Soriano; Noel Cabangon's DzMM station ID; Mark Alain Echem's Sa Piling Ko; The Jackal; The Silence of The Lambs; Jesus Christ Sings I Will Survive
Artists of the Week:
OPM English: Gerald Santos
OPM Tagalog: Nina
Beyond OPM: Three O' Clock
Murdered Witness To Navy Smuggling
It's public knowlege that the young Navy Ensign Philip Pestaño was murdered in 1995 because he exposed the Philippine Navy's drug smuggling. It's only now that proof has surfaced, thanks to the new ruling of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales. Pestaño's officers have been ordered investigated. The military officers who had declared it as suicide should be indicted for the cover-up too
Bourne In the Philippines
January 11, 2012 is the first filming day of The Bourne Legacy in Leveriza in Pasay in the Philippines.
I read The Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum years ago. If I remember correctly, this was when Jason's arch enemy Carlos The Jackal drowned in an amusement park.
Carlos The Jackal is a real person, Ilich Sanchez Ramirez, a Venezuela-born international assassin in the 1970s. He was a central figure in Claire Sterling's groundbreaking investigative book Network of Terror.
Claire Sterling is the inspiration for the character of Clarice Starling in Thomas Harris' novel The Silence of the Lambs. Clarice was played by Jodie Foster in Jonathan Demme's film version, with Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter.
Carlos also inspired ex-CIA Frederick Forsyth's novel The Day of The Jackal, which was made into a movie in the 70s. Bruce Willis played the role in the 90s remake, with Richard Gere and Sidney Poitier
Something That Really Works
Richard Bandler, co-founder of the breakthrough behavior transformation technique Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) with John Grinder, once had to deal with an asylum patient who claims he's Jesus Christ.
"Are you Jesus?" he asked.
"Yes, my son," the patient replied benevolently.
"I'll be back in a minute," said Richard.
The patient was confused at the unexpected response.
Richard came back with a tape measurement and took note of the patient's height and arm length. Then he left.
The man who calls himself Christ began to feel nervous.
Richard returned with two long narrow boards, a hammer and a bag of nails. Then he started to build a cross by pounding the two boards together with some large evil-looking spikes.
"What are you doing?" asked the increasingly apprehensive patient.
"Are you Jesus?"
"Yes, my son."
"Then you know why I'm here."
"I'M NOT JESUS! I'M NOT JESUS!!!
Huggybear's Favorite Broadcast Journalist
Ted Failon always say a prayer of thanksgiving at his weekday morning radio show Failon Ngayon Sa DzMM. That's really heartwarming.
It's cool that spirituality and creativity permeates the hard-nosed political commentary program, spiced with comedy stingers, sound bytes from famous people and birthday greetings with songs like Born To Be Wild playing.
The closing theme is a gospel song by Noel Cabangon - who also sang the newest station ID.
Ted starts the week with a phone-patch prayer from Fatima Soriano, the teenage inspirational singer whose infectious joy for living, despite her blindness, inspires us all.
On January 9, 2012, the Feast of the Black Nazarene and 3 days after the Feast of the Three Kings, he greeted Fatima with:
"Happy Six Kings!"
There's Gaspar, Melchor and Baltazar. Apparently there are 3 more.
One went to China, his name is Chowking. One went to the Philippines: Tapa King. The sixth, who came to America, is Burger King
Huggybear’s LSS
What's on my mind is Sa Piling Ko by Mark Alain Echem
Stories:Guardian angels, Sendong, Renato Corona, Athenians, lawyer jokes, a heart-warming story from Reader's Digest
Huggybear's LSS:Kahit Umiwas Pa by Jhake Vargas
Artists of the WeekJaime Barcelon, Justin Bieber, Angeline Quinto with the theme from Budoy
If Renato Corona Could Turn Back Time.
The impeachment trial, the country's first against an incumbent Chief Justice, has been set for January 16. The Philippine Congress needs 95 votes to transmit the articles of impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona to the Senate, which will conduct the trial, and got an overwhelming 180+ votes. The oath taking (and souvenir pictorials) of the Senator-Judges took place just last December 14 then went into Christmas recess.
Legal experts say that the now-detained former President Gloria Arroyo's appointment of Corona less than two months before the presidential election in 2010 was illegal. Corona didn't resign. President Benigno Aquino III has publicly denounced him and said he is tainting the integrity of the judiciary because of his allegedly biased decisions in favor of Arroyo.
Corona still didn't resign. Corona said he won't resign. He's not Japanese.
Politics is about reframing. It would have been different if Corona had spoken out about his "midnight appointment" and showed a legal basis for his Chiefship, if any. Effective politicians proactively frame the terms of public discourse. Better yet, if Corona had refused the appointment by the previous President, then he would have earned the respect and admiration of the present one
When Was The Last Time You Talked To Your Guardian Angel?
A young man named Bobby saw a little girl in a park. She looked really sad. Bobby cheered her up, saying she looked like an angel, because she was so angelic-looking, so beautiful. Then she smiled and spread her angel wings, and told Bobby that she was his guardian angel. She revealed her true form because Bobby showed concern for a person other than himself. Only Bobby can see her, she said, because, in his heart, he BELIEVES
I got this story from deejay Jamie of Home Radio 97.1 FM, when she read it on air about 9:40 p.m., January 5, 2012. You can share your own stories on the Dear Jamie FB Page
Sorrow At Yuletide
The tragedy brought by typhoon Sendong was lethally swift, totally unexpected and gut-wrenching. But it galvanized people around the world to send help to the grieving survivors in Iligan and Cagayan De Oro; couriers like ZestAir are even offering their services for free just to send much needed aid. Universal brotherhood knows no borders. [Facebook Post December 21, 2011]
A typhoon is a phenomenon of nature. But how "natural" are disasters like flashfloods caused by illegal loggers and irresponsible mining companies protected by politicians?
Congress can amend the Price Act overnight to include bottled water in the list of necessary items to avoid overpricing during calamities. If Congress can impeach an incumbent Supreme Court Chief Justice in a matter of hours, surely they can.
The Truest Champion
Apryl Dalmacio Eppinger brought honor to the Philippines when she won 3 medals (2 silver, 1 bronze) for sprint cycling in the 2011 Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta. When the stunningly beautiful 26-year old Filipino-German-Australian athlete heard about the lightning-quick rampaging floods that devastated Cagayan De Oro and Iligan cities, she took the P130,000 cheque the government gave her as performance bonus, and personally gave it to the Philippine Daily Inquirer relief drive for the victims of tropical storm Sendong
How Long Do They Have To Listen To You?
As a writer, I appreciate brevity. Yes. So did the Athenians of Ancient Greece. Philip of Macedonia, father of Alexander The Great, told them: "If we capture your city, we'll burn it!" The king sent a one-word reply: "If."
Don't Leave Your Sense of Humor At The Bar Exam
I got a bunch of lawyer jokes from columnist Jarius Bondoc.
A witness who was suffering from myasthenia was asked how it affects her memory. She said it makes her forgetful. The lawyer asked: "Can you cite examples of those things you have forgotten?"
A widow was asked how her marriage ended, and she said by death. The lawyer demanded: "Whose death?"
A forensic pathologist was on the witness stand. The lawyer wanted to get his medical opinion: "Doctor, isn't it true that if a person dies during the night, he wouldn't know about this until the next day?"
A prosecutor was grilling a witness: "Were you present when your photo was taken?"
A lawyer was making sure he got the facts straight. Okay, the witness has three children. There are no boys. The lawyer confirmed: "Are there girls?"
Who Is Most Welcome To Your Home?
Bill Moore of Asheville, South Carolina wrote a letter to their local paper about a house guest who turned their lives upside down. They followed all his demands: a special bed, an entourage of at least three people wherever he goes, undivided attention when he's awake, and most importantly, absolute silence when he's asleep.
He has a habit of taking things apart, blissfully oblivious that he can't put them back together again.
One time, they went to Mount Pisgah, and in reaction to the magnificent view, he yawned and slept.
During lunch, he made a fuss, refusing to eat what was ordered and insisting that he eat somebody else's meal. If that wasn't enough, he was seen kissing the waitress.
Is that kind of guest welcome?
You bet! "He is just three years old, and he calls me Grandpa," says Bill. "And he can come and dissemble the whole house anytime he wants."
(Source: Reader's Digest, November 1979)
Huggybear's LSS
What's on my mind is Kahit Umiwas Pa by Jhake Vargas, theme from the Korean TV series Dong-Yi
