Lawyers behaving badly. And stupidly.

Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Avelino Razon Jr. confirmed a new attempt to overthrow the Arroyo government, with the arrest of five of the suspects allegedly involved in a “proposal to commit coup d’etat”. One of the suspects is former lawmaker and now minor opposition figure Homobono (“Call me Bono, not Homo”) Adaza. Four other military and police officers were also brought into custody.

Also charged were Army Lieutenant Colonel Oscarlito Mapalo, retired Colonels Ernie Amboy and Cesar dela Pena, and police Superintendent Rafael Cardeno.

Aside from coup d’etat, complaints of swindling and estafa were also brought against them. Now that’s an strange mix of crimes. While toppling the government, why not make a little money on the side ? Read the rest of this entry »

Here are my forecasts for the next half of 2008, and I feel gloomy just thinking about most of them.

1. More Oil Price Increases – a worldwide trend with no let-up in sight. I get a fever every time I go to the gas station. Unleaded is now P60.00 plus per liter at the pump and rising weekly. Crude hit a new record high of U.S.$ 143/barrel and keeps climbing. It will get worse in the last quarter as winter approaches. I fear we will hit the nightmare scenario of U.S. $ 200.00/barrel sooner than predicted.

2. Food prices and other basic commodities will increase - a no- brainer. The effect of rising energy costs, combined with other factors like increased demand and diminished production, will drive up the inflation rate, which in Metro Manila has reached double digits. Expectedly, food will exhibit the steepest price increase. The negative impact on overall income due to inflation will naturally lead to a drop in personal consumption. Which will in turn slow down the economy etc., etc. ad nauseum. Read the rest of this entry »

The lone suspect in the gruesome and senseless murder of Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell has been found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Regional Trial Court of Banaue, Ifugao province.

In a 36-page decision, Judge Ester Piscoso-Flor found the accused Juan Donald Duntugan, 25, guilty of murdering Campbell in Batad village, near the Ifugao rice terraces where the victim was hiking, on April 8, 2007, “with the use of treachery and abuse of superior strength”.

It appears that the convicted murderer killed Ms. Campbell without any clear motive or reason. Read the rest of this entry »

Manny Pacquiao knocked out Mexican-American David Diaz in the 9th round to grab the WBC lightweight championship in Las Vegas and become the first Asian to hold four different titles at different weights and the first Filipino to hold the crown. Even the late, great Gabriel “Flash” Elorde failed in his 2 attempts to wrest the world lightweight crown.

An animated Diaz, surprising for someone who just kissed the canvas, admitted after the fight that he never saw Pacquiao’s right-left jab combination coming and walked right into it. Diaz was lavish in his praise of Pacquiao. Manny won it on speed and accuracy, rather than power, putting to rest speculations that he might have slowed down as he went up a heavier weight class. He also mixed a solid body attack with combination shots to the head, but the sturdy Diaz refused to go down. Until the decisive 9th round.

It was a battle of lefties, and Manny outfoxed Diaz by coming out with his “secret weapon”, a crushing right jab which he followed with his left, thereby putting his opponent off guard. Pacquiao first snapped Diaz’s head with a mean right jab, moved in closer to his opponent and unleashed a 1-2 combo capped by a powerful left cross that decked Diaz. In Diaz’ words:

He was fucking fast, I didn’t see [the left hand] coming.

Boxing writers have dubbed Pacquiao the “Mexecutioner“, for obvious reasons. Read the rest of this entry »

The credit card division of the Philippine unit of Citibank has been running a radio and online ad campaign featuring testimonials from purported clients whose lives have allegedly been saved by having their Citibank credit cards handy. The radio feel-good spots always end with the satisfied client saying their names and the final line “…and this is my Citibank story”. A recent post in the Citibank “What’s your story ?” site (”home to beautiful, moving and memorable stories about the Citi Card that beg to be told”) equates God with Citibank.

Almighty GOD is the greatest savior, but so is CITIBANK.

Well, this is my Citibank story. Read the rest of this entry »