Whatever goodwill Senator Juan Ponce Enrile had earned during the first day of the impeachment proceedings totally evaporated today when he ruled that the motions for “subpoena duces tecum and ad testificandum” filed by the prosecution against the family of Chief Justice Renato Corona are covered by “self-incrimination clause,” “marital and familial privilege” and therefore the Senate cannot issue the subpoenas. …
Nothing much can be achieved in the impeachment of CJ Corona even if successful in the Senate except to sear in the public memory that a radical change in the leadership of the Supreme Court, touted before as the “untouchable” branch of the government is but a myth. But surely, it will not alter the present dynamics…
Where the Supreme Court exercises its duty under the constitution, it is called “rule of law” but when Congress exercises the same function in accord with the same constitution, it is called “the mother of all blackmails”. It was a politically charge atmosphere in the House yesterday and Congressman Edcel Lagman cannot hide his displeasure over the decision…
“The devil can cite the Scripture for his purpose.” (Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice). It was in the case of Navy Colonel Generoso Mariano, who wanted President Noynoy Aquino replaced through extra-constitutional process by quoting the near “scriptural bidding” of Rizal: “If we have had bad leaders today and in the past , it is not the…
Bongbong Marcos wanted to run for President. He, like the 204 congressmen in the house also believes that his father, the late strongman-dictator Ferdinand was a hero whose remains are in a private mausoleum in Batac, Ilocos Norte should be buried at the “Libingan Ng Mga Bayani”, in Taguig. To put some perspective in the minds…
The next Ombudsman is in the hands of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) – We can only pray for a lesser screw-up. Or you can meet my incoming Ombudsman, on the left. I consider the Judicial Bar Council an elite mob, (others describe it as Old Boys Club, just like the SCORP) therefore it…
The Church is under siege from politicians, and some white-knight “free thinkers” and some groups operating under the fringes of “Christian-based” churches, and the “publicity-crazed” church trespasser, Mr. Carlos Celdran because of its position on the controversial reproductive health bill under consideration in Congress. But what is the reproductive health bill all about? It is about…
We do not have the sophistication and the elan of most people who inhabit the most prosperous countries of the world and therefore we shall always be poor and miserable unless we change our attitude and character as a people. We could not handle a simple hostage-taking drama and we blame the President for the catastrophic…
GreatRealPhilippines, is a blog of one who uses the penname Benign0. He is also a regular contributor of Filipino Voices, another Filipino dominated blog. Benign0 has a favorite punch-line which is full of wisdom and grit: “We expect so much from our leaders and nothing from ourselves”. Election 2010 is scheduled this May. The…
At the expense giving up a whole day of productive labor, I wrote this piece instead, somewhat distressed by Ding’s comparison of the cockpit joint with the Philippine Senate. (Ding Gagelonia, God Bless his soul, is a blogger in Filipino Voices) I thought the simile far off and the comparison an insult to the cockpit. In…
Viewpoint Neutral 