halfwhiteboy

Oh yes, I'm talking about no less than Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, whose boss, President Noynoy Aquino, had just recently signed into law the controversial Republic Act No. 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 ( read my moderately lengthy rant here ). Oh common, with libel lumped together with cybersex, child pornography and cyber fraud, how else would you call someone who can potentially be guilty of cyber libel (or online libel, whatever you call it) but a potential cyber criminal? Apparently, Lacierda  was a blogger. [ Source ] Who knew he kept a blog curiously called the San Juan Gossip Mills Outlet ! Thanks to Jojo A. Robles of the Manila Standard Today, I got wind of Lacierda's past life before he became the Palace's mouthpiece and by default, a staunch defender of the infamous law. He called himself then -- at least at the time -- "a veritable fanatic of the Internet" and was himself a guest lecturer at De La Salle Uni...

Only a few so far have taken the challenge that Renato Corona posed just prior to his ouster as chief justice. In a country ruled by -- I daresay -- a corrupt government, I am not surprised that only a handful have signed the waiver over their right to secrecy of their bank accounts and other properties. As Corona's accusers taunted him over why he was afraid to disclose his dollar deposits if there was nothing to hide, now the tables have turned. The impeached chief justice waived his right to secrecy and challenged his accusers of doing the same. Senator Franklin Drilon did not want to fall into a trap, he said. Lead Prosecutor Niel Tupas dismissed it as a tactic to divert attention away from the real issue. Others chimed in, saying it was Corona who was on trial and not them. [ Source ] However, now that Corona was found guilty by the Impeachment Court, why are they still not signing? Does Drilon still regard it as a trap when Corona was already convicted? Does Tupas st...

The trial is over. The verdict is out. Renato Corona is chief justice no more. Curiously, however, I am still hung up on it. So with this post I am letting it all out. I have to let go. 1. From the very beginning, and without considering any evidence, I never believed  Corona was innocent. Yes, it was baseless as it was merely my impression. Ironically, however, I wanted him to be acquitted simply because the impeachment case was not about justice but a political assassination engineered by the Aquino administration. Obviously, I loathe this cocky and unattractive joke of a president so much. It was all too clear from the start that whatever system we had in place was completely railroaded, the very testament to it being the shoddily-crafted and hastily-approved articles of impeachment by the House of Representatives. It was an attack on the Judiciary. Source: inquirer.net 2. Just because Corona was found guilty by the impeachment court does not necessarily mean that the P...

Lots of crazy stuff happening lately. Here's but a few of them: A Chinese news anchor blurted on TV that the Philippines belongs to China. Who knew? I must have slept through all my history classes. The website of the Philippine News Agency was hacked by the Chinese. Wow, I didn't even know they had a website! Chinese travel agencies have suspended travel packages to the Philippines. I didn't know travel packages are also subject to disciplinary action. Better behave. * * * * * * * * * * The impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona has just resumed last Monday. It's reality TV at its finest once again! The President struggled with a coughing fit during his speech at the opening ceremonies of the  Palarong Pambansa . Sorry, smoker's cough. [ Source ] * * * * * * * * * * Mexipino  contestant Jessica Sanchez got a standing ovation on American Idol today. The judges must have been tired of sitting already.

Crazy news so far this week. We've got everything from a president wanting reports of good news and then getting them, to the irony of a particular Earth Day run. On Hacienda Luisita The Supreme Court voted 14-0 on the Hacienda Luisita case. Finally, there's good news! The President is probably going nuts right now, chain-smoking, thinking it would calm him when all it does is accelerate his heart rate. The high court also voted 8-6 to peg the 'just compensation' at the 1989 price of Php 40,000 per hectare. Now here's where the SC judges disagreed, just in case you thought The President's cohorts in the SC are being impartial. So let's just wait for Leila De Lima to defy this Supreme Court decision. I wouldn't be surprised. The Php40-K/hectare price means that the Cojuangcos will be receiving much, much less than the Php5 or 10 billion they were asking for. The President better hide now; Uncle Danding will be very, very angry. Curiously, the P...

And so the country has just celebrated the 26th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution. And so President Noynoy Aquino has babbled about his daang matuwin (straight path) for the gazillionth time. And so he has urged Filipinos to take action against the judiciary yet again. Don't you just tire of him? No matter what he says, how much he says, and how often he says them, Noynoy is still unable to really rally people behind him. The President desperately wants people to believe in the evils of the judiciary, repeatedly painting negative images of the Supreme Court and especially of Chief Justice Renato Corona, who is now the subject of a dragging impeachment trial. That he clearly has no regard for the rule of law is one; his disrespect for the impeachment process is another. "I cannot be gagged," he so obnoxiously declared. Noynoy is evidently going for trial by publicity even when the case is already being tried by the Senate.