2012

What are we to expect this year? No, this is not prophecy or predictions but expectations on what is already in the horizon and how these elements will factor in each other to bring about the news that give media people a livelihood or a chance to comment on contemporary life. Without these confrontations and conflicts, unfolding events, and new things media people would have no reason for being. Men clash; nature responds – they make the news we live by.

While we were focused on Christmas, attending a series of parties and moving around, the Chief Justice, Renato Corona, who is being impeached had filed his counter-affidavit with the Senate that will sit in judgment. He also submitted a motion for a preliminary hearing to determine whether the 188 congressmen who allegedly signed the impeachment resolution had verified their signatures. This means summoning each congressman to declare he or she had read, understood and signed the documents.

This is a new one and congressmen prosecutors were quick to denounce it as delaying tactics. Rightly so, because this is not an ordinary criminal case and thus we will be educated on the finer points of law when the Senate will consider this motion. Legal fireworks will explode starting with this motion that, if granted, will delay the formal hearing on the impeachment charge for months and even delay legislative work.

In the meantime, Corona remains Chief Justice since he refused to take a leave which is now being challenged. This will be another interesting class on law for all of us who are not lawyers and grist for the mill. What happens when he raises a question before the Supreme Court? We’ll have a grand time in theatrics, to say the least.

While we were busy singing Christmas carols, the Department of Justice filed three cases against Gloria Arroyo, this time including her husband Mike and General Leandro Mendoza. The irony of ironies is that the main witness against them would be Romulo Neri.

Remember this man who refused to tell the Senate about this ZTE-NBN broadband deal to protect the Arroyos and got a lot of benefits thereby? Now he is expected to be the main witness if he strikes a deal with the government, otherwise he gets canned.

If there is any consolation for the Arroyos, in this new case they can post bail. For the former President, though, this is poor consolation, a consuelo de bobo, as the ancients would describe this paradox. She is detained on the electoral sabotage charge which does not allow bail so even if these graft cases allow her bail, she can’t get out.

The race for the Senate for the 2013 elections began even while we were trying to figure out to whom to give gifts on a limited budget. President Aquino closed the door to supporting any of the candidates from the camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay which means the Liberal Party will field a full slate. The guessing game as to who will be in the LP and the Binay list will dominate the first half of the year.

With her back on the wall, Gloria Arroyo might find fielding a slate for the Senate good for her fortunes so she can make deals. She knows, and her candidates would probably know, that her support would be a kiss of death, but so did political analysts say of the candidates identified with President Marcos and Erap Estrada. Now they are back in the saddle.

The DOJ is all gung-ho with its series of high profile cases and if DOJ Chief Leila de Lima is said to be eyeing a Senate seat, she might file more anti-graft cases by the middle of the year. If she keeps on filing cases she would be the darling of voters tired of corrupt government officials, elected and appointed.

A sensational string of cases would be the fertilizer scam because it involves not only Arroyo but several congressmen (including Bacolod’s Monico Puentevella), governors and mayors, even barangay chiefs. It will be a wide net and the catch would list the boat of large fishes.

The local scene will be interesting as well. Though the election is months ahead, the guessing game is who will fight for the mayoralty post that incumbent Mayor Bing Leonardia will vacate with his graduation of nine years term. When he leaves office, he shall have been mayor for 15 years and that means he had established deep political roots.

His heir apparent is Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson but will Bing be able to transfer his following to Sayson?

Two contenders are said to challenge Sayson – Puentevella who was trashed by Bing in 2010 and Rep. Anthony Golez, lest he squares off with Bing, who is angling for the congressional post. The year will be interesting.*

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