‘Cruel and unusual’
Poor prosecution lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre! For covering his ears while the spoiled brat of the Senate was lecturing them, he has been cited in contempt by the Senate-Court trying the impeachment case of the Chief Justice, and may be detained for at least a day as penalty. Aguirre had also dared to admit that he could not stand the voice of the personality who had even impressed the International Criminal Court of the United Nations, so he could face a fate worse than death.
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Instead of also being outraged by the insults being hurled by the senadora, Miriam Santiago, at the hapless prosecution-congressmen and their assisting lawyers, the other members of the senate even got into the act by also condemning the poor lawyer. News reports said Senator Sotto even told the media that his colleagues, Senators Francis Escudero and Ping Lacson suggested that the penalty of Aguirre be detention in a room with a videotape of Miriam’s speeches being played non-stop all day.
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The two senators obviously know much about the effectivity of torture. But, have they forgotten about what the Bill of Rights says about “cruel and inhuman” punishments? Aguirre should be adviced to run to the United Nations for help. He should do it before La Miriam gets into the International Criminal Court, as they may face each other again. By the way, the Inquirer carried a front page picture yesterday showing Senator Santiago looking elsewhere while Congressman Neil Tupas was talking. To her, it’s obviously a different sauce for the gander than for the goose.
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As she continued to rage, Santiago also said that she believes the prosecution people were doing it on purpose to get her angry so her blood pressure will rise again. And, in fact, it was also reported that her vital signs showed a reading of 190 over 90 after the incident. One can only pity her doctors who must be getting hoarse warning her to keep her cool. Does she have a friend who can warn her that she might get a heart attack or a stroke during a hearing and everybody will see her face contorted and her body jerking and getting paralyzed? And worse, blunting her tongue until she becomes incomprehensible?
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His constituents must be relieved to know that the remains of their late congressmen, Iggy Arroyo, will really be brought over to their district before his burial in Manila. Iggy, a friendly and hard-working fellow, had gained the affection of his people and they want to pay their final respects to him. I wonder, though, if the other woman, will accompany his remains, and if she is still pursuing the plans for her to run for the position his death vacated.
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But one can only wonder if all the hullaballo over who would take care of his mortal remains, and who has the right to them, would have taken place if Iggy Arroyo had died a pauper. As it is, there are speculations that, at the time he passed away, he was even wealthier than his brother who was married to a president. Iggy Arroyo was known to be a simple man, living a simple life before his sister-law became president, but as Jose Pidal, it is believed that the two women have, indeed, good reason to fight over him.
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That is why it is sometimes better to live a modest life. Having a lot of money can be a problem, as what those wealthy people from Italy and other parts of Europe who could afford luxury cruises have experienced. Last January, a cruise ship from Italy, the Costa Concordia hit a big rock and 36 of its vacationing passengers died. Thankfully the rest were rescued, but they were all shaken badly.
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And then on Tuesday, another cruise ship, belonging to the same company, this time called Costa Allegra, caught fire near the Seychelles island and had to be towed to the nearest port. There were no casualties reported, so far, but the fire had hit the engine room so there was no power and, naturally no airconditioning in the cabins and everybody suffered. Such incidents make us realize how much more fortunate we are when our vacationing pleasures are so simple, like an outing in Mambucal or Santa Fe, a weekend in Hinoba-an or Sipalay, and even a quick boat and land trip to Boracay.*
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