Resignation at midnight?

Now I can’t wait to watch the proceedings in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona. Why? Because reports say he will take the stand himself next week. This after his defense panel had been hemming and hawing about the risks of having him testify, citing as one of the reasons, the fact that he may not be given proper respect by the gallery, or the public. It seemed funny to think they want him handled with kid gloves, but now that he has reportedly indicated himself that he will testify, we wait with bated breath.

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For me, the main reason I want to see this is that I want to see how the senator judges will conduct their questioning. Will they be as harsh as they often are with lesser individuals? Will Sen. Miriam Santiago also glare at him and purse her lips and berate him when he falters? Will Sen. Jinggoy Estrada humiliate him the way he tried to do with yesterday’s witness Harvey Keh? And will Corona be as unruffled as Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, and will he, too, have a power point presentation to confound them all?

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Sometimes one could sympathize with Corona, especially when some people who are discussing his case claim that they are sure he is guilty because his looks and expression make him appear so. It is not fellow’s fault that his facial construction is rather thick, compared to other people. Anyway, let us watch him closely when he is testifying, and observe his body language. Not that such will influence the senator judges, because, like many others, I suspect that they already know how they will vote even now.

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On Tuesday, talk was going around that the Chief Justice was going to resign, but he quickly denied that, saying he will never do so. A spy however told me that members of the Supreme Court staff are among those spreading that story. Whether that is purposely being done to confuse the prosecution, we do not know. Me, I feel that if he does resign, he will do it at midnight, to give a perfect closure to his stint in the SC.

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An item in a national daily yesterday said that President Aquino doubts that former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is now detained at a hospital, really needs to be treated abroad and that her supposed ailment is life-threatening. I bet thousands, maybe millions of Filipinos think so, too, but why are the doctors at the Veterans Hospital and all those other hospitals where she goes for check-ups not confirming, or certifying as to her actual state of health? And why they cannot treat her right here in the Philippines where we are believed to have some of the best specialists? Does the former president have a colonial mentality?

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By the way, that was a pathetic picture in the national dailies that showed a wheelchair-bound former secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communication. Sec. Leandro Mendoza, a former military general, was taken into the courtroom for arraignment on the case of graft and corruption related to the infamous NBN-ZTE deal with the Chinese company. Mendoza is being charged with the former President, and he has pleaded “Not guilty” by signals, since he reportedly cannot talk after suffering a massive stroke. Will he, too, seek hospital arrest like his former boss?

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This is good news for local sports lovers, especially football fans. The Azkals are scheduled to play at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod on June 12, Independence Day. And they are being pitted against a foreign team, from Guam, so that should rouse their patriotic spirit, too. That is to say nothing about the delight this will bring to the fans of the good-looking Younghusband brothers and other members of the Pinoy team.

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Today, the last three standing in the popular American Idol contest will perform again, but there will be no elimination yet. So the three – Pinay Mexican Jessica Sanchez, Joshua Ledet and Philip Philips – will be on tenterhooks because their performances will be the basis for the votes of viewers. But fans of Jessica must pray for her, because yesterday, it was reported that she is suffering from a sore throat that could affect her performance. It will be too bad if she cannot give her best in this crucial test.*

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