Back those claims, Senator

Senator Antonio Trillanes has claimed that he will soon expose that the family of Vice President Jejomar Binay “bought” the injunction from the Court of Appeals that had been issued to halt the suspension of Binay, Jr., incumbent mayor of Makati City. Trillanes was quoted as saying that they will expose who had represented the family, with whom they had negotiated, and, most astounding of all, how much they paid!

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Obviously this Senator Trillanes does not know, or has not heard about the saying that discretion is the better part of valor. Doesn't he know how many libel suits he may be courting with such rash talk? Oh, maybe he can invoke immunity, but will that cover him forever? We admit that many of us had been thinking along those lines, too, but just do not have his guts. However, the sooner he backs his claims with evidences, the happier he will makes us all.

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In the meantime, the Ombudsman had to run to the Supreme Court to seek a resolution of the case involving the restraining order from the Court of Appeals for the benefit of Binay Jr. Earlier, the Ombudsman had cited the law creating it that is supposed to exempt it from injunctions from any court in the course of its investigations. It looks as if the Court of Appeals does not recognize that, and the Ombudsman is now feeling helpless, after seeing the clout that the Binays appear to wield there.

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What about the Supreme Court? Is it being held back from giving a decision on the case for “delicadeza” reasons? We can just hope that it acts on the matter before the temporary restraining order runs out, and the suspension order has become moot and academic. By the way, one cannot help admiring the “acting mayor” of Makati, Romulo Peña, who is sticking to the post he had been sworn into, despite the TRO that Binay Jr. has been waving around. Peña is said to be emboldened by the fact that he had been sworn in BEFORE the TRO was issued. So everybody is waiting for the Supreme Court now to solve this impasse that is affecting the entire Makati.

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Who cannot sympathize with the family of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina now languishing in Indonesia's Death Row? The girl was intercepted upon her arrival in that country with more than two kilos of heroin, a deadly prohibited drug, in her luggage. The story she told to explain it is one that has been told over and over again by many of her fellow victims: they were tricked by someone who offered to help them, and they ended up becoming “mules” or carriers of illegal substances for the alleged helpful person, who has disappeared.

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Now her family is storming, not only the heavens with prayer, but even our top officials with their curses for what they perceive to be lack of help to save their loved one from hanging, or is it by firing squad? Mary Jane's story is that she had left the country with only a back pack, but had met someone along the way who befriended her, and even supplied her with a suitcase to hold her personal effects when she entered Indonesia. She claims never knowing what else was in the suitcase – even if two kilos of something may not exactly be easily made invisible. What are her chances of avoiding her sentence now? Very dim, it seems.

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Who could believe that a 100-year-old woman could swim a distance of 1,500 meters, freestyle? But a Japanese centenarian, Meiko Nagaoke, was able to do it in one hour and 16 minutes! I have to admit that not even when I was 16, could I swim 10 meters. The report about Meiko also mentioned that a 16-year-old Japanese girl was able to swim the same distance in only 15 minutes, but think of the 84 years between them. Anyway, I understand it was the old lady who got into the Guiness Book of Records.

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Are the Mayweathers getting the jitters already? The latest comment I read from Floyd Senior was already containing some “ifs” and “in case” introductions. Or maybe it is just a ploy to make Manny Pacquiao and especially his trainer, Freddie Roach, complacent. As for Roach, he continues to declare that his ward will knock his foe out, but we heard him say that many times before, although, of course, we continue to hope and pray that he knows what he is saying now.*

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