Piercing Pens

A new Garci joke from Neal H. Cruz’s INQ7 column:

There is an explanation to the sudden reappearance of Garci just as the SEA Games opens. Garci will be the official scorer in the games. That way, we will win in all the events.

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism had reposted “Mike Defensor’s expert” after a temporary restraining order issued by a Quezon City Court against the PCIJ blog expired.

More details at Inside PCIJ

Last month, we heard the news about Bro. Eddie Villanueva’s impending arrest. The warrant order was issued several months earlier, so many became suspicious as to why the arrest would come at such a time when the preacher was actively asking for Arroyo’s resignation. The police did not pick him up, but the preacher said he believed the Arroyo administration was just threatening and harassing him.

Yesterday, another opposition figure, Pastor Boy Saycon, posted a 10,000-peso bail after he was served a warrant of arrest for a libel case filed against him by former Public Estate Authority (PEA) head Ernest Villareal.

We are posting a comment from New England Press‘ Mark Murphy, brother-in-law of fallen journalist Robert Ramos:

Robert Ramos was my brother in law. I hadn’t seen him in nearly 15 years, since my marriage to her sister, Leticia Ramos. He had taken to journalism about a year and a half ago, after working for Sharp Philippines in quality control. He had finally found his calling, when he was assassinated this past Sunday, November 20th. He was just 39 years old. My shock is overlaid only by my sadness, and inability to pay my wife’s passage to send her home for his funeral.

In the U.S., journalists face their own risks, but not as they do in the Philippines, where the government is no shield for the journalists that work there, and uncover corruption and crime. My contact with journalism is at best second hand; I took a journalism class in Suffolk University, here in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1981.

I appeal for justice for my brother-in-law, and for all those journalists who have been killed with impunity, in the Philippines and elsewhere, as they’ve been silenced by those who would kill to hide the truth of their dastardly actions. I call for President Arroyo of the Philippines to bring all the resources of her country to bear in bringing those fugitives to justice. I urge all the members of the news media in the Philippines to band together to find Robert Ramos’ killer(s), as well as the killer(s) of Ricardo “Ding” Uy this past Friday. Our prayers are with their family as well. They died trying to pursue the truth; don’t let their work be in vain.

Continue reading “Letter from Robert Ramos’ Brother-in-Law”

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago lost her bid to become the first woman chief justice, INQ7 reports.

The report said the Judicial and Bar Council voted against extending the nomination period. This prevented Miriam, who was nominated by a group called Young Lawyer’s Association of the Philippines, from being among Gloria “Hello Garci” Arroyo’s choices for Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr.’s replacement.

A brief backgrounder about Miriam. (View her complete bio-data here):

In the early 1990s, many young Filipinos–including this writer–were fooled into believing that Miriam, an intelligent and feisty judge and University of the Philippines alumni known for her unique accent, was the leader that this country had been been dreaming of.

The man also known as “Hello Garci” will surface and link opposition politicians to the issue of election fraud, an iGMA report said.

Yes, he was caught on record talking with other politicians. But the main character in the “Hello Garci,” other than Garci himself, is the woman talking to him. Shouldn’t that woman who wanted to “lead by more than 1 M” votes be the bida in his story?

But then again, what could we expect? He’s supposed to defend his “Ma’am.” How he will do it is worth waiting for.

“Hello, Garci! D2 na ba u?” must be the SMS message currently being composed in the minds of the citizens of world’s texting capital. Yes, we’re all wondering: Is Former Comelec Commissioner Virgilio “Hello Garci” Garcillano already here in the Philippines?

It looks like Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez–provincemate of Ate Glue’s patrons, former President Fidel Ramos and House Speaker Jose De Venecia–has lots of things to explain.

Indeed, the “Hello Garci” mobile telenovela isn’t over yet. The current public interest in Garci’s reported return belies the Palace’s pronouncements that the “Hello Garci” issue is already dead.