13-10 vote significant

The Senate voted 13-10 to respect the Supreme Court TRO was significant on three points:

First, it avoided a Constitutional crisis.

Second, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile is secure in his post. The “coup” plotters could only muster 10 votes.

Third, needing only 8 votes to get acquitted, Chief Justice Renato Corona has a very good chance to avoid impeachment.

Significant voters in the majority group of 13 are Senators Ralph Recto, Chiz Escudero and Loren Legarda. Significant voters in the minority group of ten were Senators Edgardo Angara, Alan Peter Cayetano and Pia Cayetano.

Observers say that Ralph Recto, a Liberal Party Senator may be influenced by local Batangas politics to help Corona who belong to a big political clan in Tanauan. Sen. Recto, however, explained that his main concern was the protection of the banking system.

Day 16 featured PSBank Katipunan Branch Manager Anabelle Tiongson who in a surprise move, branded the bank document copies presented by the prosecution as fake. It also saw several senators blasting the defense panel for its expose that Executive Secretary Jojo Ochoa was offering P100 million to senators to vote to disobey the Supreme Court TRO.

Day 17 saw Senate President Enrile taking to task the prosecution panel for submitting fake documents. Malacañang again intervened and issued a statement that the bank documents were authentic saying the bank account numbers were found to be accurate.

Day 18 the trial concentrated on the issue of the fake document. Branch manager Annabelle Tiongson and PSBank President Pascual Garcia were called back to clarify the questions of Senator Frank Drilon, Senator Jinggoy Estrada and Senator Pia Cayetano. Branch Manager Tiongson reiterated her testimony that the documents were fake because when compared with the original there were differences.

On request of Defense Counsel Serafin Cuevas, Sen. Pres. Enrile clarified that the question of the admissability of evidence contained in the bank documents which are testified as fake will be decided at a later time when an offer of evidence is timely made.

Prosecutor Rey Umali insisted on his story that a short lady handed to him the duplicate bank documents as he was leaving the Senate.

The Senate will continue to investigate the matter because if the documents were found to be fake or illegally procured, then all the testimony on bank accounts will be excluded.

The trial Tuesday was adjourned at 4 p.m. as it was Sen. Pres. Enrile’s 88th birthday and the senators had Valentine’s Day appointments.

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PLAGIARISM? . . . The Senate Justice Committee found Supreme Court Justice Mariano del Castillo committed plagiarism of 3 foreign justices in one of his decisions dismissing the complaint of World War II comfort women.

Justice del Castillo, however, argued that plagiarism is not a crime and, therefore, he is not guilty of culpable violation of the Constitution. If that is so, plagiarism is not an impeachable offense.

With the ongoing Corona impeachment trial, some senators expressed reluctance to receive another impeachment complaint. There are widespread criticisms that Senators are neglecting other important matters such as the poor economy and high unemployment.

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NOT TIMELY. . . Nueva Ecija farmers are complaining against a proposed increase of P350 per hectare in irrigation fees. They say that it is untimely because they have not even recovered from the typhoon damage, particularly Ondoy and Pedring.

With the government doling out P39 billion in Conditional Cash Transfers, poor farmers should not be made to pay higher irrigation fees.

The farmers are also requesting the increase of the NFA buying price of palay be increased to P20 per kilo because of the higher prices of fertilizer, farm inputs and gasoline. They say that at the present price of P17 per kilo they are left with nothing except the sack.

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CRIME UPDATE. . . Chief Superintendent Rodrigo de Gracia, Cagayan Valley Police Director blamed illegal logging syndicates as behind the killing of forester Melania Dirain in her Sanchez Mira DENR office.

Customs broker Catherine Lee was shot dead and found lying on a pile of garbage in Taytay, Rizal.

PO3 Sallipudin Haron, 43, a bodyguard of ARMM Deputy Regional Treasurer Saad Sambutuan was shot dead by 2 men riding in tandem in Cotabato City.

Another 10 wheeler cargo truck carrying animal feeds was hijacked in Muntinlupa.

Gloria Akim, 28, was shot dead while buying soap at a sari-sari store in Quirino Avenue, Malate, Manila.

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PLM COLLEGE OF LAW ADMISSION OPENS. . . The Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila College of Law announced the conduct of the College of Law Admission Tests (CLAT) on the following dates: Feb. 24 (Friday), March 31 (Saturday), and April 28 (Saturday). For more information, contact the Office of the College Dean at (632) 5277941 to 49, local 30; (632) 5279074; or visit the PLM website at www.plm.edu.ph.

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TIDBITS . . . A friend confirmed that Korean Grace Lee was President Noynoy Aquino’s Valentine date. Looks like they are going strong. Korean media now follows Grace Lee around.

Tony Evangelista and wife Ching watched Mama Mia on Valentine’s night. They tell me it is better than the New York and London versions.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada filed Senate Bill 3120 amending the Foreign Currency Deposit Act to allow opening of bank deposits in anti-graft cases involving government officials.

JPE’s birthday wish “For God to give me the stamina and the divine light to do what is right in the remaining years of my life.”

Condolences to the family of former Congressman Nicanor “Junior” de Guzman who died in Gapan, Tuesday.

Greetings to avid readers Paeng and Cynthia Atencio, broadcasters Pinky Webb and Joe Taruc, Cecile Oppen, Gina Benitez and Cong. Jerry Treñas.