De Lima must still deal with antagonized bodies

Anything goes in showbiz, it seems.

Like, TV-5 is casting actress Claudine Barretto in an upcoming drama anthology, for which taping has begun. The network is where the Tulfo brothers, Erwin, Raffy and Ben, have a crime talk show, T3. T3 has just returned on air, after a three-month suspension, due to the Tulfos’ on-cam threats against Barretto’s husband Raymart Santiago. The tiff erupted last May, when Barretto, Santiago and a male cohort mauled the Tulfos’ columnist-kuya, Ramon, at the Manila airport.

An onlooker had phone-videoed the melee, which went viral on YouTube. Making the dramatis personae more famous than ever, the headliner edged out even the historic televised impeachment of then-Chief Justice Renato Corona. Ramon sued his assailants for physical injury and attempted homicide. The Tulfos have apologized for their menacing statements. But — and here’s where the story turns spicy — the court ordered them, on the couple’s plea, to always stay away at least 500 meters from Barretto and Santiago. And the TV-5 compound, where the Tulfos and Barretto will be co-working, is not that big.

A cruel joke, a conciliation, or a publicity stunt by TV-5? Smile, you’re on camera. Ouch!

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Grains expert Manuel Bondad closely follows developments in global rice production and trade. He jots down “interesting observations” about the supposed smuggling of 420,000 sacks of Indian rice at Subic Freeport:

“1. Valued at P480 million, the shipment was loaded in a 22,625-DWT bulk carrier of Vietnam flag registry. In rice exports, India usually nominates Indian flag registered vessels. We have yet to see ocean-going vessels of Philippine flag registry shipping our main staple.

“2. It took nearly four months, from April 4 arrival, for the shipment to hit media attention. Presumably, Subic authorities gave the go-signal for berthing before April 4. A half-billion-peso cargo, even if for transshipment or temporary storage, promptly should have been made public. Rice arrivals of lesser quantities were announced in the past. The Indian shipper should have had its local rep notify media, because of the controversial shipment in 2002 of Indian rice worth P10 billion. That way, President Noynoy Aquino would not have had to himself tip off Customs about it.

“3. The rice was originally for Indonesia, but the vessel was denied entry for lack of a permit, and so headed for Subic, a week’s sailing time. Meantime, negotiations were sealed for a buyer in the United Arab Emirates, but now pending on account of the Philippine Customs’ seizure. As the description of the rice remains unknown, presumably it is basmati, not 5- to 15-percent broken white rice, a variety favored by Indonesia, or the 25-percent grade preferred by the NFA. UAE patronizes basmati and jasmine.

“4. Shipment occurred when the NFA Rice Council was finalizing the bidding for the private sectors’ right to import 380,000 MT for 2012. That is, 190,000 MT each were allocated on March 19 and 26 to private traders and farmer cooperatives. Notices to Proceed were issued April-May, for July arrivals. The shipper’s Philippine rep was tasked to ‘find local buyers.’ It would have taken only two legitimate traders (10,000 MT each) to absorb the 21,000-ton shipment stored in Subic — duty free. For reasons unknown, there were no takers. The NFA could not possibly have considered the shipment, as it earlier opted to purchase 120,000 MT under a government-to-government scheme.

“5. The Philippines is a much sought-after rice customer. This contradicts the Indian’s claim that he ‘never intended to sell to the Philippines.’ Tariff-free importation permits could not have been issued to the 21,000-MT shipment, as the NFA declared 19 awardees at 10,000 MT each only on April 18, from the March 19 bidding. Farmer groups were awarded 500 to 2,000 MT each much later. The NFA’s Minimum Access Volume, subject to a 40-percent duty, could have been an option on or before April 4 for the Indian rice. Ninety-eight importers are accredited for MAV. The Indian through its rep could have applied for import permit (40-percent duty) as a fallback, when the shipment was en route to Subic.”

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For someone who only two months ago expressed disinterest in the Chief Justiceship, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima curiously is fuming mad about not being shortlisted for it.

De Lima had said in June that the Supreme Court’s collegial nature and a justice’s secluded lifestyle are not for her. But now she’s accusing the SC, the Judicial and Bar Council, and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines of colluding to foil her nomination. The three judicial bodies have explained their sides in by far the most transparent selection of a CJ. Columnists have pointed up that it was de Lima who stacked the odds in her favor. One, she did not leave her cabinet post upon nomination, so obligating Malacañang lawyers and spokesmen to lobby for a confrere. Two, she merely inhibited from the JBC, enabling Malacañang to sit an underling and root for her in the JBC vetting. Three, she kept hinting that she was President Noynoy Aquino’s preferred one.

Now de Lima must face an antagonized IBP that will hear two disbarment complaints against her. She will return to her ex officio seat in the supposedly collusive, oppressive JBC. She probably has blocked herself from future nomination to any vacancy in the provoked SC, which under vetting rules must be consulted about justice-nominees.

But then, de Lima could have sealed a slot in the admin’s 2013 senatorial ticket. Perhaps she’s more suited there. Again as she said last June, “Can you imagine a Leila de Lima seldom seen and seldom heard?”

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