Apart from the expected loss of jobs, drop in consumer spending, deflation and usual run-of-the-mill outcomes arising from the worldwide recession, there are other trends which may prove interesting to the idle observer. And their numbers are certainly growing everyday.

The hard times will of course impact fashion. Amando Doronila wrote a recent piece on the rise and fall of women’s hemlines which mirror the bleak global economic outlook. Expect a less flamboyant look for the coming year and for so long as the downturn continues. A more muted and conservative image would be in keeping with the difficulties we all face. Read the rest of this entry »

Is this why they’re called commissioners ? Because they get a piece of the action every time ?

Whistleblower Carolina Hiñola, chief executive officer of the shuttered and bankrupt Legacy Consolidated Plans Inc. (LCPI), identified SEC Commissioner Jesus Martinez as Celso De Los Angeles’ “connect” with the Securities and Exchange Commision. Martinez has brought the sleaze level at the SEC, already scandalous to begin with, to new heights.

Testifying at the resumption of the Senate inquiry into the big-time Legacy scam, Ms. Hiñola categorically pointed to Martinez as Legacy’s patron in the SEC, which allowed the Ponzi-like set-up to flourish. Martinez provided Legacy all the official protection his position could accord, in exchange for cash.

Legacy Group Chief Finance Officer Namnama Santos also implicated Congressman Ed Zialcita of Paranaque as one of those who received regular payouts from De Los Angeles. Zialcita is a cousin of Martinez. Read the rest of this entry »

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. In this darkness, Lord be there!
(Psalm 130:1-2)

I have no fear of death or its images, of wakes and funerals and scenes of violence and mayhem. At least this is what I tell myself. If anything, I have gone through a phrase of inordinate fascination with death, looking into the face of it in an attempt to unlock its unfathomable mystery.

Except when the death involves a child and then I am overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety and anguish. And anger. Old wounds I have struggled to heal from are reopened and I find myself flailing helplessly against a tide of sorrow.

A young boy was killed the week just past, and seeing his father trying to find words to express his family’s inexpressible grief broke my heart. He did a much better job than I could ever have done. When I was in his unenviable position years ago, I was struck dumb. It was my wife who stood up and spoke for us.

Looking at his stricken face during the last rites for the boy, I of course saw myself. The messages he wanted to impart were the very same ones I would have wanted to say, had my voice and heart not failed me. Read the rest of this entry »

Another argument against the Right of Reply is that it’s equivalent to “censorship” and “prior restraint” on the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of the press.

Prior restraint is a form of censorship. It is a legal term referring to a government’s actions that prevent materials from being published. Censorship that requires governmental permission in the form of a license or imprimatur before anything is published constitutes prior restraint every time permission is denied. Prior restraint is an official restriction of speech before publication. The U.S. Supreme Court has rightfully found it to be “the most serious and the least tolerable infringement on First Amendment rights“. Read the rest of this entry »