Before entering law school, I had my misgivings about the profession, and this was mainly because of my exposure to discussions of how the law profession, no matter how noble, can also be susceptible to manueverings and machinations. That even when it has for its core the advancement of societal ideals, the shrewd lawyer can also use his talent to manipulate his knowledge of the law to aid him in his self-serving motives. This was not only a disconcerting idea, but this also threatened to disillusion me — so much so that prior to embarking on my own law journey, I crafted a pact with myself that if in case I get lost in my readings of jurisprudence and the law, I would always revert back to what makes sense, as well as to what affirms law as a profession.

The current impeachment case has opened my eyes to the reality that fortunately for us, our country is populated with citizens who thrive in discourse and in peddling opposing paradigms — for nothing is more unfortunate than a populace that is fixated on just one view on the political goings-on of the country. It was nice to know, amid the hype that the impeachment trial had produced, how some friends viewed the event differently from what I was seeing, and inasmuch as I treat their observations with utmost respect, I can’t help but muse about a few things that have greatly unsettled me. But before I belabor myself with enumerating my observations to the brouhaha that is the impeachment trial, allow me to first own up to my naivete with the law profession. I am still in the infancy stages of being intimate with the legalese, so my observations are primarily influenced by my own personal thoughts and biases.

First off, I find it unsettling that some of my friends think the Chief Justice is justified in not declaring his real assets and liabilities because the law affords him the immunity to do so, by virtue of the FCDA. And that corollarily thus, this lapse should be forgivable because there was ‘good faith’ on his part. In my legally inept mind, I can only wonder: Yes, good faith my be interposed as a defense, but isn’t 3.5M pesos a far cry from the real asset (which is 80M in peso deposits + roughly 108 M pesos in converted dollar deposits)? Good faith may fly if the discrepancy is not so glaring as the amounts just mentioned. When the Chief Justice first admitted to having underrepresented his real monetary worth, my initial reaction was disappointment, because here we have someone who is presumed to be the best legal mind in the country, someone who is worthy of every law student’s emulation, and yet he chooses to proffer the excuse of ‘good faith’ in accounting for the 180M or so difference.

If the person involved was not someone who enjoyed the presumption of legal brilliance, good faith would have been acceptable — but he is the Chief Justice for crying out loud, and the fact that he arrogantly clings on to his belief that the 180M difference was acceptable per his moral standards makes it all the more disturbing for me. If it were an executive or legislative official who insinuated that his interpretation of the law made him conceal his real SALN, then that would have been a different case — but the Chief Justice is not just anyone, and some friends may not understand why his stature is so revered, but any law student knows that in the echelons of law brilliance, the office of the Chief Justice hovers above all of us mere mortals.

Then there are those who claim that no clear and convincing evidence has been presented by the prosecution to warrant the conviction of the Chief Justice. Again, in my legally-untrained mind, I can only ask: Is it not that impeachment is a political exercise, and not being a criminal trial, the quantum of proof would be subjective, depending on the senator-judges? A lot of people have been using the term sui generis to describe the impeachment trial, but what is sui generis really? An article from Dean Raul Pangalanan was very instructive in my own understanding of the nature of an impeachment process.

Dean Pangalanan posits that an impeachment court is deemed to be higher than any other instrumentality in government, such as the executive, legislative or judicial entities. In his article, he discusses how a country, right after the rubble of revolutionary mayhem settles, starts to establish its own democratic entities — it comes up with the different branches of government and establishes order through the creation of a fully-functioning government. Most people, after the establishment of their government, think that the ultimate arbiter of conflicts is the Supreme Court through its power of judicial review, but Dean Pangalanan asserts that this is not necessarily the case, because in essence, the judiciary (hence, the power of judicial review) is but a mere creation of the people acting in their sovereign capacity.

This is what justifies the superiority of the impeachment court over the Supreme Court, because when the senator-judges assume the role of being the people’s direct representatives, they are the very constitution of the genuine sovereign power — and the reality that the Constitution does not require them to be well-versed in legalistic gobbledygooks is a testament to the fact that in these proceedings, a senator-judge’s capacity to distinguish conviction and acquittal is what merely matters. The fact that the Constitution does not require all of them to be law experts is quite telling in the nature of the proceedings as an exercise of power of the real sovereign — the country’s citizens. Hence, I do not buy the whole ‘no convincing evidence’ argument — for in my mind, and presumably for all average reasonable people out there, the excesses and betrayal were pronounced and obvious.

I understand the sentiments of my friends perfectly well when they say that in the hearts of the people, Corona should be convicted, but that in the impeachment court, he needs to be acquitted. But again, in my mind, I ask: Why should the procedural rigidity be used to stifle the truth? The truth stares at us right in the face, and in these crossroads, we can either choose to look away and render a convenient acquittal, or stare back at it and command it to answer for its excesses. The truth shines like a a Northern star, and yet we choose to cloud our judgment with all these rationalizations couched in ‘sound and plausible reasoning’. I think we are much more intelligent than this, and tomorrow, we shall prove this to the rest of the world as we convict a Chief Justice who is unworthy of his office.

It is in times of confusion like these when again, I revert back to my personal principle that we should stick to what makes sense and what affirms the ideals of the law profession. Convict Corona.

It’s a sad day for Filipinos.

Yes, I am owning up to being bitter about the recent American Idol results show. The American public has yet again chosen another white guy with a guitar to be the season winner this year.

I was reading the tweets of my friends as the show aired live earlier today. And I must say, there was an imagined sense of belongingness that was palpable among those who supported her. Filipinos, after all, have the natural propensity to associate themselves with passion, especially on matters where issues of (their) ethnicity are concerned.

No, I’m not cheapening this issue into a race discussion — but it’s just that this is how Filipinos act by default. You can just imagine the collective sighs of despair that flooded Twitter when Ryan Seacrest announced Philipp Philipps as this year’s winner.

On a more personal level though, I saw this coming. American Idol, after all, is a creature that feeds on the popular sensibilities of the American people. Philipp Philipps, according to a sociologist, is the perfect template for a pop icon — he has the looks, his style and talent appeal to the typical pop culture demographic — while Jessica’s prowess, although undeniably great, is not that appealing to the mainstream pop culture sensibilities.

The show’s orientation, which is to satiate the music industry with ‘appealing’ artists, explains why in past seasons, the more talented singers were sent home early. Because even when the show’s judges always proclaim the show to the be ‘real deal that showcases the best that America has to offer’, at the end of the day, it is still a profiteering venture where the marketable survives, while the others merely die a natural death.

Surely, this shared grief is warranted, given the collective hope that Filipinos all over the world had for Jessica — but certainly, this is not the end of the road for the 16-year old power balladeer. The world will see more of her in the coming days, and America will eventually be humbled and realize that this year’s season finale was a travesty to genuine musicality.

I don’t know about you guys, but the finale for this year’s American Idol was a no-brainer. Despite the out-of-this-world comments from the judges, by the end of the night, one thing was clear: It was Jessica who showed her real kettle by not only seamlessly belting a power ballad, but by also showing her tender side with her tempered rendition of The Prayer.

Jessica Sanchez for the win!

After days upon days of hard work, I have finally managed to polish the website that my dad commissioned me to do. If you take the time to back read a little bit, I shared about how I suddenly decided to have a summer job in my dad’s company.

At first, I was the HR man and I collated all pertinent information relating to HR concerns. But since that only required a week (at least), I had nothing to do after I finished collating information about maternity leaves, holiday premiums, and leaves without pay.

After my short ‘HR’ stint, I suggested to my dad that we come up with a company website, because come to think of it, website advertising is the way to go right now. No, let me change that — website advertising is the only way to go right now. People generally Google everything for all concerns imaginable, and for good reason, because right now, the internet is the panacea for practically anything that anyone wants to have or know about.

I am a self-confessed technomoron, so you can only imagine my initial apprehension when I first started tinkering with HTMLS, headers and font formats. But since I am a little bit interested in layouting and designing, I braved the tide and accepted the challenge head-on.

After numerous trials and errors, I have finally managed to finish the site. It’s not much, but I am proud of it. It looks a little amateur-ish, I know, but thank God, it wasn’t as hideous as I expected it to be.

Here’s the link: 8gmarketing.weebly.com

It is not uncommon for me to be asked by friends why I adore UP so much. Some of them even say that I interject my UP musings even when I talk about the most obscure things. And each time I am asked this, I always clam up. I do not answer right away not because I do not know what to tell them, but it is because I know what the answer is, and this certainty is what makes me think hard before I speak, for I do not wish to give them a few loose sentences which do not really give justice to the love that I have for UP.

It has almost been 8 years since I was in one of Palma Hall’s classrooms, listening attentively to Atty. Jamon as he tells us yet again that we are the future molders of this country. This is what I miss most about UP education: for with every new learning that I acquire in class, I am constantly reminded that I am a part of a larger configuration. That the pursuit of knowledge does not just exist for its own sake, for to do so would be to betray the numerous souls who look up to the iskolars ng bayan for the improvement of their own lot. Learning is inextricably linked with a transcendental ideal, because a mere narcissistic absorption of the discourses that happen in class is to abandon what the taxpayers — the farmers, the lower class workers, the OFWs — expect of us.

In UP, one breathes the interconnectedness of all knowledge, so much so that the delineation between theory and praxis is virtually not there anymore. The four walls of the classroom fail to contain the burning idealism that iskos and iskas have, because every UP student knows that the acquisition of knowledge is only the beginning — for what is more important is the application of these newfound ideas to better the situation of our underprivileged countrymen. A UP-educated friend once quipped that the accumulation of knowledge is essentially a narcissistic venture: that people thirst for knowledge because it is a response to the self’s insatiable need to enhance itself, and that the positive consequences of this yearning is merely consequential and thus unintended.

In my mind, I can only ask him: If it is through the blood and sweat of taxpayers that we are able to obtain our education, is it then apt for us to tell them that any good deed that we do after we graduate is out of charity?

In UP, one is taught to always hold on to the ideal. In a country that is afflicted with paralyzing hopelessness, UP provides that beacon of hope to students as it reminds them that yes, darkness may exist, but if we extinguish what little flicker of idealism that we have left, then who will fend off the darkness? It is this assurance of potential and promise which makes UP students strive for perfection, because they know that with collective idealism, the promise of achieving the great Filipino destiny is capable of realization.

UP has made me realize how minute I am in this universe, but that it is this very smallness which makes me cling on to something that is incapable of extinguishment. Yes, I may be small, but I am part of a collective endeavor that will soon see the emancipation of this country from the shackles of hopelessness and desperation. If only for this alone, I will forever be indebted to UP, and constantly promise her that in God’s time, I shall help her achieve what this country rightfully deserves.

My younger brother decided he’s had it with the scorching summer heat.

So two days ago, he headed off to Siquijor, an island across Negros, and he said he would be staying there for two days so he can have a bit of relaxation amid the numbing heat.

Siquijor, for those who are unfamiliar with the place, is a popular tourist destination in Visayas. It is a relatively small island, but it is endowed with a lot of natural wonders. I remember spontaneously going there two years ago by my lonesome, with no idea where I was headed to — I only Googled the places that were popular with tourists, but despite the uncertainty, I was able to enjoy everything that Siquijor had to offer for one full weekend.

I remember spelunking in numerous caves in one of the municipalities there, bathing in the freezing waters of an underground waterfall, and just galivanting in white sand beaches as the sun glared mercilessly on the island.

One thing that differentiates Siquijor from other tourist destinations is its relative peace — whereas several islands have large tourist populations, Siquijor is relatively less cluttered with people, making it one of the best places to enjoy nature and some of its finer creations.

So after having been ravaged by Siquijor for two days,my younger brother arrived at our doorstep this morning. No one recognized him right away, because apparently, he soaked up all the summer sun while he was in Siquijor. To say that he seemed to just have gotten airbrush tans is an understatement to the burnt skin color that Siquijor had given him.

I feel sorry for him, because I know that in 2 or 3 days time, he would be molting like a snake, and he would look like a dalmatian soon after — for that was how my Siquijor experience had ended two years ago.

Ah summer heat, when shall you release us from torment?

Last Saturday, I watched the Avengers — and to say that it was awesome is an understatement.

Personally, I am not a fan of all the Avengers characters individually. As a matter of fact, I’ve only watched ‘Iron Man’ (BOO) out of all of them, so I really had no expectations of how the movie will pan out.

This no-expectation turned out to be a good thing, because I remember my humanities professor telling us before that the best way to watch a movie is to do so without any preconceptions or biases: because if it turns out good, then you’d enjoy it, but if not, no biggie because no expectations were there to begin with.

Anyway, the storyline was typical Hollywood-ish, but even if this were the case, I got glued to my seat for the 2 hours or so that I watched the movie.

It’s the usual thing: aliens threaten invasion, authorities seek the help of superheroes, at first the heroes quibble among themselves, then they realize that the survival of the planet rests upon them.

But what made Avengers entertaining was the very idea of numerous superheroes working together for the benefit of humanity. The idea is novel in itself, but if one really thinks about it, all superheroes are egotistical, and suspending this ego for a higher ideal is just a joy to watch. Of course, the sense of humor is also an endearing element of the movie, and in various parts of the movie, the laughed hilariously at the banter and witty exchanges.

In the end, it was just a joy to watch. One can leave his brain behind, and just be awed by the action sequences and the converging of humanity’s greatest heroes as they kick the arses of alien scum and prove to them that human beings are still in charge, thank you very much.

Yesterday was a busy day for me. Amidst the demands from work, I was able to find time to accompany my brother and sister-in-law as they looked for possible houses where they can transfer to.

You see, ever since they were married, my brother and his wife had been residing in an apartment complex that is owned by my dad, but this time around, they’ve figured that they already want to settle in a residential area where they can grow a garden, raise kids (possibly, fingers crossed here), and stay clear of the mind-numbing noise of city life.

Even when I personally think that their apartment is cozy and comfortable enough, I do get where they’re coming from, and if I were in their situation, I think I would have done the same thing already. It has already been 4 years since they were married, and I think it’s high time for them to kick their living situation up a notch.

Aided by a real estate agent, they were able to see three prospective residential options. Personally though, I took a liking to the residential steel building that was located in the suburbs. The neighborhood seemed pleasant, the house had an expansive lawn, the scenery was lush with plants and trees, and the place seemed quiet.

In my mind, I would’ve picked that place — but then again, it’s their call, because they are the ones who would be starting over.

On a personal level though, I feel genuinely happy for them, because I know how long they have been contemplating on really starting a family of their own. From this day forward, I can only wish them the best, and pray that the odds be ever in their favor.

I don’t normally watch the evening news, because I personally feel that sometimes, all that the reports ever do is to create the impression that this world is one crazy, desolate place.

The prospect for watching newsworthy news pieces is even closer to nil in this side of the world, because sensationalism is deeply ingrained in the mindset of most news practitioners in this country.

Come to think of it really: What would it matter if you did not know that a call center agent was beheaded by her deranged lover in Taguig because of a love triangle, or some has-been starlet had suffered mental anguish over a poorly done tummy tuck operation? I don’t know about you, but my world would still continue revolving even without these nonsense clutter.

But while I was skimming through several news channels last night, I came across a certain news feature which really disturbed me.

It was about a family that was driving along one of Manila’s major thoroughfares. As they were stuck in traffic, two gun-wielding men on board a motorcycle appeared out of nowhere, and just as everyone least expected it to happen (because they were in a major highway, for crying out loud), one of the men opened fire at the driver of the vehicle.

Everything happened so fast that the onlookers were stunned and in utter disbelief at what just ensued. Death had just passed them by — and in the aftermath of the mayhem, the image of the wife wailing uncontrollably was as chilling as the earlier image of the husband being shot to death.

I later on learned that the husband died shortly after the incident, because he did not receive any first aid treatment, and the paralyzing traffic situation only exacerbated the helplessness that ensnared his wife. The attending physician commented that the victim could have been saved, because the wounds that were inflicted were not that fatal, but what caused his death was loss of blood.

Perhaps, if they only had a car emergency kit with them, the outcome would have been different. If this had been the case, then they would have been better prepared to deal with the situation, rather than feel helpless as the victim’s life was slowly spirited away from his body.

That news feature reminded me that right now, we live in a world that is savage as it is beautiful — and in the midst of unpredictable tragedy, we ought to be prepared so we can act accordingly.

In the end, it’s all about striking a balance between watching news pieces that give us awareness, and steering away from those that seem to trivialize journalism. In the end, we need to be aware of the goings-on of this world, not ensnared by the superficial satisfaction of satiating the sensationalist cravings of the larger society.

So here I sit, listening to the lullaby of the airconditioner’s hum, oblivious of what is happening outside, and enclosed in my own impenetrable bubble.

I look at my right and I see my dad busily munching down numbers through his calculator, a wrinkle carved in his forehead, and from here, I can smell his frustration with whatever it is that he is doing.

Because I have generally been bumming around this summer, I took it upon myself to ask dad if I can be momentarily employed in our family-owned company. His face lit up, I recall, when I flaunted the idea to him, because those who are close to him know how he looks down on the lazy and the sluggish.

Although my initial summer plan was just to slack off and satisfy all my sleep debts from law school, I needed to abandon this initial plan because although the constant sleep, rest and read cycle is reinvigorating, I soon realized I cannot afford to be financially paralyzed because of my sedentary lifestyle.

I have collated, and will manualize, certain Human Resources concerns that are important for the daily operations of our company. Personally though, I am thankful for this crash course of sorts because I’ve encountered certain unfamiliar terms under Labor Law — a subject that will undoubtedly keep me preoccupied this coming semester.

A workable segue though, because one of my motivations for taking up law was to be adept with the Labor stipulations under Philippine laws. Suffice it to say that I have experienced really inhumane working conditions from previous employers, and during those moments when I felt so disempowered and emasculated not just as a worker but as a human being, my resolve to ensure that the abuses will cease to torment future workers was crafted in the pits of my conscience.

But for now, I will just be comforted by the thought that I am on the path towards fulfilling this advocacy. I know I need several years more before I become adept with the intricacies of the law, but I am also aware that the emotional and financial investment will all be worth it in the end.