In a post-fight interview, he was asked to give a message to his Filipino fans. He began by saying, "Thanks for the God …"

Susmaryosep!

Don’t get me wrong. I’m proud at what the Pacman accomplished, but I would have been prouder if he was able to speak English intelligibly. Perhaps Erik Morales is smarter in this aspect. He spoke in his native Spanish with a translator beside him.

His English notwithstanding, Pacquiao definitely finished with a flair. I’m glad it ended by round 3. I’m one of those poor Filipinos who have to suffer the indignity of watching ABS-CBN, wading through endless commercials, just to watch two boxers pummel each other. Good thing it was Pacquiao who was doing most of the pummeling.

I also had to shut off my cell phone because I knew the fight would end much earlier than the super-delayed (not slightly-delayed, excuse me) telecast and I didn’t want to know the result beforehand.

In their second fight, the 10th round knockout was anti-climactic for me. There were just too many commercials and much of them featured, well … Manny Pacquiao. I didn’t know whether I wanted to jubilate or puke. I was almost tempted to root for Morales.

So this last fight was a blessing in that ABS-CBN was stopped from foisting its greed upon me and millions of other Filipinos who can’t afford pay-per-view.

I guess I can forgive Manny Pacquiao for mangling the English language.

Susmaryosep!

And then you're treated to the spectacle of all these ABS-CBN sycophants expressing support for Revillame. ABS-CBN isn't asking him to take a leave either. They're going to squeeze him dry perhaps until he's found guilty of wife-battery and child abuse.

ABS-CBN doesn't know the meaning of decency. Even in the case of the stampede, they're adamant that the stampede wasn't their fault. Yet CEO Gabby Lopez appeared on TV and admitted responsibilty and flashed money to the victims so they won't get sued.

So, "Wowowee" will still be around in spite of the scores who died in the stampede and Revillame's utter disregard for women's rights. And ABS-CBN will continue to call itself the "Kapamilya" channel.

Mga Hipokrito!

One thing authorities can’t seem to control, however, is petty crime that sometimes turns into a felony when victims resist.

Take, for example, the shooting to death of a female student. Coming out of her classes at the University of Cebu in the evening, Carmela Cabanog took a public utility jeepney to go home. On the way a man jumped in and tried to snatch her bag. The student resisted. He pulled out a handgun and shot her in the chest. She was only 19 years old.

What makes this crime doubly tragic is that this student worked part-time to augment her college fees as she was born of poor farmers who had scraped, scrimped and saved to put her to college. She was their hope of a better life. She did not take this burden lightly. She sought to excel in her studies and was an honor student. In one senseless moment, that hope got snuffed out.

The irony of it all is that Metro-Cebu’s police force was beefed up with around 400 new recruits from other parts of the country. They certainly couldn’t do anything to prevent this crime. Sometimes you’d wonder even if 4,000 of them would have prevented the crime knowing how inept our police is.

Somehow you can’t help feel that all that vigilantism in Cebu is a big joke because it doesn’t seem to curtail crime.

What does this all mean? In preparing to look like a world-class city for the Asean Summit, we can do all the external cleaning up we want. But the death of that student will always be a reminder that, deep inside, we’re rotten as ever.

There is even this congressman --his name escapes me now (good for him)-- who has labelled the movie blasphemous and has publicly called on the MTRCB to ban the movie outright. Yet, later on he admitted he did not read the book but based his judgments on hearsay. And he dares call himself a lawmaker!

What I can't understand is why the Catholic Church is so against a totally fictitious story. Are they afraid Catholics will all want to become Goddess worshippers after watching the movie? Or are they afraid that the foundation by which the Church is built will easily crumble in the face of good acting from Tom Hanks.

Indeed, the book from which the movie is based is thought-provoking. But it has to be, otherwise it won't be a thriller. Yet, it has to be seen as what it is: Fiction.

If ever there should be a debate that would arise from the Da Vinci Code, it shouldn't be whether Jesus Christ is the Son of God or not, but rather if the Church is able to stand by the truth that He is. For in the last decade or so, we have seen priests involved in sexual crimes and other shenanigans that have eroded the trust of Catholics in the Church in general.

Perhaps what Church officials are really afraid of is their own shadow.

So what will the Arroyo government do about it? Nothing.

Gloria the Liar will pay lip service to finding alternative fuel and continue to rake up funds to keep herself in power. What's more, instead of focusing the Justice Dept. on anticipating crime and apprehending criminals, she'll have her lap dog, Sec. Raul Gonzalez --who dabbles as defense lawyer for American crime suspects, by the way-- intimidate instead heckling students and congressmen suspected of rebellion.

Gloria the Liar is doing nothing to ease the effect of rising oil prices. Yet she easily bribes those who are in opposition to her governance. She could care less about her countrymen. Her burning desire first and foremost is to stay in power no matter the cost. The only problem is Filipinos are the ones paying the cost.

Gloria the Liar is not a leader. Neither is she a visionary. All she sees is her fat ass and that it's seated on the throne of Malacañang Palace, even if her feet are not planted firmly on the ground (literally speaking).

If only her governance were true and compassionate, then she wouldn't have to worry about staying in power, because Filipinos would have let her. But at the onset it seems she already had her hidden agenda and, like the proverbial bad tree, it bore bad fruit.

At present, one compelling reason why Filipinos are not going out to the streets to oust her is that there is no one to replace her. Pretty soon, however, the battle cry will be "Anyone But Gloria!"

When that happens, Gloria will find herself short (pun definitely intended) of support and supporters to keep herself in power. The frightening thing is that it might just get bloody.

There he was on national TV somberly relating how he directed the NBI to investigate events surrounding Maria Theresa Pangilinan. If you had never heard of Pangilinan, you'd think she was involved in a major plot to overthrow the Arroyo government.

So what was Pangilinan's crime? She heckled the President as she (Gloria) gave a Commencement Address at the Cavite State University. She shouted in the vernacular, "Oust Arroyo," and then brandished a poster that read, "No to Cha-cha." Other students then joined in. They were briskly ushered out by cops and the presidential bodyguards but were later allowed to receive their diplomas.

Gonzalez lost no time in ordering an investigation, even insinuating that school officials might be involved. Can you see the absurdity of Gonzalez's action? Can you imagine school officials would actually call for secret meetings to plot out a heckle? Perhaps they gave it a name: "Operation Heckle and Jeckle."

Come to think of it, it's really no wonder how Gonzalez can act so ...well... stupidly. He's in a government that no longer can discern right from wrong, cheating from honesty, lies from truth. They would rather make deals with plunderers like the Marcoses and Danding Cojuanco and then file charges against disgruntled youth such as Maria Theresa Pangilinan, who has done nothing but exercise her freedom of speech.

Yet, in trying to make Pangilinan look bad, Gonzalez only managed to elevate her into heroine status and cause the Arroyo government to look vindictive and scornful over a mere triviality. Bravo, Raul! In this case, I soundly advice Gloria the Liar: "Send in the clowns!"

As for Maria Theresa Pangilinan, I give her a standing ovation!

First, he was able to downgrade the charge of three of the accused to accessory to rape, which will get them a lighter sentence if convicted. This move so discouraged the prosecuting attorney that he resigned.

It looks like this defense head will be able to have the accused acquitted, earning for him the gratitude of the United States of America and perhaps a green card for him and his family.

What's the name of the defense head of the American rapists? Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez!

Yet it's no wonder why Gonzalez seems to love those accused of a heinous crime. His boss does too. After all she commuted the sentence of all those in death row into life imprisonment. Some of the families of the victims waited for years and spent thousands of pesos for justice to be done. Suddenly justice was stolen from them by a political move to appease the Catholic hierarchy, some of whose clergy, by the way, have been found guilty of such despicable crimes as child molestation.

Gloria the Liar's move had nothing to do with pro-life or pro-death, in spite of her sanctimonious pronouncements. It was mere political prowess for power.

Kris: Honey?
James: Duh...
Kris: What comes after the letter c?
James: Duh...
Kris: Thank you.

She knows full-well that the People's Initiative for Cha-cha is illegal. So she'll depend on her lackeys in Congress, who hold the majority, to legitimize the maneuver. If ever there will be a legal dispute, then she'll surely call on her appointees in the Supreme Court (10 out of 15) to rule in her favor. This woman had done her homework extremely well.

She'll have the legitimacy to stay in power ... but only on paper. What she won't have is the spirit of legitimacy, which is the will and acceptance of the majority of Filipinos. Will this deter her? Definitely not! Will this bother her conscience? Absolutely not!

To get drunk with power, you become benumbed to all forms of sensibility. Your heart hardens, your emotions become jaded and your soul is effectively sold to the devil.

Just like Ferdinand Edralin Marcos!

Obviously Shinawatra loves his country. He uttered the words above right after he named his associate as caretaker prime minister until parliament elects a new one. In stepping down after pressure from the Thai people, Shinawatra showed he was more concerned about his country than keeping power.

It's so unlike our callous politicians who'll fight tooth and nail and use bribes and intimidation to keep power. Because our politicans are like this, so goes government officials.

In Cebu, for example, Customs Collector Ma. Lourdes Mangaoang was able to get a TRO from the Court of Appeals to stop her impending transfer to Ilo-ilo. Imagine that! In effect Mangoaong was able to stop her bosses from transferring her to another district. Do that in a private firm and you'll get fired! Onli in da Pilipins!

Mangoaong had strong backing from three Cebuano politicans, namely, Reps. Tony Cuenco, Raul "Yabang" del Mar and Cebu city Mayor Tommy Osmeña, who came up with a joint communique supporting Mangoaong and pointing out the fact that Customs revenue increased under her watch. Cebu businessmen also backed up Mangoaong's retention stating that her leadership had helped the export and import industries.

For whatever reason they may have, isn't it every Customs Collector's duty to increase revenue and help businessmen? That's what career civil service professionals are supposed to do wherever they're assigned. So why is Mangoaong fighting tooth and nail to be retained?

Perhaps there are more "lucrative" reasons to do so. Or perhaps it's merely a love for the job.

Yeah, right!

So here's good news for Cebuanos and the world at large. Some friends of mine put up a portal site that offers news about Cebu, plus other tidbits on real estate properties, personalities, scenes and things happening in and around the "Queen City of the South."

It's written by Cebuanos for Cebuanos and the world. The site is www.realcebu.com.

News items and articles are welcome as long as they're about Cebu or interest stories on Ceuanos living in the Philippines or abroad. Check out the site. I'm sure it will be worth your visit.

When people testify in a court of law, they are required to take an oath to tell "the truth and nothing but the truth." So it follows that the top honcho of the Justice Department should be the very defender of truth. Yet, it seems Gonzalez would rather hide or twist the truth.

For instance he acts more like the defense lawyer of the American servicemen accused of raping a Filipina, a countryman of his. Certainly he shouldn't side with the victim, but his actions are telling Filipinos he's making it difficult to prosecute the accused. Perhaps a green card for him or his relatives is in the back of his mind, thereby befuddling his reasoning.

Then there is his veiled threat to go after "seditious" journalists. He particularly mentioned the PCIJ. Yet, when the PCIJ published its investigations of the various mansions Estrada owned, no one complained about it, much less labeled the reports seditious. However, when the PCIJ came out with its investigations on the Garci tapes, they're warned as bordering on sedition. Duh!

So now we get the notion that the government is the sole judge of what is seditious or not. This is highly dangerous! This means if a journalist, for example, reports that GMA wears 4-inch heels to look tall, this could be regarded as seditious. The journalist can then be arrested and hauled into court.

The objective is not to ferret out truth or expose sedition, but to intimidate and make it difficult for media to work freely so they would instead toe the line of government and whatever propaganda it dishes out through clones like Bunye and Defensor.

Control the press and you control civil liberties. Control civil liberties and you have a dictatorship.

And that's the truth, your honors!

Take ABS-CBN, for example. Instead of quietly preparing for its legal defense for its involvement in the Wowowee stampede, it instead lashed out at the NBI and the DOJ for not implicating the Pasig police for negligence in preventing the stampede.

I suppose you can't expect anything else from a network that has become callous to the sense and sensibilities of this nation as it dishes out TV fare that have no redeeming values whatsoever. The only 2 reasons for the existence of ABS-CBN is profit and profit. When profit is what drives you, arrogance becomes your nature. It's written all over their lawyers.

Meanwhile, the families of the stampede victims appeared in court without a slick lawyer. In fact, they had no lawyer at all. In this case, the saying, "Offense is the best defense," cannot apply because they had no defense. On the other hand, the Lopez network had all the defense it can buy and they went on an all-out offense.

Maybe they're fans of Baby Dalupan.

As for Willie Revillame, his new mantra in the shamelessly revived Wowowee is, "Gusto lang namin tumulong." I wonder if he's trying to convince the audience or himself.

On the side of the Senate were Sens. Joker Arroyo, Pia Cayetano, Rodolfo Biazon, Juan Flavier and Jinggoy Estrada.

Apparently the assault on press freedom didn't start and end with the Daily Tribune. There's this character -police character to be exact- Jonathan Tiongco, who's harassing PCIJ with a TRO (read the piercing pen blog here and a near search warrant to look for subversive documents (can't they think of anything original anymore?). According to Coronel, Sec. Mike Defensor, erstwhile Spice Boy turned sour, admitted that Tiongco texts him; so they must be very close.

Atty. Diokno likens this harassment to the Marcos ploy of using shadowy groups to file all sorts of charges against media personalities during Martial Law. Sen. Arroyo and Saguisag know all too well whereof he speaks, having been victims themselves of the repressive Marcos regime.

While Gloria Macapagal-Marcos ...er... Arroyo can deny any involvement with Tiongco, Defensor cannot and Defensor certainly doesn't move without his master telling him so. We can only surmise that Gloria is learning from Marcos, but she improvises and reveals a more cunning side. To restrict civil liberties, you only have to muzzle the press. Tiongco's success in getting a TRO to compel the PCIJ to remove its blog is ominous. The fact that Tiongco himself has several charges against him, including murder, tells us the Arroyo government will use any means to achieve its goal of remaining in power.

Should we be alarmed? Not yet, because the press is fighting back. Moreover we still have the Senate to watch over the shoulder of the government. But stand guard we must lest history repeats itself. Its chapters are certainly already being opened again.

She proclaimed 1017 because she wanted more power. She was short-handed.

She forgot that the Philippines was once under Martial Law. She is short of memory.

During the crisis, the President rushed to and from the Palace. She developed shortness of breath.

Luckily for Filipinos Gloria's proclamation and eventual lifting of 1017 were not long-winded. Her speeches were short and to the point.

She earns a decent salary as President of the Republic. She's no longer short of cash.

A wire-tapped Palace conversation still to be verified:
The President: "Iggy, are my legs too short?"
Ignacio Bunye: "No, Ma'am. They reach the floor, don't they?"