366 Days of Summer

Dog pulling his master

Day 42: Impeachment Trial of Chief Justice Corona

(Nota bene: I shall not dwell into the merits of the case. Let it be known that I am pro-Corona.)

Yesterday was one of the most epic spur-of-the-moment memory I have with my closest guy friends that I shall engrave into memory for a lifetime.

It dawn into me as a big surprise when N. called me on my phone and told me he and my bff will be picking me up in less than 30 minutes in order for us to be able to attend the impeachment trial, as we have been postponing it for several times in the past weeks. I told him the Senate sessions are, as a general rule, on Mondays until Thursdays. However, as the exigency of being able to come up with a decision on the first day the following week, the Senate, acting as an impeachment tribunal, decided to hold one.

We arrived at the Senate premises at 12 noon, and the lady guard told us that the passes were issued one hour earlier, hence, there were no longer slots available for us. We found out that some people lined up at 6 a.m. to get a sure seat. To cut the long story short, the people working in the Senate were kind enough to accommodate us, albeit the short notice. Our heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Antonio!

Outside the lobby of the Senate were a hundred our so video cameras from various news agencies, whilst inside were about 25-30, excluding the DSLR of other newspaper companies.

As the trial unfolds and all the way to the various suspensions, I had my eyes set on the impeached Chief Justice. (Yes, legally speaking, he was impeached, but not yet removed. There lies a difference, although the layman thinks there is no distinction to such.) By studying his body language and that of his very supportive wife, I could say that the man was broken and crushed, aside from the fact that his health was deteriorating.

My favorite Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, raised the questions as to:

(i) Separation of Powers

(iii) Doctrine of Checks and Balances

(iii) Subjudice Principle; Effects

I commend the great senator for pointing those questions out. (We were thinking Senator Defensor-Santiago would vote for an acquittal basing on how she framed her questions.) However, due to the pressures he was facing, the answer of the honorable Chief Justice was not responsive. I think any other man facing the same dilemma would probably have reacted that way as he did. I think it would have been better if the Chief Justice was expounded more on those concepts so as to strengthen his side of the fence.

It is my humble opinion that prior that hearing when he “walked out” of the Senate hall, he could have had put on more evidences to strengthen his defense, not merely relying on his testimonial evidences alone. He could have put forth other corroborative and cumulative evidences so as to build his defense better.

After the Senate hearing, I was both glad and saddened —- delighted that I was able to breathe the same air as the Senators did, and bereaved at the thought that there is deliquesce the judiciary, the last bastion of democracy.

Premises considered, I leave to the sound discretion of the Senate the mull over the merits of the case. May the guilty not go unpunished, but the innocent be freed.

A Date with Damon Salvatore

Daddy Long Legs, You are My Only Love <3

Wakeboarding at CamSur

Shortly after my flight from home due to my parent’s 30th wedding anniversary, my sibs and I went for a road trip approximately 500 kms. south of Luzon. 

Expectation:

Point of origin: my relatively new place in Manila, aside from my sibs who took a plane ride to Mla

Point of destination: Naga City.

ETA: 7-hour drive

Reality:

Same; same. Except that the travel time was more than what we bargained for! It  lasted for more than 13 hours! Traffic jams cued at 3 kms in a row. (See: Election 2013) Good thing I had great travel companions so my sibs and I always found something to amuse ourselves.

I realized during the whole time whilst I was sitting in  the backseat that I do love road trips. One of the my best conversations with my papa was the time when I was in grade school and played the shotgun while he was driving and I talked about anything and everything under the sun except boys. LOL.

Then I noticed some things I haven’t in the past, to wit —-

(i) looking outside the window and pretending I’m in a music video when a sentimental/love song is on

(ii) counting the time passed by the numbers of track played

(iii) mentally tallying the number of times a certain song has already been played

(iv) mentally correcting semantically incorrect lyrics (being a bit of a grammar Nazi that I am)

(v) guessing the next song on shuffle mode

and if the song is really good:

(vi) singing in my off-key version the male and female part including the 2nd voice and the instrumental. 

Ex: Mission Impossible track

So come enumeration time, I decided to count the things I love about CamSur and arrived at a great number of reasons, as such, but not limited to:

- fun-loving, warm and polite people. So much like my home. (Yes, I love people from the province, myself included. LOL.) College kids while lining up would make way for the ladies. Ah, chivalry! People’s favorite lines were:

“Do you wanna go ahead?” 

“Mauna ka na, ate.” or

“Makikiraan po, ate.”

- very warm and encouraging people, who will cheer no matter how bad the beginners are at playing and would clap at random professionals who looked regal in their flight 

- gastronomic delight, i.e. toasted siopao, creamy bibingka, Bicol Express, pan de sal cooked in pugon, loglog, and the street food. Yummmy!

- nature’s sauna-like feel of the hot springs, due to the fact that the Mayon Volcano is just around the corner

- being with my kuya and my newly-wedded sister and her hubby, my new kuya, then getting kilig just by looking at them being very much in love and laughing like crazy together

Downsides:

-muscle pains

- getting a relaxing massage then being under more pain the day after. What kind of sorcery is this?

- changing nail polish twice in less than a week

- facing the reality of leaving CamSur

Swimming at one of the hot springs at 39 deg C.

Due to the scorching heat, the 15 ft water evaporated into thin air by half.

Photobombing my sister’s perfect shot.

Running in barefoot for the first time sans organic alcohol disinfectant. Ahhh, feels great!

Since my sibs are afraid of the scorching heat, we started to play by the time the sun started to made itself scarce. I actually don’t mind being under the mercy of the merciless midday sun; my friends call me a mermaid for a reason. LOL. So, anyhow, ate made a very impressive move on her first try to which shocked as all because she was a girly girl. I told her it wasn’t something I attribute to beginner’s luck, and then she grinned and said, “I went to surfing camp at Bondi, remember?” Right on.

Another item in my bucket list: learn how to ride ‘em waves probably in La Union or in Siargao Island.

But then hopefully after the Bar Exam I want to CamSur:

1. resume my noob attempts at wakeboarding

2. visit Caramoan Islands, where Survivors Sweden, Turkey, Israel, etc were shot, which we missed due to the lack of time

3. visit Legaspi and take pictures at the Cagsawa Ruins and the majestic Mayon Volcano, the World’s Prefect Cone (because I lost them)

and maybe, just maybe, go to Baguio again, the Summer Capital,

or to the Hundred Islands.

So Dear God, 

Please be kind and help me pass the Bar. Thank You!

Happy Mother’s Day, Mama!

Proverbs 31:2 Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her.

A shout-out to the most amazing woman in my life, that is, aside from ate:

Thank you for carrying me in your tummy for 9 months in a row. I am eternally blessed knowing that you have my back and that you love me unconditionally.

Let me count the awesome  ways I have to thank you for, thusly:

1. being overly protective.

2. accompanying me to the dentist every single time.

3. smothering me with love.

4. not breaking the promises you made.

5. loving papa the way that you do.

6.  teaching me to make hand-written birthday cards and welcome-back-home-papa banners when my sibs and I were small.

7. living life as an example.

8. sacrificing a lot of things for our family.

9. pointing out my faults and saying the things I have to improve on.

10. exemplifying the following words: love, commitment, honesty, faithfulness and forgiveness.

I love you very much and I thank God for you.

Semper Fidelis: 30 years of God’s faithfulness

Thank you, ma and pa, for being a prime example that indeed, fairy tales do happen, and that true love will stand the test of time. I love you both!

Teaching lolo some awesome stuff.

Lolo’s fave spot. Wherever that lazy chair is, he’s also chillaxin’ there.

Because tomorrow is Mother’s Day, I left mama some cool stuff with my bro’s assistant before my flight. For the first time in my entire life, I’m not home for that day, but still I’m gonna surprise her.

2 a.m. Getting ready for my flight and papa looked sad again. :’C

Thank You, UP Law Center!