No Bystanders

Janet Napoles with Sen. Revilla and Sen Estrada. Photo by Rappler.com

Janet Napoles is out of the country, according to an employee of the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima confirmed on Wednesday night that a warrant of arrest has been issued against Napoles and her brother for the alleged serious illegal detention of Benhur Luy, who first exposed the P10 Billion PDAF scam that Napoles allegedly masterminded. However, before the National Bureau of Investigation was able to serve the warrant of arrest, Napoles and her brother was able to board a flight to Vietnam. The same BI source claimed that Napoles flew on Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight 5J 506 at 4:35 in afternoon, well before de Lima announced the decision of a Makati court to issue the warrant of arrest.

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A few days ago, I read the story of Reynaldo Cacillar - a pedicab driver who "died a tragically lonesome death on June 21, going largely unaided and unattended despite suffering an apparent heart attack or stroke in front of many passersby right outside a university." (Full story here.)

After reading his story, I resolved I would do things differently if presented with the same situation.

Today, as I was walking home, I passed by an elderly woman lying unconscious on the sidewalk. I pass on the same street often and I know it's not the usual spot where homeless people would rest or sleep. Looking at her position, and the fact that one of her slippers was off and on the main road, it seemed she passed out or there was an accident. Foamy saliva was flowing out of her mouth and I wasn't even sure if she was breathing.

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Copy of budget proposal. Photo by Grace Bandoy

A visit to Baguio will show you that the City of Pines has lost its charm. And it's easy to see why. Mayor Mauricio Domogan has sold the city's soul to the highest bidder - one of them is Henry Sy of SM.

When concerned residents of Baguio were up in arms against SM's plan to cut/earth-ball more than a hundred pine trees to give way for the construction of a parking lot, Mayor Domogan was  their only chance to have the proposal blocked after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) indicated it was outside their mandate given that the concerned trees were on a private property.

But they were told not to hold their hopes high. The Mayor has been paid Sixty Million Pesos (PhP 60,000,000) to approve the project, they alleged.

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A search of Jack Enrile on Google produces some interesting suggestions.

I've only heard of Jack Enrile's role in the death of Alfie Anido and Ernest Lucas from news reports, and while these continue to be a "he said, she said" scenario, there is one story I've heard that I have no reason to doubt. While discussing the upcoming election with my dad, me mentioned there  is one candidate he would never vote for.

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I recently saw a story in Facebook that reminded me of various personal experiences while traveling, and it reminded me that indeed, racism is alive. And that's a sad thing, considering that it's the 21st century already, the age of internet and world travel. But the good thing is, the more people talk about this and the more people speak up and act when they witness it, like in the story below, we are a step closer to a just world.

Here's the story:

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