"Memory is what makes our lives. Life without memory is no life at all. Our memory is our coherence, our reason, our feeling, even our action. Without it we are nothing."
"As time goes by, we don't give a second thought to all the memories unconsciously accumulate until suddenly one day we can't think of the name of a good friend or relation -- it's simply gone, we've forgotten it. In vain we search furiously to think of a commonplace work -- it's on the tip of our tongues but refuses to go further. Once this happens, this and other lapses, only then do we understand the importance of memory. Our imagination and our dreams are forever intruding our memory. And since we're all out to believe in the reality of our fantasies, we end up transforming our lies into truths."
Luis Buñuel (My Last Breath)
THE SENATE’S TIPPING POINT
Johnny Enrile’s call to conscience to his colleagues in the disposition of a committee report recommending censure on Manny Villar on the latter’s accounting treatment of the C-5 funding is a tipping point on the Senate’s perception on who shall be our next President.
When the committee report was first rotated, it got the go signal from a mix majority exonerating Villar from any wrong doing. It was a call for celebration from the allies of the former Senate President saying it was a vindication of sorts to their patron.
In an unexpected twist though, some signatories withdrew their signatures from the report. Jinggoy Estrada’s way out was that the report, now labelled as the minority one, was prematurely released. Kiko Pangilinan on the other hand justified his signature withdrawal claiming his vote was along party lines. The 84-page committee report No. 780 concludes that Villar has committed “unethical conduct as a senator of the Republic and has, by committing such violations, damaged the integrity of the Senate as an institution.”
TIP OF THE BONDOC (PENINSULA)
Just reeling off from the aftermath of two destructive typhoons before the year ended, we were into a pleasant surprise to find out that our good congressman from the 3rd district of Quezon, also known as the Bondoc Peninsula, foot the Big Apple’s Le Cirque bill of the President and company. It amounted to less than a million pesos and some in the know like Senator Dick Gordon dismissed the treat as “normal”.
But the ensuing brouhaha was too good for comfort and the embedded press came up with some lame explanation for having out-scooped that, except that lavish dinner, they either beat it somewhere with friends and relatives or simply vanished back to RP. It was the New York Post that spilled the rare steaks of Le Cirque.
Still, the confession by our good congressman was too close for comfort. Many asked questions about his source of financial wherewithal. Many Googled his financial files and found eerie entries that would make the best financial gurus blue in the face.
IT COULD BE NOYNOY BY A MILE
How do we elect Presidents?
We have so far elected a number of presidents from 1935 to 2004. What then is an outstanding trait of a candidate that makes us gravitate to him and topping this off by installing him as our leader?
There seems to be a common thread among the elected presidents we had in the past. While it may all be lumped in the too generalized gravitas, it seems for the most part we choose our president on the single criterion of “exciting personality or character.” That said, a person has “exciting personality or character” when his personal life intrudes in the selection process.
IT’S THE DYNASTIES, STUPID!
The consequent condemnations of the 57 deaths were furious and unforgiving. Even the government’s reaction was swift in its objective of corralling all at once the perpetrators to satisfy public outcry.
There has to be some catharsis in the massacre most foul. By declaring state of emergency over Maguindanao that ripened into full-blown martial rule in a matter of days from November 23 when the mass killing was committed, the government projected resolve in approaching the manmade tragedy. Never in recent history have we witnessed such brutal butchery of political foes at one fell swoop.
MACDUFF: [on hearing that his family and servants have all been killed]
All my pretty ones?
Did you say all? O hell-kite! All?
What, all my pretty chickens and their dam
At one fell swoop? (Macbeth, 1605)
