And You Call Yourself An SC Judge?

This made me barf. Well, almost.

In an article by Jay Ruiz, the journalist wrote the next chapter of the drama surrounding the SC Justice, Mariano del Castillo, or better known as "The Plagiarizing Judge". He mentioned Atty. Louie Oximer, lawyer of del Castillo, as saying that "plagiarism is not a high crime, is not bribery or treason and is not culpable violation of the Constitution. Therefore, it cannot be an impeachable offense."

Just to put this in context, del Castillo is involved in an impeachment complaint which alleges that he, in his capacity as the ponente, had plagiarized parts of the decision in the Vinuya case (For more details, visit this link).

As for my humble opinion, I don't care if plagiarizing is impeachable or not. It's simply wrong. And I believe, if you are a Supreme Court Justice, then you are supposed to uphold the highest standard of ethical judgment and moral character. The moment you fail to meet this standard, you are no longer fit to be part of the court. Enough said.

Contrast this to a similar case of plagiarism several years back. Manuel V. Pangilinan, after having been accused of plagiarism, immediately offered his resignation as chairman of the Board of Trustees of ADMU. It didn't matter that his staff were the ones who plagiarized the content of his speeches; he took everything as his own mistake. He took full responsibility for the debacle and pretty much showed the world what he was really made of.

For del Castillo, he has also shown the world who he really is and it is not pretty. Even after countless evidence of him copying verbatim from numerous sources without citing their authors, Del Castillo has refused to step down and resign as an SC justice.

To Atty. Oximer: The question never was if plagiarism is impeachable or not. The question was always if Del Castillo had failed and betrayed us, the Filipino people, through his repeated acts of wanton plagiarism. He has. He has to step down.

Pero baga siya ug nahung kay naa pa gyapun siya sa iyang trono.

Valentine's

Give flowers to each and every woman in the business center? Check.

Finally, I did it. With a bit of help from the other boys in the business center, obviously. 

What started it all was Aissa's accidental remark that she won't be getting anything on Valentine's (which turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy as I narrate later). This got me thinking if the other ladies in the business center also harbored the same sobering thoughts. So I resolved that this year, on Valentine's, everyone will be celebrating the day of love. The proposal? Give each lady (fifty four in all) a rose.

The ball started rolling when Henry mentioned about Ma'am Che's new business: flower arrangements. I got hold of her text message and was genuinely shocked at the price: Php 400.00 per rose. There was the issue of supply after all and roses definitely don't come cheap during Valentine's.

So I sought out to get a supplier who would offer me a better price. After trips to Victoria, I ended up talking to Nang Nene, a stall owner in Bankerohan (who, coincidentally, turned out to be Ma'am Che's supplier in the end). Her offer: Php 300.00 per dozen. I had my price and ordered five dozen.

Next, I sought out Ma'am Che's services again for the arrangement and she (probably because she's a former officer of the business center) settled for Php 25.00 per rose. 

I was set and ready to go. But I needed assurance that I would get financing for the proposal (Php 3,000.00 isn't a piece of cake) so I tried to win all the boys' approval for the initiative. It's a good thing they were willing to make the necessary amut and, after which, all I needed from them was their participation in the actual rose giving "ritual". 

I bought the flowers, designed and printed the Valentine's greeting cards, and paid Ma'am Che. The rest was history. Each boy gave a flower to each lady and, for a day, the business center smelled of flowers and smiles.

As for Aissa, she didn't receive a rose from us. She was on leave that day.

Another Rainy Night

Just walked barefoot in downtown Davao. Torrential rain made the streets appear like raging rivers. Was trying to hail a taxi to no avail. Finally packed my shoes and waded into ankle-deep waters.

There's always a first time for everything.