Tito Sotto's Side Of The Story

While, for the past few weeks, everyone was busy castigating a senator for alleged plagiarism, a columnist quietly set the record straight.

Here's an excerpt from Neal H. Cruz' column last November 20, 2012:

Media reporting on the plagiarism issue was incomplete and distorted, Senate Majority Leader Tito Sotto cried at the Kapihan sa Manila at the Diamond Hotel on Monday. 

“I am not accusing media of inaccuracy,” Sotto said, “but the sound bytes were incomplete and so gave a distorted view of the controversy.” 

“I am being accused of plagiarism, that I plagiarized a speech of former President John F. Kennedy and used his words as my own in my speech in the Senate against the RH (reproductive health) bill. I did not,” he said, adding: 

“Plagiarism is when you use somebody else’s work and claim it as your own. I did not claim the Kennedy quotes as my own. On the contrary, I said the quotes—by Kennedy and by others—are not mine. I was just using them to aid my arguments against the RH bill.” 

There is speculation that it’s the fault of Sotto’s ghostwriter. The speculation goes that the ghost, pressed for time as his deadline approached, was forced to use the Kennedy quotes—forgetting to use quotation marks—to finish the speech on time, and that Sotto himself did not know that at the time. But Sotto was man enough not to use the ghostwriter as a scapegoat and accept responsibility. 

But according to Sotto, what happened was that his staff researchers had accumulated so much quotes and information on birth control that when his speech was being crafted, they did not know who said what. 

“I made a general disclaimer,” he said in Filipino. “I said: ‘These are not my words but of others in the know on the subjects—birth control, contraceptives and abortion.’ Read my speech; the disclaimer is there. I never claimed the quotes as my own.” 

So the sin is that you forgot to use quotation marks and give proper credits? a reporter asked. 

Sotto replied: “As I said, the problem was that there was a welter of quotes that it was difficult to determine who said which quotes. So I made a general disclaimer: ‘I am not saying these. Others said them.’ I disclaimed authorship of the quotes in my speech.” 

Why don’t you furnish reporters copies of your speech? 

“I did, but the reporters disregarded the disclaimer,” the senator said. “You see, they got copies of my draft speech. But I made the disclaimer during my speech in the Senate.” 

So why don’t you give them copies of the Senate Journal where your exact words are recorded? 

“I also did that,” Sotto said. “But they paid no attention to it. They are doing it because of my opposition to the RH bill, and I know who are behind the black propaganda.”

I'm not a fan of the senator (and I have no intention of voting him if he runs again) but it was good to have his side of the story come out even from a single column. I've always had this lingering thought that perhaps something was amiss during the entire new blitzkrieg that happened several weeks back. Perhaps, some reporters from an otherwise impartial media have some explaining to do why his side wasn't reported as well.

Or maybe this is another PR stunt. In that case, only the Senate Journal can tell the truth.

Fraternities

Now that the first semester of my law school life is over, the question begs itself: what do I think about fraternities in law school?

If I were to ask myself now if I'll ever join one, the answer would be an emphatic no. There's simply no point in joining at all.

Of course, one would argue that joining a fraternity can do wonders in expanding one's connections, something that will prove to be vital once one is already a lawyer, but still the act of joining a fraternity is not a necessary part of surviving law school.

Studying is admittedly a solitary activity and so is passing law school and eventually the Bar. Fraternities have nothing to do with how well you study or how well you fail.

As for the argument for "connections", a classmate has this to say: If you're smart, people will eventually gravitate towards you (actually, he spoke this in Bisaya but it sounds better in English).

At this point, let me stress that I'm not against fraternities. Some people need it. Some people don't. And for some who willingly subject themselves to humiliation through initiation (like the suckers who visit the office to perform errands for Cathy, an office mate who's a sorority senior), maybe they sincerely believe it's all worth it to be part of the clique.

Ate's Wedding

I'm really proud of my Ate.

That statement succinctly sums up my reaction to her wedding.

For the information of the general public, Eula Marie E. Bataller got married last October 20, 2012 in a wedding ceremony held at Our Lady of Fatima parish. It wasn't a lavish wedding (I was a lector for several weddings and I can say that with confidence) but it was complete. All the people that really mattered were there: family, friends, and God. Just like what my Ate wanted when she confided to me several months back.

Now, allow me to qualify why I'm so proud of my Ate.

First, she never broke my parents' trust. She and her fiance ultimately adhered to the saying, "Kasal sa, bago buntis", and proved, in these cynical times, that true love can really wait.

This might seem quite a mundane achievement to some but, for me, inundated lately with a lot of news of friends, relatives, and acquantainces getting pregnant out of wedlock, her wedding was a breath of fresh air.

Second, she saved for this event. Admittedly, putting up the money to hold a wedding was a joint effort between her and Tyrone (my brother-in-law's name), but still, she saved money. My ate, who is not exactly known as a saver, did something quite contrary to her established nature.

Third, she managed the wedding with full grace and poise. No frantic last-minute arrangements, no hang-ups, no stressed moments. Just her great smile. You could blame the wedding planner for this though. But for someone with no professional event planning skills to boast about, she did pull it off.

And did I mention she was other-worldly beautiful that day? 

Six Degrees Of Separation

Just want to get my facts straight.

I think I mumbled this up during my conversations in the office but I wasn't sure if I got it right. Basically, I tried to explain that each of us can be related, by way of actual relation or information, to just about anyone in the world through several people (I mentioned eight but the actual number is six).

I also think the Wikipedia article can do the explaining better:

Six degrees of separation is the idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person in the world, so that a chain of "a friend of a friend" statements can be made, on average, to connect any two people in six steps. It was originally set out by Frigyes Karinthy and popularized by a play written by John Guare.

Cool, isn't it? Nowadays, some are already stipulating that all of us can now be connected by just four degrees.

Gymming

Gymming is a term I got from Kit Loma. And yes. I'm still going to the gym. Alone.

I'm writing  this post because of some habits I've observed among the gym rats. Actually, I'm annoyed with these mannerisms but since I'm not the only one paying for the use of the gym, I have to put up with these annoyances every time I go. I'm writing this down because you, reader, might be guilty of one of these and it is my hope that, now being aware, you'll stop from getting on my nerve.

1.) Dropping the dumbbells - There's this guy who, after finishing his sets, drops his dumbbells. He doesn't gently put these on the floor. He drops them from several inches up. It's annoying because it's not necessary, it's loud, and he's clearly doing it to show off.

2.) Grunting - There's also this guy who does a lot of guttural noises whenever he does push-ups. Every time he does it, I roll my eyes and wish he'll just shut up. There's no need to advertise your macho effort or your distress.

3.) Staying Too Long In An Equipment - I also understand that you need time to recover after a grueling set but if you stay for five minutes, just sitting there on the workout bench, I'm going to ask myself why you're wasting my time. Sit somewhere else. I need to use the pull-up bar.

4.) Staring At Me - I'm not flattered whenever you do that. I'll just think of you as a closet gay guy looking at me. Creepy. Stare at someone else please.