MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – It is often said that misery needs company and that corrupt officials want to flock together. Such seems to be the case with one Filipino senator who continues to legislate as a member of the Senate despite being in jail.
Senator Jinggoy Estrada is in prison for charges of plunder and 11 counts of graft in connection with the alleged misuse of his Priority Development Assistance Fund, more popularly known as pork barrel.
Estrada has called on the Senate Blue Ribbon committee to conduct an inquiry into the alleged anomalous activities at the Bureau of Customs (BOC), particularly efforts to raise P3 billion in campaign funds for the administration party for the elections next year.
He filed Senate Resolution 1306, calling for the probe, after the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) alleged that the BOC was being forced to raise the amount for the Liberal Party’s campaign in 2016.
Resigned Customs chief John Philip Sevilla, however, had denied the allegation.
“There is a need to immediately investigate and address this matter to prevent the public money to be used for a particular person’s or group’s political agenda,” the resolution read.
Estrada’s critics immediately reacted to the proposed legislation by asking, “What about the public money you pocketed, Mr. Senator?”
The senator, who is the son of former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, mainstains that his proposal shows his continuing commitment to public service and his oath of office as an elected official. (Joseph Estrada was, himself, convicted and imprisoned for corruption during his term as president, but was later pardoned by his successor President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.)
Mayweather, left, and Pacquiao (Photo: Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (The Adobo Chronicles) – Alawsuit was filed against Manny Pacquiao in the US District Court in Las Vegas on Tuesday morning for the Filipino boxer’s failure to disclose his shoulder injury before his fight with Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas on May 2.
The potential class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of Staphane Vanel and Kami Rahbaran, both of Clark County, who are seeking as much as $5 million in damages.
The plaintiffs said they relied on misrepresentations and non-disclosures when they bought their tickets or pay per view showings and wagered on the Mayweather-Pacquiao “fight of the century.”
Also named in the lawsuit are Bob Arum of Top Rank Inc.; Michael Koncz, Pacquiao’s adviser; Todd Duboef; and other unknown defendants.
Upon learning about the lawsuit, Mayweather reached out to Pacquiao in a gesture of the proverbial olive branch. Mayweather said that he will gladly pay the $5 Million in damages sought in the lawsuit if Pacquiao is convicted. “After all, that’s just a chunk of change for me,” the American boxer told reporters.
Observers are now saying that all those ‘hugs’ by Mayweather during the May 2nd fight were done out of love for Pacquiao, like some sort of a bromance.
We get it. Religion plays a significant role in the daily lives of most Filipinos. Many of our values and beliefs are rooted in the Catholic faith, where we turn to prayer in the hope of finding a solution to our most difficult problems or situations. We pray for ‘miracles.’ (Technically, in the Roman Catholic faith, only The Vatican — through the Miracle Commission –can certify and declare any claim of a ‘miracle’ to be an actual miracle).
When news of the impending execution of Filipina Mary Jane Veloso reached the Philippines, many resorted to prayer, prayer rallies and vigils – hoping that through a miracle of sorts, the life of the convicted drug smuggler would be spared by the Indonesian government.
At the eleventh hour, while eight other drug convicts faced the firing squad, a flurry of calls and communication among Indonesian officials – all the way up to President Joko Widodo, spared Veloso from execution.
Till that moment, the Filipinos were hoping against hope. Shortly before the scheduled execution, it was reported that Widodo, despite a personal plea from Philippine President Noynoy Aquino, would not stop to end the life of the Filipina.
Veloso’s family made their final visit. Mary Jane, along with the other convicts, were transported to the execution site. Even the most devout of Filipinos went to bed expecting to wake up the next morning to the news of Mary Jane’s death. The Philippine media all but printed their morning headlines in anticipation of the execution by dawn. “Death came before dawn,” proclaimed the front page headline of a major daily, the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
As expected, news that Mary Jane was spared from execution spread like wildfire in the Philippines, as it did across the globe. The hashtag, #MaryJaneLives, dominated posts and tweets on social media.
Everyone was proclaiming a “miracle,” giving credit to the prayers and vigils (and maybe even some novenas) that led to the Indonesian government’s change of heart.
The news was sketchy at first. But little by little, the facts became available.
Now we know that by the admission of a ranking Indonesian official, a last-minute plea by President Aquino, who reportedly broke protocol to speak directly to the Indonesian foreign minister, set things in motion.
Moments before Aquino’s final plea, something happened in the province of Nueva Ecija in the Philippines. The alleged recruiter of Veloso surrendered to authorities, perhaps not necessarily to help stop the execution, but because she – Maria Kristina Sergio – sought police assistance for the reasons that she had been receiving death threats.
The National Bureau of Investigation had earlier filed illegal recruitment, human trafficking, and estafa charges against Sergio and two others in connection with Veloso’s case. During her investigation and Indonesian trial, Veloso argued that Sergio duped her into unknowingly smuggling 2.6 kilograms of heroin into Indonesia.
It is assumed that this surrender was brought up by Aquino in his last appeal to spare Veloso’s life.
So, was there a miracle?
Perhaps, an angel appeared in Sergio’s dream and asked her to surrender to police? Perhaps, Aquino’s Christian God talked to Widodo’s Allah, prompting a last-minute change of heart on the part of the Indonesian president?
We didn’t think so.
Let’s stop calling this a miracle. Let The Vatican make that determination.
It is not often that we say positive things about Aquino, but in all fairness, he gets major credit for this one. But it is also a credit to the persistent communication mechanism employed by Philippine officials – in Manila as well as Jakarta – and the police authorities in Nueva Ecija. A few hours of communication delay wouldn’t have saved Veloso’s life.
Indonesian migrant workers whose lives and situations in foreign countries are very parallel to that of Veloso and other Filipino overseas workers, also seemed to have swayed the Indonesian government, after they joined the chorus calling for re-consideration in the case of Mary Jane.
We are not criticizing those who believe in miracles. We are merely stating that we should give credit where credit is due.
By the way, the story doesn’t end here. It is just the beginning of another phase in the case of Mary Jane.
The Adobo Chronicles 
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