The tale of two brothers

"He may be a crook, but he's our crook!" I heard that first from the late irrepressible community journalist, Cielo T. Henares, who always had the right quip and the exact repartee for every occasion. When his colleagues tried to stop him from campaigning for a candidate for the National Press Club who was his close friend but was considered not so bright, he re-worded his stock reply to "He may be a fool, but he's our fool".

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The quote came to me instantly when I read in yesterday's papers that the Commission on Election is filing charges against former NAMFREL (National Movement for Free Election) executive director Guillermo Luz for misrepresenting himself as a Filipino, when he is actually a Canadian citizen, and therefore an alien. The Comelec en banc said Luz is being charged for violations of the Omnibus Election Code. And it is not only filing one, but several charges against Luz.

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Strange, isn't it? Shortly after the 2004 elections, the issue of Bill Luz's being a Canadian had already been raised before the Comelec but we did not hear about any action being taken on it. In fact, I recall having commented on the matter right in this column, but the case seemed to have fizzled out. I thought Luz had convinced them that, having been born in the Philippines, and taken by his parents to Canada at a very young age, he did not have much say on the matter of his citizenship, but had always considered himself a Filipino.

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Could the fact that he had lately joined the calls for the resignation of the President whose reelection, some people still believe NAMFREL (aside from Garcillano) had helped secure, have refreshed the memory of the Comelec on his case? Who reminded them? Had the motto before been "He may be an alien, but he's our alien"? But it looks as if it's not only Bill Luz who is in trouble, brother Mike, himself had recently been inched out of his post as Undersecretary of Education.

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Only the firm stand of Civil Service Commissioner Karina David saved him from actually being fired, dismissed, ousted, after a "Thank You" letter was sent to him by executive secretary Eduardo Ermita. Now we don't know where Mike is, but his status as a career official, being on the list of civil service eligibles, has kept him from being sacked. But I think Ermita et al are not inclined to put him back at DepEd. Anyway, I believe Mike Luz is no alien, he is a real civil servant. The case of these two brothers will be interesting to watch.

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I don't know about others, but it seems to me that the President should make sure her spokespersons go into rehearsals of their songs with a real maestro conducting. Somehow, the voices of spokesperson Ignacio Bunye, executive secretary Eduardo Ermita, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, and even Environment (?) Secretary Mike Defensor never seem to blend when they talk about what the President says, or what she means. This is what confuses the people so.

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What did I tell you? Yesterday's papers all reported that the President was releasing some P17.5 billion to the local government executives. All the mayors and governors who had been gathered in Manila for that, and other announcements (not loyalty checks, of course), clapped and hailed her, with nobody daring to say that the Supreme Court would deal with her if she didn't give it to them. As for the infamous pork barrel, once renamed "countryside development fund", prepare to be sponsor at its next baptism.

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Well! Congratulations to Bacolod's MassKara dancers who, once again, proved their mettle by winning over all the foreign entries in the Osaka, Japan festival! It was another triumph for the group, and we hope we will have similar performances in this month's dance parades. By the way, my spies have reported that the barangays and other entries have really gone all out in their choreography and costumes this time. The anticipatory seminars in choreography, plus the prospect of traveling abroad to show their wares, have certainly inspired the barangay officials, their dancers, and choreographers as well. I hear the dances are really out-of-this world, well-rehearsed and beautiful. The judges will get headaches trying to pick the best of all.*

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