Guinea pigs of EO 464

Movie star Philip Salvador has been found guilty of estafa by the court and sentenced to four to five years imprisonment. Salvador was convicted of the crime because of charges filed by his former girl-friend. I think Christine Decena was his partner before shacking up with Kris Aquino. As the saying goes, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, or, maybe just spurned. Ms. Decena was able to prove, however, that Salvador had gypped her of some P100 million, and that must have added injury to insult.

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What now for the once very popular and in-demand actor? Seems his luck ran out when Kris junked him, just like that. As I recall it, there was no dramatic separation, no TV exposés, no threats of court suits then, unlike in the sensational parting from Joey Marquez. Now Kris has been made an honest woman by basketball player James Yap, and she probably no longer spares a thought on both Philip and Joey. I wonder, though, what former President Cory has to say about the fact that her grandson's father is an "estapador".

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Philip may have been awarded as an actor, but none of those skills showed yesterday after the sentence was read to him. His protestations of innocence did not look very convincing, if anything, he just looked as if he couldn't believe this could happen to him. Well, his lawyer reportedly said that they will appeal the decision, so it means he will not go to prison yet. I wonder how this will affect his box office appeal, though.

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Meanwhile, what's the agenda of the new American ambassador? Is she aiming to be declared persona non grata by the Palace? First, she reportedly displeased the powers-that-be by calling on Senate President Frank Drilon, and looking very chummy with him, too. Then she comes out talking about how the Philippines is lagging behind other Asian economies. Not that we needed her to tell us that, but some sectors might think that she sounds very undiplomatic and that won't do in this very sensitive country.

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One can only imagine the relief being felt by the two guinea pigs of Executive Order 464. Gen. Francisco Gudani and Col. Alex Balutan were the first to test the seriousness of the EO when they proceeded to the Senate and started talking about the Mindanao election, despite the fact that EO 464 had been issued already. For that, the two were facing a court martial and, worse for Gudani, he ran the risk of forfeiting his retirement benefits, too. With the Supreme Court decision tagging the order as unconstitutional, will the two be released from the charges? And will Gudani be able to claim his retirement benefits already?

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A newspaper headline yesterday said "Palace to abide by SC decision". So what did its legal counsel mean when he said that they are seeking a reconsideration of the decision? Does the right hand know what the left hand is doing? I won't be surprised if the same official is also now looking for loopholes and thinking up ways of stopping those summoned by Congress to testify from complying. There are so many ways of skinning a cat, you know.

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But there is some welcome news for the media with the filing of House Bill No.4835. The bill aims to expand the exemptions granted journalists by Republic Act 53, also known as the Sotto Law. This is the law that protects journalists and gives them the right not to reveal their sources of information. The old law only applies to print journalists, so the bill being introduced wants to include those from the wire services and even those on the internet. Will this save Time magazine writer Nelly Sindayen, the one who wrote that she witnessed a coup-plotting?

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A recent report said that it has been confirmed that women, especially in this generation, live longer than men. Why? The report said some of the reasons are that more women do not smoke, are better at guarding their health, do not engaged in risky behavior like driving too fast, do not drink too much, and do not get into fights at the slightest excuses. Furthermore, medical advances have made even the riskiest venture, childbirth, much safer for women now. Hear that, boys?*

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