A sense of déjà vu

The head of the Department of Interior and Local Government says the suspensions and dismissals ordered by the Office of the Ombudsman are "valid". From the reactions all over the country, however, nobody is really questioning their validity, it is more the timing of the issuance of the orders that seems to be questionable. Why were they released just on the very eve of the election period?

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Most of those cases had been pending in the Office of the Ombudsman for months, maybe even years. Perhaps some of those accused even thought they would be dismissed since they didn't seem important or urgent enough to be taken up. And then, POW! Just before they could file their certificates of candidacy for their reelection bids, they got hit with suspension - and for 90 days, or about three months - just suspiciously enough to cripple their campaigns.

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In another development, not related to the dismissals and suspensions, former senator and vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda must be heaving great sighs of relief that she had parted from former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste long before he got involved in that shooting incident Friday. Leviste is now facing homicide charges, that could still be upgraded to murder, for killing his old associate and personal friend, right in his Makati office. Just imagine how the scandal would have affected Loren's political future if she were still married to him.

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I don't know, though, if the two have divorced, or if their marriage had been annulled. Is it true, however, that Leviste had to convert to Islam so that he could marry Loren? As a Muslim, he is supposed to be entitled to four wives, so long as he could afford to support them. As for Loren, she can now look on the events from a distance, and say casually that "Nobody is above the law". She has not been known to have rushed to her former spouse's side at the hospital where he is detaining himself. Does he have a resthouse in Batangas, by the way?

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A Manila Standard headline said: "GMA, Chinese premier promise closer relations." The editor probably did not notice how that line could be misinterpreted. Of course the presidential spouse will not react to that, knowing it is not on a personal level. As stated in the accompanying story, she was only "hailing the expanding economic and technical cooperation" between the two countries and said that such relationship was "at an all-time high" and that this is the "golden age of partnership".

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Will nothing but a general do? Only a few days ago, a former military general, Virtus Gil, was appointed deputy National Security Administrator. Then the other day, another former general and police chief, Hermogenes Ebdane, was named head of the Department of National Defense. And who is he succeeding? No less than the president herself, who had taken over the cabinet post herself after the dramatic resignation of lawyer Avelino Cruz. Cruz had at first been perceived to be a teacher's pet of the administration, but he apparently did not toe the line. Maybe generals do that better.

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Speaking of appointments, another high-profile one was that of former Chief Justice Hilario Davide, as the country's representative to the United Nations. Career man Lauro Baja, who had been minding the store for some time, has been edged out. But one interesting aspect of the swearing in of Davide is that it recalled to people's minds another picture taken six years ago when, after proclaiming her the president after President Estrada was ousted, Davide had also sworn in Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Now it's her turn to swear him in. Doesn't it give you a sense of déjà vu?*

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