Photo-finish for JdV

It was already past 3 p.m. yesterday when I got a text message saying that Jose de Venecia will still be the speaker when the 14 th Congress opens at 4 p.m., also the time when the President was supposed to deliver her State of the Nation Address. Whew! What a photo-finishing act that was. Only a few minutes before there seemed to be a very insurmountable obstruction to his bid. Then it was all over.

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And so the President, resplendent in a red terno, with butterfly sleeves and twinkling beads on her chest, walked up to the rostrum to deliver the speech of the year. And there was JdV, snugly ensconced in his usual chair behind her, looking as if he never had any trouble getting there at all. And as if there had been no bitter diatribes behind him, with the camp of his rival, Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia, denouncing what they called a railroading of the election, with somebody closing the nominations before they could put in a word, and declaring De Venecia the winner. Rep. Luis Villafuerte, was heard protesting angrily that the election was “a sham”! Aren’t they all?

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I was not able to watch the SONA, but caught the melodrama at the House after the declaration of De Venecia as winner. Very obviously trying to placate his opponents, he poured on thickly praises for his “Manong Pabling,” calling him “outstanding,” “brilliant” and “a worthy opponent”. Then he moved on to also call Villafuerte “outstanding” and a very good friend. Without batting an eyelash, he also thanked everybody for their “confidence in my leadership.” I wasn’t able to hear if anybody said “Boo”, but I remembered immediately what political analyst Benito Lim said on TV a few weeks ago, “JdV is fond of speaking what you want to hear, but nothing happens.”

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I noted with interest a news item saying that the new renegade senator, Antonio Trillanes, was neither allowed, nor invited to the SONA. Well, maybe he didn’t need to be invited as that was supposed to be a session of both Senate and House, only his jailors did not allow him to leave. Anyway, he didn’t miss much, and he could have listened to the speech and watched the gathering on TV. Me, I just watched the footages on the entrances and exits and the outfits of everybody.

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I peered and peered when I saw presidential spouse Mike Arroyo in the audience because I wanted to see if the children and grandchildren were also there. Two years ago, when I attended the SONA, the entire family was present, including the grandchildren and their yayas. Ah, but now the two sons are already congressmen themselves, and had to join their colleagues, so their wives and kids probably weren’t focused on by the cameras like before.

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Meanwhile, life goes on everywhere else in the world, and in France, a woman has been charged in court for getting so enamoured of a painting by a noted artist that she pressed close to it and kissed it. Alas, she left lipstick marks on the priceless exhibit, said to be worth two million euro, and art connoisseurs were appalled. Now the art lover has been charged in court for “damage to a work of art.” At least it was not for unwelcome advances.

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The American Embassy has repeated its warnings against a new visa scam where people are sent text or e-mail messages saying they have won in a lottery where the prize is a U.S. visa. I hope they will keep on issuing this warning so it will reach as many people as possible. Sometimes there are some who do not take seriously, or ignore such warnings, as proven by the number of victims of “budol-budol” who fall for the trick despite the publication of so many stories about it. Since the documents offered by the visa swindlers are said to be very authentic-looking, shouldn’t the embassy staff look more closely among their own people, or those who have links to them?

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Another report involving Americans said two U.S. congressmen have written President Arroyo saying they are relaying the sentiments of Filipino-Americans on the senatorial election, especially its determination through the Maguindanao votes. The two are said to be both Democrats, Donald Payne from New Jersey, and Robert Wexter from Florida. They said they don’t expect an answer, but I think what they should get is, “Mind your own business”.*

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