It's ‘lumang tugtugin' already

Hallelujah! The Supreme Court has ruled against the ban set by the National Telecommunications Commission on the playing of the “Hello Garci” tapes that had been so hot about three years ago. But alas, who wants to listen to it now? It is already a “lumang tugtugin (an old melody)”, there are more exciting songs to sing nowadays, like the ones in the repertoire of Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada. His ballads are the ones that are rousing his countrymen these days. How long they will stay on the top of the charts, we don't know. Those who don't like him are singing their own songs, too.

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Meanwhile, the person who is supposed to be disturbed by all this singing seems to have her own songhits to warble. While her people are agonizing over the fall-out from the NBN-ZTE affair, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo even has time to entertain, and sing duets with internationally-known music artists, the likes of Richard Carpenter, who paid a call at Malacañang on Valentine's Day. Carpenter, who with his late sister Karen, has been a five-time Grammy awardee, played the piano and rendered songs with the woman who had invited him over, Claire de la Fuente. The story goes that Richard Carpenter had never found any singer who could approximate his sister's voice, until he heard Claire. He came to the Philippines for the launching of her album.

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Reports said that the President could not resist joining the two artists when they sang the oldie “I have you”, so she went up to them and contributed her own voice. So far, I have not read or hear any comment about the quality of her singing voice, but I sure got the message of her song. Malacañang people reportedly said that she was dedicating it to her husband, first gentleman Mike Arroyo, who wasn't there. The malicious ones said it could have been aimed at Romy Neri, or even the whistler, Jun Lozada.

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As for Lozada, he is complaining that he continues to get death threats even now. He should make friends with Senator Miriam Santiago, who used to brag when she was in the Bureau of Immigration that she ate death threats for breakfast. She could give him a few pointers on what the meal should include, and whether death threats go with bread and butter or with ham and eggs. But the one who is reported to be facing real threats, according to the police and her own security people, is President Arroyo herself, who had to cancel a trip to Baguio yeaterday. The cops said their “intelligence” sources even have the outline of the plot of the Abu Sayyaf or the Al Qaida. How careless naman are those plotters. Maybe the police has embedded men in their ranks.

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But perhaps Jun Lozada should relax already. Yesterday, Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz revealed in a TV interview that he knows of another whistleblower who is coming out soon, who may even outshine Lozada. But he was quite coy about naming his man – or woman – saying he or she will just surface at the proper time. Oh my. This means an additional chapter to the telenovela. I hope, though that this witness will not be ignored like so many others before, who set off fireworks that faded and were soon gone. In the meantime, Abangan.

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So Neri is not only the head of the country's Commission on Higher Education, he is also a member of the University of the Philippines Board of Regents. Naturally, the other members are now agitating for his resignation. To them, maybe, it is necessary that a regent of the country's top government university should be above suspicion. It is true that he had reported to his boss when the offer of P200 million was made, and had admitted it to the Senate, under oath at that, but the fact that he will no longer talk tells more than what he had admitted. And just imagine how much income the guy must be getting – he is head of CHED, he is regent of U.P., he must also have directorships in other entities. The salaries and allowances alone must be staggering. No wonder he only keeps saying “The truth is deeper than what you think”. Deeper than the ocean, you mean?*

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