Speaker's Strange Defense of Mikey

When the Speaker of House of Representatives shrugged off the failure of Pampanga Representative Mikey Arroyo to declare in his 2007 and 2008 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) a US$ 1.32-million house in the United States, he clearly showed that his loyalties are not with the Filipino people, but to the lawmaker he owed his Speakership position.

This is another classic example of home-grown 'utang-na-loob' behavior that has plagued the country's political landscape for several decades already. These politicians told voters before election that they are out to stop crime and corruption without fear or favor and yet, more than 20 years after Ferdinand Marcos was toppled from power, the same thing is happening again and nobody in Congress had the temerity to stand against it.

Roots of Arroyo-Lopez Feud

If everyone in the Philippines can't help but feel that there must be something wrong in the way the Lopez family and the Macapagals and Arroyos deal with each other and in different sections of the economy, a 1994 study by University of Wisconsin historian Alfred McCoy seems to offer a valid explanation.

According to McCoy, the bad feelings between the Macapagals and Lopezes started more than four decades ago, when Diosdado Macapagal, President Arroyo’s father, was elected president of the Philippines in 1961. Back then, Eugenio Lopez and his younger brother Fernando not only financed his rival’s campaign but they were maneuvering for control of Congress to position Fernando for a presidential run in 1965. Hence, President Macapagal tried to employ the full powers of the state to bring the Lopez empire down.

Rich Boys, Deadly Boys

Whether it is a hate crime or a fraternity war, nobody can really ascertain. However, one thing is clear Don Albert Philippe Cueto Pangcog (pictured above) was beaten to a pulp with lead pipes until he lost consciousness. Fortunately for him, he was not killed even after he was able to claw the bonnets off his attackers face and memorize their identities.

The Ateneo law student later identified his alleged attackers as fellow law students Mark Bryan Magno, his brother Mark Lester, both residents of Filinvest-1, Quezon City and Joya Condominium, Rockwell Center; Carlos Lim, from Pilar Village, Las Piñas City and Palmeras Building, Palma St., Bgy. Poblacion, Makati City; and Randy Garcia Echaus, of 45 Valle Verde Mansion, Pasig City.

May Vecina Should Serve Her Time

Two years after escaping death in Kuwait, the Philippine government has arranged for the return of May Vecina to the country. Vecina, the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) whose death sentence was waived after a full pardon by Kuwait’s ruler, will undoubtedly appear in several shows professing her eternal gratitude to the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The 30-year-old OFW received a pardon from Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah after she was found guilty of killing her employer’s seven-year old son Salem Sulaiman al-Otaib on 6 January 2007. The mother of two from North Cotabato province, was also accused of attempting to kill the victim’s 13-year-old brother Abdulla by slitting the boy’s throat, and his 17-year-old sister Hajer by stabbing her.

Barrage of Scams After MJ's Death

It was reported by The Associated Press (AP), that minutes after any big celebrity dies, Internet swindlers get to work. They pump out specially created spam e-mails and throw up malicious Web sites to infect victims' computers, hoping to capitalize on the sudden high demand for information.

Michael Jackson's death was no different, and security experts say the fraud artists are just getting started.