Tubbataha Reef is Among the Best

If you are wondering if there is anything worth enjoying in the country, well, here's one reason why it really is more fun in the Philippines.

Palawan's Tubbataha reef has just been named the world's eight best dive site by CNN's travel news website CNNGo.com.

More Questions on CJ's Defense

After watching the prosecution team mishandled their evidence in the impeachment trial of the Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, I thought that the defense panel would do better. Sadly, they did not. In fact they made it worse and added more confusion in the afternoon telenovela by introducing witnesses that only muddled the issue and put more questions on the proceedings.

During the two-week period, the defense has not given any clear counter-evidence or home-run testimony that could alter the course of the impeachment proceedings. For instance, they presented Demetrio Vicente, a relative of Corona who allegedly bought the Coronas’ property in Marikina. The strategy was to establish that the reason why Corona didn’t include the property in his Statement of Assets and Liabilities Networth (SALN) is because the property had been acquired by Vicente more than 20 years ago to Vicente.

Appointment System at the Aussie Embassy

For those who are planning to visit Australia, please be reminded that the Australian Embassy in Manila has already adopted an appointment system starting last year (1 July 2011) for passport and consular services.

The announcement was posted for several months now on their website, but it appears that there are still many who got confused about the new system. The Australian Embassy said the system will cover notarial acts and lodgement of passport applications.

Juvenile Killers Not Worth the Protection of the Law

"All little boys are nice until they get older." - Robert Thompson

Two boys admitted to raping and sodomizing 7-year old Clarissa Pizzara at an open field in Barangay San Dionisio on 20 February 2012, then drowning her in a creek when she kept crying.

Court Rallies vs Public Service

With the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona reaching the one month period, many rallies were conducted by court employees to support the embattled Justice. Many of the Supreme Court employees choose to attend the rallies in lieu of reporting to work. The public is open left wondering whether they are getting what they paid for in terms of taxes.

The issue gets particularly sensitive if the purpose of the rally is to influence the decision of the impeachment court and condition the mind of the public. This is because absences to attend a political rally may tarnish the view that the judiciary is an independent force tasked to deal with cases regardless of whether they involved one of their own.