JOIN CRUSADE TO CHANGE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN RP

WE seek to establish a jus- easily be intimidated or
tice system whereby it is
the people themselves
who exercise the power to
say who must be arrested
and brought to trial and
who exercise the power to
judge if those brought to
trial are guilty or not.
The power to say who
should be tried in court is
now exercised by the
prosecutors in the Philip-
pines. So that if the one
being accused of rape,
murder or corruption is
influential, which is most
likely, the prosecutors can
to speak up or he will be
bought. BUT if we put this jailed until they agree to
power in the hands of a speak up by the power of
Grand Jury, usually com- contempt; law enforcers
posing 23 persons selected will be compelled to gather
by raffle from a voters’ list evidence or they will be
and whose names and held in jail in contempt un-
faces are kept secret, we are til they agree to work as
foreclosing any opportu- detectives.
nity for the influential crime Now, the power to say
doer to use his power, whether an accused is guilty
money and influence. The or not is exercised by one
role of the fiscal shall be lim- judge in the Philippines;
ited to the presentation of may be of a regional trial
evidence in court. The court or a municipal trial
Grand Jury is vested with court. As we know or hear,
the power to compel intimi- the powerful and rich ac-
dated or bought witnesses cused can easily influence
or buy decisions. BUT if we
place this power in the
hands of a Trial Jury, a group
of 12 ordinary persons cho-
sen at random from the vot-
ers’ list and whose faces and
names are kept secret, we
are also foreclosing any op-
portunity for the decision to
be bought or influenced.
Here, ordinary persons are
tasked only to know what is
true and what is false; the
application of laws shall be
the duty of the judge who is
learned in law.
The fact that we are fore-
closing opportunities for
tampering with justice, we
are sure that the abusive
and corrupt shall learn to toe
the line and observe the rule
of law.
The vision here is we
see everybody to be
“PATAS SA BATAS.”
With jury, all laws can
now be implemented. If we
have laws against discrimi-
nation by one tribe against
another, or by Christians
against Muslims, or by the
rich against the poor, we can
say that rebellions (by NPA
and MILF) will die because
the root that is discrimina-
tion is being attacked by
the Jury Systems.
With all corruption
laws assured of implemen-
tation, the usually corrupt
officials will be compelled
to stop stealing people’s
money. The swindlers will
stop because they know
the long arm of the law will
surely reach them.
Businessmen will deal
fairly with the consumers
because the assurance of
implementation of the laws
keeps them at bay.
Sign up at http://
philjury.ning.com.

Jury gave justice to 2-year-old punished

to death by mom and step-dad over
inability to say ‘please’ and ‘yes, sir’
By TOTO CAUSING
RILEY Ann Sawyers, a two-
year-old girl, was spanked
with a leather belt and her
head held under water and
her face was covered by a
pillow. She pleaded “I love
you” to her mother in obvi-
The step-dad (left), who caused the death of the 2-year- ous plea to stop the pun-
VOL. I NO. 22 NOVEMBER 9 - 15, 2009 ishment.
old Riley (right), before his conviction by the jury.
Her mother and step-fa-
ther continued the beating

L-BANK P4-B
on the reasoning that she
must be punished for inabil-
ity to say “please” and
“yes, sir” to her step-dad.
She never stopped crying
out “I love you” to her
To page 2

By REPORTORIAL TEAM

ASSET IS
ARE real and other properties rot-
ting in the hands of the Land Bank
of the Philippines?
This question cropped up after
Dyaryo Magdalo learned from the
audit findings of the Commis-
sion on Audit for 2007, showing
that the state bank has failed to
sell or dispose of its real Noynoy gave

DEAD
Page 6
and other properties
worth a total of P4.003
billion.
‘best answer’
Under banking laws,
banks are allowed to
on what to do
hold real properties they
acquired from foreclo-
with GMA Sheena
sures and loans for a Page 3
Halili
maximum of five years only. the Landbank of the lands awarded
This is so because it is not le- them, it follows that if ever this Privileged Spits: By TOTO CAUSING
gally engaged in a real estate busi- bank acquired assets it should be

ness.
Moreover, it is basic for every
bank to be liquid such that it is
ideal that it is holding cash instead
of property. Of course, it would
trigger a bank run if depositors
found themselves to be unable to
withdraw cash from the bank.
In the case of the Landbank, it
has advertised to sell the real prop-
erties they acquired but it seems
nobody has showed up to buy them.
Most of these real properties
were said to be high-end real es-
tate structures, including towers,
condominiums, subdivision houses,
parking spaces and others.
This is ironical, considering that
the Landbank has been vested by
the agrarian law as having the duty
to pay farm-land owners of their
lands given to farmer beneficiaries.
And if ever the farmer benefi-
ciaries defaulted in payments to
DANGEROUS SCENARIO
more on farm lands and not high-
priced condominiums and subdivi-
sions and subdivision houses.
However, the fact remained that
what it has acquired are luxurious
real estate lands and buildings.
Why this happened?
FOR 2010 POLLS
WHAT? Gloria for Vice petite woman in the Palace. First, if Gloria wins,
The Commission on Audit (COA) President? By the way, Suarez was the which is always a possi-
warned the Landbank officials that This is a dangerous one who paid for her bility no matter how re-
this is in violation of Section 52 of proposition! P750,000 dinner at Bobby mote considering that it
Republic Act 8791, which is also Although Senator Mar Van’s Steak House during may be had by cheating,
Roxas is seeing a fleeting her US trip; Rep. Martin she may be in for a pos-
known as “The General Banking win if he were to run for Romualdez paid the P1-mil- sible scenario of skirting
Act of 2000.” vice-president with Gloria lion dinner at Le Cirque when around the prohibition put
These real properties are Macapagal Arroyo as one they visited New York. up by the Constitution
termed as ROPA, which means of the opponents, the sug- The oppositionist presi- that no president can serve
real and other properties acquired. gestion of Quezon Rep. dential contenders should two terms with a period of
In the 2007 audit report, the Danilo Suarez that she not dismiss this as a mere not more than ten years.
COA said that the violation of the runs for the second high- propaganda or a sideshow. Why ten years?
est position is an indica- For if there is any materi- The Constitution al-
state-owned bank for the ROPA tion of a grim plot being
ality in it, it is that this indi- lows a vice-president who
was committed for three years al- hatched. cates how hell bent, how has served as president
ready. And when it is one of desperate, or how deter- for four years or less to run
“The inability of the bank to dis- her lieutenants who deliv- mined this little woman is in for president for the suc-
pose of the acquired assets within ers the message it must drawing once more from her ceeding term. So we got:
have the blessing of the “staying power.” To page 5
To page 2
 2 NOVEMBER 9 - 15, 2009

Widow appeals to
killer for justice By MARIO ALCALA
A WIDOW is now appealing for justice to already dead.
the driver of a bus or a truck who may have “Nasagasaan at naging biktima raw ng
killed her husband. hit and run ang aking mister,” the grieving
Cecille Sanchez is asking the killer to fol- wife recounted.
low his conscience and surrender to the She said, she learned later that the acci-
law to give justice to her husband who was dent occurred near the foot of San Pedro,
smashed dead in a hit-and-run incident. Laguna north-bound bridge, near the
This she does after she was frustrated town’s public market.
by the reluctance of the law enforcers to When the accident happened, she
conduct investigation to determine the cul- learned that her husband died on the spot.
prit. She said his head and ribs were broken,
Actually, the widow has resigned to fate causing his instant death.
The casket where Riley’s decomposed body and skeleton were laid after her parents and is now surrendering to God what jus- “Ang masakit po sa aming kalooban,
stuffed her inside a storage tub dumped into Galveston Bay. tice He would give to them. walang matibay na saksi kung anong
Her husband Michael was killed last Oc- sasakyan ang nakasagasa sa aking mister.
Jury gave justice to 2-year-old punished ... tober 8. May nagsasabing isang pampasaherong
In that fateful evening, Michael was driv- bus. Pero wala namang makapagsabi kung
From page 1 a storage tub that washed ist area, the girl could have ing a scooter in San Pedro, Laguna when ano ang pangalan ng bus at kung ano ang
up on the shores of been from outside Texas. he was hit by a speeding bus or truck. plate number,” the widow, a mother of two
mother in her hope the beat- Galveston Bay. The next thing the detec- The killer vehicle ran away after hitting children explained.
ing would stop. tives did was they con- Michael dead. In their own effort to search for justice
But the disciplinary ses- Excellent detective work ducted a DNA test. His grieving wife and his parents are still wherever it is, she and their family sought
sion went out of bounds. not seen in Philippines The detective working clueless as to where they should look for the help of the National Bureau of Investi-
The girl was then thrown on the case then found the justice they have been crying for. gation in Manila to ask its help in conduct-
across the room, hitting her Before the conviction of records of reports about a Michael was buried at a lawn lot inside ing investigation into the case to determine
head on a tile floor, causing the culprits, it was totally missing girl filed by the Forest Lake Memorial Park in Biñan last the culprit.
three fractures on her skull. dark for the detectives to grandmother of Riley. Her October 18. They sought the assistance of the NBI
She died there and then. know who could have pos- playmates also lodged a re- Incidentally, the remains of Sanchez were after traffic investigators of the local police
Last Friday, November 6, sibly done the despicable port about Riley being miss- buried beside the tomb of the beloved son station in San Pedro showed reluctance to
2009, justice was completed and detestable crime. ing. of this author, Mario “Tongkan” Alcala Jr., exert efforts to conduct detective works.
for Riley when the jury com- The only clue for the in- After the forensic picture in the same memorial park. “Humihingi po ako ng katarungan sa
posed of nine men and three vestigators was a blue plas- was had and the DNA test Last All Saint’s Day, this author acci- pagkamatay ng aking asawa. Lalo na sa mga
women found her step-fa- tic box containing the skull, became available, it became dentally met Sanchez’ wife, Cecille, while taong maaaring makapagbigay ng anumang
ther, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, the dress and the pair of easy for the detectives to they were tending to respective loved ones’ impormasyon sa pagkakakilanlan ng
26, guilty of capital murder. rubber shoes. They cannot pinpoint the young couple, grave. She was with her in-laws. sasakyang nakasaga sa aking mister,” the
The District Court of determine the face because Royce Clyde and Kimberly. In an interview, Cecile recalled that be- grieving wife added.
Galveston County in Texas what remained were the skel- Fox News reported that fore her husband died, he left their home in On the other hand, some of the victim’s
immediately handed down eton. the break came when Sheryl Biñan in the evening of October 8. It was friends who also visited the tomb of
the life sentence without With this clueless find, Sawyers, the grandmother about 7:00 p.m. Sanchez to the same memorial park in Binan
parole sought by the district there could have already of Riley, called authorities “Umalis ng bahay ang aking mister ng last November 1 described Michael as a
attorney. been no more chance to from her home in Mentor, araw na iyon upang may bilhin lamang sa friendly and truthful person.
The 12-man trial jury was solve the crime if this hap- Ohio. SM sa Muntinlupa City na sakay ng They added: “Sobra pong napakabait
formed on October 28, 2009 pened in the Philippines. The grandma told au- kanyang scooter,” she recalled. ng taong iyan. Wala po kaming masasabi
out of 179 of those randomly Right on the next day, the thorities she had seen an About 15 minutes later, she said some- sa kanya kahit na kami ay iniwanan na
chosen persons. detectives published a re- artist’s sketch of the uniden- body informed her that her husband was niya.”
The trial took only about port asking for anybody tified little girl and believed
a week. It took the jury to who may have known a it must be her granddaugh- Grand jury indicted vestigators were reduced to night.”
discuss for four hours and missing girl. ter, Riley. Royce Clyde tears by the disturbing de- Fox News further said
20 minutes before arriving A forensic artist was Then, it was learned from and Kimberly tails of the death of the 2- that during the investiga-
at a unanimous guilty ver- called in to draw a face of Sheryl that Kimberly moved year-old. tion, Kimberly told the po-
dict. the girl based on mere skel- to Texas with Riley from Based on the pieces of Fox News quoted Tim lice that the beating of the
After only about a week eton. The theory that how Mentor, a Cleveland sub- evidence presented by the Miller, director of Texas girl began during a discipline
of trial, on Feb. 2, 2009, a the victim lived and died can urb, in June 2007 to be with district attorney, the grand EquuSearch, a volunteer session when Riley Ann for-
Texas jury deliberated less be determined 90% by the Zeigler, whom she met play- jury ordered the continued search organization that got to say “please” and
than two hours before re- identity of the victim. ing the online game World investigation, paving the helped in the investigation “yes, sir” to Zeigler, her step-
turning a guilty of capital The detectives scanned of Warcraft. way for Kimberly and as saying: father.
murder verdict for Kimberly all the missing person re- It was further established Royce Clyde to be investi- “I saw a lot of real tears Fox News continued that
Dawn Trenor, 21, the mother ports. that Kimberly and Royce gated. from a lot of old-time, sea- in an arrest affidavit, Kim-
of the 2-year-old, whose Their problem was that Clyde married on June 1, Fox News reported that soned detectives who took berly said she and Zeigler
body was found stuffed in because Galveston is a tour- 2007. even the most grizzled in- this home with them every To page 3

Landbank properties rotting
From page 1
the five-year period
will mean bigger
losses to the bank,”
COA said.
The audit agency
pointed out the huge
expenses the bank will
incur in holding over to
the property.
“Pending disposal of the
acquired assets, the bank
continues to incur expenses
in order to preserve, main-
tain and enhance the value
of said properties like: post-
ing of security guards or hir-
ing of caretakers; repairs
and maintenance of chat-
tels, warehouses, buildings
and improvements; selec-
tion/screening of lessees for
leased properties; payment
of real estate taxes, associa-
tion dues; and, insurance
coverage,” the report said.
The fact that these P4-
billion properties have re-
mained unsold or disposed
of, it is like saying that these
are rotting in the hands of
the Landbank and it may af-
fect its liquidity.
A check at its website
reveals plenty of property
being advertised for sale to
the public.
Indeed, most of these
properties are high-end,
such as condominiums and
subdivision houses that are
priced sky-high. One of
these is found in Eastwood,
Libis, Cubao, Quezon City.
Are these high-end
properties that have re-
mained unsold connected
to the transaction of the
Landbank with Megaworld
whereby the latter was con-
tracted to construct the
Landbank Plaza on M.H. del
Pilar St. in Malate, Manila?
There was no record that
shows that a public bidding
was conducted before the
contract was awarded to
Megaworld.
The Landbank Plaza
stood at a 4,000-square-
meter portion of what was
once Pistang Pilipino Com-
plex covering 1.2 hectares.
The remainder of this lot
is where now stands the
Hyatt Hotel that houses a
casino.
Megaworld is owned by
Andrew L. Tan, listed by
Forbes Magazine as Philip-
pines’ No. 4 richest man with
an asset of $840 million.
When Megaworld con-
structed the Landbank
Plaza, it undertook to an-
swer the cost of construct-
ing the whole building.
However, it turned out
from the records of the bank
that Megaworld and its sis-
ter corporation East Asia
Land Holdings Inc. were
lent a total of P2.4 billion in
about the same time the
Landbank Plaza was being
constructed.
G/F Volets Commercial Building, Gen. E. Aguinaldo Highway,
Dasmariñas, Cavite 4115
(046) 416.6521 • dyaryomagdalo@yahoo.com
Rm. 305-A, National Press Club Bldg., Magallanes Drive
Intramuros, Manila • (02) 309.7671
MAGDIWANG
PUBLICATIONS
Publisher:
RONALDO E. RENTA
Editorial:
TOTO CAUSING RONALD B. HERICO
Editor-In-Chief Associate Editor
Disclaimer:
All news articles and opinions expressed by the writers are en-
tirely their own and do not reflect the opinion of the publisher, the
management or the editor of this publication.
All Rights Reserved:
No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced nor trans-
lated in any language or form for commercial purposes without prior
written permission from the publisher and its writers or columnists.
 NOVEMBER 9 - 15, 2009
Noynoy gave ‘best answer’ on what to do with GMA
DYARYO MAGDALO
agrees with veteran jour-
nalist Ellen Tordesillas of
Malaya, Abante and Vera
Files when she said that one
of the most important is-
sues the voters want an-
swered is what would a
presidentiable do to GMA
if he wins in May 2010.
Examining all the an-
swers given by Senator
Manny Villar, Defense Sec-
retary Gilbert Teodoro,
Senator Francis Escudero
and Senator Benigno
Aquino III, DM found the
answer of the son of Ninoy
and Cory the most honest
and the most logical ac-
cording to the sense of jus-
tice.
If majority of the voters
would have their say, they
could have chosen to bring
Gloria M. Arroyo to trial like
what happened to former
president Joseph Estrada,
who is again running for
the presidency despite the
ban in the constitution.
This expected desire of
the voters is the exact an-
swer of Noynoy to the
same question posed on
other presidentiables.
Let us peek at how they
answered.
Sen. Villar was asked
and he answered:
“Q: Speaking about
Jury gave justice to 2-year-old punished to death by mom and step-dad
From page 2
used two leather belts to
beat Riley and also held her
head under water.
However, it was pointed
out in the affidavit that the
mother claimed that it was
Zeigler who grabbed Riley
by her hair and flung the
toddler across a room onto
a tile floor.
The autopsy concluded
that the girl’s head smashed
on the tile floor, causing
three fractures in her skull,
killing her instantly.
Further investigation
showed that the couple hid
the little girl’s body for a
month or two in a storage
shed at their home in Spring,
welcomes your comments
dyaryomagdalo@yahoo.com
the Office of the President,
how would you handle
GMA?
“A: Well, again, sa akin,
sinasabi ko kanina, na yan
ay trabaho ng judiciary. Kung
may magpa-file sa kanya ng
charges, she will have to de-
fend herself sa mga charges
na yun, sa judiciary natin.
Hindi tama na ang pangulo
na ang makikialam dyan. Sa
judiciary natin.
“Q: Would you pardon
her? Just in case, she’s con-
victed ha?
“A: Hindi, mahirap naman
sagutin mo kaagad yan.
Dapat alam mo yung mga cir-
cumstances din naman kung
mako-convict nga siya o
hindi.”
These answers of Sena-
tor Villar show much reser-
vation in him. It is very clear
he was avoiding a direct con-
frontation with Arroyo.
This attitude shows some
degree of dishonesty.
Moreover, Villar must
have not consulted his law-
yer.
He does not know that
the power to charge Gloria
or not belongs to the Execu-
tive Department and the in-
cumbent president as that
residual authority to decide
to file or not to file the cases.
Secretary Teodoro was
asked and he answered:
a northern Houston suburb,
before dumping it in the bay
70 miles away.
With these pieces of evi-
dence on hand, the Grand
Jury indicted the couple.
Jury trials ran for
one week in each
Kimberly and Royce
were tried separately in sepa-
rate juries. Nevertheless,
both trials were completed
only in one week.
This is a very stark con-
trast to the Philippines
where a simple murder trial
will last for five to ten years!
And when there is an ap-
peal from the innocent ac-
cused, it will take three to
Send us your feedback at:
By TOTO CAUSING
“Q: So, if GMA, if cases
are filed against her, and
you are president, what will
you do?
“A: You’re not supposed
to do anything because there
are institutions that are sup-
posed to do that.”
The answer of Gibo is
very brief but more reserved
than that of Villar. It is very
obvious that he does not
want to take a hand.
He is a bar topnotcher but
he could have forgotten that
in crimes outside the juris-
diction of the Office of the
Ombudsman it is the Execu-
tive Department headed by
the incumbent president that
has the final say whether to
file a case against Gloria or
not.
Senator Escudero was
asked and he answered:
“Q: Kung masinten–
syahan si GMA, will you
consider pardon? Presiden-
tial pardon?
“A: Sa ngayon, hindi. At
kung saka-sakali man,
hayaan nating taong bayan
ang magdesisyon kaugnay
sa sensitibong bagay na ito.
Hindi kahinaan ang pag–
tanong sa sambayanan ng
opinyon nila, partikular sa
mga sensitibong bagay na
maaaring pagmulan ng
five more years to get ac-
quittal from the Court of
Appeals.
Now, Kimberly’s trial had
to be postponed to give
way to her giving birth of a
new child. But when trial
began on January 28, 2009,
the guilty verdict was deliv-
ered by the jury on Febru-
ary 2, 2009, or exactly seven
days.
There were two charges
filed by the grand jury
against her. The other one
was tampering with evi-
dence for failure to report
the incident to the authori-
ties, for hiding the corpse
for about a month or two
and for throwing the same
to the sea.
In the tampering with
evidence charge, Kimberly
pleaded guilty. She pleaded
not guilty in the capital mur-
der charge, forcing the for-
mation of the trial jury,
which quickly ended in a
week.
There were 150 prospec-
tive jurors who were ran-
domly chosen and were
trimmed down to 14 with
two as the reserves.
On the part of Royce, his
trial started on October 29
and ended in November 6,
2009.
On October 28, 2009,
there were 179 prospective
jurors who were called in
and chosen on that very
day with the participation of
the lawyers of Royce. The
next day, trial began. On No-
vember 6, the jury returned
a guilty verdict for capital
kaguluhan. Kabilang na,
katulad ng nabanggit ko, ang
cha-cha. Kadalasan, ang
nagiging problema natin,
nagmamarunong ang mga
opisyal. Inaangkin nila lahat
ng talento, galing at dunong
kaugnay sa pagpapasya.
Kung saka-sakali, gaya ng
sabi ko, hindi, sa ngayon ang
sagot ko. Pero bago ko
buksan ‘yon, tatanungin ko
ang taong bayan kung yan
ba ang gusto nila o hindi.
“Q: At kung sabihin
nilang gusto nilang ipardon
si presidente?
“A: Yun ang gagawin ko.
Kung anuman ang sabihin
ng mas nakararami. Sa isang
demokrasya, iisa lamang
ang batas na dapat mong
sundin–kung ano ang
boses at ninanais ng
mayorya. Trabaho siguro
natin na hubugin, giyahan
kung ano yung magiging
opinyon na yun. Pero,
anuman ang kanilang
isaboses, dapat igalang at
tanggapin natin.”
The answer of Chiz is like
a cheese that is dangerous
to one’s health.
This is a non-sense con-
sidering there is no way of
determining what the people
want except for calling a na-
tional voting.
murder after deliberating on
for four hours and 20 min-
utes.
Sequence of events in
Jury trial of Kimberly
To give the readers the
idea how a jury trial moves,
the following sequence of
events of the trial are pre-
sented.
In the morning of the first
day of trial, graphic video
evidence was shown where
Kimberly gave her state-
ments to the police about
the death of her daughter.
Her attorney tried to
make it work to her favor by
attempting to get one of the
detectives who investigated
the beating and murder to
concede he wouldn’t have
had much of a case without
Trenor’s information.
The detective testified
that Kimberly said what he
expected and pointed the
blame at her husband (not
Riley Ann’s biological fa-
ther.)
The detective also said
he heard nothing from Kim-
berly to indicate she
mourned the death of her
child before she and her
husband went to Wal-Mart
Now, he cannot legally tell
the Commission on Elections
to hold a referendum on a
question of whether to par-
don Gloria or not.
Additionally, there is no
law that says a referendum
on this issue can be had.
So that it is foolishness
for him to answer this.
But if he has a talisman to
say what the people want
now, he should have already
known that he is only land-
ing third in the surveys, in a
close race with Villar for the
second spot. He should
have also known that the
more than 50% survey in fa-
vor of Noynoy is a clear in-
dication of what the people
want.
And if he is indeed a fol-
lower of what the people
want, he should have de-
clared his withdrawal from
the race now.
Sen. Aquino was asked
and he answered:
”Q: Si GMA ba kakasuhan
mo?
“A: “First of all, I want
closure dun sa many issues
and she seems to be either
directly, peripherally in-
volved in some of these.
Having said that, my father
did teach me rather that
democracy’s test is your
ability to defend the rights
of your enemies, especially,
to buy the plastic box in
which the girl’s remains
were later found in
Galveston Bay.
The jury was stoic as it
observed the proceedings.
The attorneys represent-
ing her husband, who’s also
charged in the horrific beat-
ing death of Kimberly’s
two-year-old daughter,
Riley Ann, were also
present.
Kimberly expressed her
defense that it was her hus-
band who beat the little girl
to death.
This was opposed by
Zeigler’s lawyers who called
that defense as one more
“fantasy” on Kimberly’s
part.
His attorneys denied
Zeigler played any role in
the girl’s death.
Also in the same morn-
ing of the first day of the
trial, morning testimony fo-
cused on deputies, one of
whom took a harrowing
statement from the mother
of Riley Ann Sawyers and
another who helped identify
the child’s body that had
been dumped in Galveston
Bay.
The fisherman who
found the box containing
3
not just of your friends.
Yung paniwala niya, pag
pumayag kang may maapi
yung isang grupo, even-
tually lahat ng grupo
aapihin. Yung grupo ng
lipunan, ano? So kung
ayaw mong ikaw na lang
ang natitirang aapihin, ay
siguraduhin mo sa umpisa
pa lang pinagtanggol mo
na yung karapatan mo. So,
in our system, innocent
until proven guilty. I will
ensure that she gets all of
her rights–people around
her, etc, members of this
current administration. At
the end of the day, I want
closure. Yung pasen–
syahan na lang kung san
umabot.”
Reading through his an-
swers, Noynoy is honestly
expressing that he wanted
closure in all issues that
hound Gloria and that the
only means to close them
is to try her.
And then he stressed
he does not care until
where the closure would
end.Impliedly, he is saying
he will push for trying
Gloria in court and let the
decision be what it is.
Having presented all, it
is very clear that Noynoy
won the most points on the
same question.
How about Erap?
the girl’s body in the bay
said he at first thought it
might have contained
someone’s pet. Instead the
pink tennis shoe signaled it
was a child.
Another officer who was
investigating leads said he
believed Kimberly’s claim
that her child had been taken
back to Ohio by a child
agency. But he later
doubted Kimberly’s story
because she was reluctant
to cooperate.
When trial proceeded the
next day, it was testified to
that when the body of the
two-year-old girl was dis-
covered in a plastic con-
tainer floating in Galveston
Bay, she had to be given a
name—Baby Grace—until
her identity was found.
It was testified also that
it took weeks for the girl to
be identified.
In the end, it was testi-
fied that it was Riley Ann
Sawyers’ paternal grand-
mother who recognized the
description of the child from
the published cartographic
sketch drawn by a forensic
artist with the skeleton as
the basis.
It was also testified
To page 4
 4 NOVEMBER 9 - 15, 2009

TRAILBLAZER
By RONALDO E. RENTA
IT is worth reiterating that
a client-lawyer relation-
ship is built on TRUST.
Hence, to better help your
lawyer in untangling your
marital knot with great
ease and facility, it is quite
imperative that you must
confide everything to your
counsel. When I say ev-
erything, I really mean ev-
erything. Yes, including
the nasty and colorful
conjugal skirmishes with
your spouse, inside or out-
side the bed.
Do not be afraid to tell
“all the truth and nothing
but the truth” to your
counsel of your choice.
By doing so, your counsel
will be able to appraise, as-
sess and screen legal is-
sues on your marriage. Your
counsel may have gained
some insights very helpful
in the preparation of your
petition.
Another thing, your
counsel is bound by strict
professional rules of con-
duct embodied in “Code of
Professional Responsibil-
ity” of lawyers such that
there is no danger that your
secrets are revealed. It is a
sacrosanct ethical rule that
your counsel is prohibited
to reveal secrets that you
confided to the counsel dur-
Conferring with your lawyer
ing legal counseling. This
prohibition remains even
after the attorney-client re-
lationship. Canon 21 of the
Code of Professional Re-
sponsibility of Lawyer pro-
vides that a lawyer is bound
to preserve the confidence
and secrets of his client
even after the attorney-cli-
ent relation is terminated.
The counsel is obliged to
bring those secrets to his or
her grave.
There are four things
you and your lawyer must
agree on to avoid inconve-
niences and misunderstand-
ing:
1. TRUTH – Tell all
the truths to your lawyer.
Lawyers hate surprises.
Thus, it will be for your own
good that you divulge ev-
erything to your lawyer and
let your lawyer devise ap-
propriate legal strategy for
your problem.
2. TOTAL EX-
PENSES – Price is one of
the thorniest issues be-
tween client and lawyer.
Thus, you must agree with
your lawyer how much
would be spent for the en-
tire proceedings. Nowa-
days, lawyers provide vari-
ous modes of payment
considering that cost of
nullity of marriage or annul-
ment is not very cheap.
Some lawyers offer a pack-
age price which includes
expense for the profes-
sional fees for clinical psy-
chologists. You must re-
duce the agreement to writ-
ing to avoid quarrel with
your lawyer. The contract
of legal service must clearly
spell out duties and re-
sponsibilities of both the
client and the lawyer.
3. TIME – “Time is of
the Essence” for the client.
The moment your lawyer
guarantees that he can fin-
ish the job say in definite
period of three (3) or six (6)
months, it is a sign you have
to leave his office. No law-
yer worthy of his salt can
foretell how long your case
would take. The best a law-
yer can do is to give you a
prediction based on his ex-
periences in marital disso-
lution cases. It is fact that
courts are beset with peren-
nial case backlogs, not to
mention the delays that
might be cause by the
prosecutor.
4. TESTIMONY –
You must settle with your
lawyer as to who are the
witnesses for the trial. You
also have to understand
that it’s really an emotion-
ally-laden trial and we are,
as much as possible, try-
ing to minimize casualties.
Children at all cost should
be spared from court ap-
pearances. The conven-
tional wisdom is: don’t
fight in front of the kids.
In your quest for dis-
solution of your marriage,
your lawyer is a mere coro-
ner: when he arrives your
marriage is already dead.

Jerry’s Blogs
By JERRY S. YAP
EVERYDAY, TEXT BLAST does not tire out against the
camp of Sen. MANNY VILLAR.
Also being intrigued in the text blast are his brother,
Mr. Jojo Villar, and Ms. Avic, who is the girl-Friday and
chief of the media relation of the President of Nacionalista
Party.
But what can we say here, according to the stories
from one who is close to the camp of Villar, there is no
truth to the text intrigues.
They said that there are only those who are EAGER
BEAVERS in crushing the SOLID CAMP of Sen. Manny.
The envy is the reason that text blast never ceases.
By the way the text blasts are worded, it appears that
only one group is doing this. The choice of words and
style of writing are one.
They said, it’s either that the group has not gotten a
client or doing this in the hope that the target of their
demolition job would hire it to do the damage control.
They said it is also possible that this was sub-contracted
to attack the opponents.
This means that this text-blasting group wanted to get
the attention of politicians in the hope that its services
may be hired.
Just wait, Ms. AVIC. This is because while the election
is drawing near, the INTRIGUES become worse and worse
and the INTRIGUES that would be thrown at Senator
Villar will become heavy. That’s for sure.
This is because the senator is a tree full of fruits, and
as such it is being targeted by stones.
O ‘di ba!
SULPICIO LINES ALLOWED TO SAIL
BY MADAM ELENA BAUTISTA
Sen. Villar camp intrigued by text blast
The victims of the ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars of
Sulpicio Lines will now become more hapless and helpless.
This is so after Maritime Industry Authority (Marina)
chief, Usec. ELENA BAUTISTA, allowed Sulpicio Lines to
sail and do it “business as usual” again.
WHAT can we expect from MARINA?
Shipwreck now, sail tomorrow?
HOW MANY TIMES have sea tragedies occurred for
SULPICIO LINES?
Until now, nobody has been punished. This is so be-
cause Marina laws have no pangs on tragedies like this.
What good will it do to the families of the victims?
BARYA at DISPENSA? Maghinagpis na lang?
Ay sus naman Madam Elena Bautista!
WILL SOLONS SNUB PACQUIAO-COTTO FIGHT?
We are on alert if there are many congressmen who
would not go to Las Vegas to see the Pacman-Cotto fight
on November 14.
House Speaker POPOY NOGRALES said he will not go
to Las Vegas and he has already told congressmen that as
much as possible they refrain from watching the Pacquiao-
Cotto fight,
Now, what is this?
It has been reported in one newspaper that 25
tongressmen, este congressman, are going to watch the
Pacquiao fight in Las Vegas!
Also, the same STATEMENT was issued by DENR Sec-
retary LITO “flower” ATIENZA and other members of the
Cabinet of PGMA. They said they will not go to Las Vegas
to watch Pacman.
Owws talaga?
Let us see if Atienza and other can resist the temptation
to catch up with the fight in Las Vegas.
However, First Gentleman Mike Arroyo and his son
Cong. Mikey, as well as Sec. “Sabit’,’ este Chavit, are
brave in their declaration that it is necessary for them to
go there because Manny Pacquiao needs their support.
TANONG ko lang po, SUPORTA o PUSTA, Manong
CHAVIT?
‘KOTONG’ OF PUSHER AND
RECYCLED DRUGS IN CAVITE
SIR Jerry Yap magandang umaga po. Paki-Bulabog
nmn po ang pinuno ng PNP kz po ‘yun dalawang Pulis
d2 s Dasmariñas, Cavite gnagawang gatasan ‘yun mga
PUSHER nina BOGAYON at CLARENCE yun mga
pusher po na nahu2li hinihigian lng po ng pera 80 to
200thou paka2walan tapos ‘yun nahu2li nila DROGA
ipinabe2nta po nila ulit. Madalas po 50 to 100g ‘yun
nahu2ling droga. Pls. lng po paki aksyonan ito marami
po ang nama2tay d2 dhil s droga paano po mati2gil
ang pagbe2nta ng droga d2 kung yun mismo nanghu2li
ang nagbe2nta. Gumagamit dn po cla ng droga bago
mag duty lalo na si Bogayong. Salamat po umaasa aq
agad sir n mapalitan ng mati2nong Pulis para matigil n
bentahan ng droga d2… +639277516—-
CAVITE TRAFFIC ENFORCER
FAKING AS A POLICEMAN?
SIR good am! Meron lng po aq sumbong s inyo meron
po kasing Traffic Enforcer /Police Volunteer d2 s amin
n napakaYABANG at nagsa2kbit xa ng baril s tagiliran
nya maliit lng xa n lalaki at yabang talaga nya mahilig
xa makisali s mga hinuhuli ng mga Police d2 s amin s
Bacoor, Cavite. Naki2ta q xa palagi my nakasabit n
chapa ng pulis sa ID nya dba bawal yan MATRIX po
yun pangalan ng Traffic Enforcer/Police Volunteer saka
utusan sila please don’t publish my # ... +63918611 - -

Jury gave justice to 2-year-old punished to death by mom and step-dad

From page 3
thereto that Riley’s mother,
Kimberly Trenor, never re-
ported the child as missing.
When confronted by police,
she claimed an Ohio CPS
worker forcibly took the
child as part of a custody
dispute.
Tony Coder, an Ohio CPS
worker, was presented and
he refuted the claim. He told
the jury that the paperwork
Kimberly and her husband
claimed to have come from
the agency was “fake.” He
added that the phone num-
bers and the address were
wrong. In addition he testi-
fied CPS workers don’t go
alone to houses and forc-
ibly seize children.
As the trial continued,
the three belts found in the
crime scene were tested for
DNA analysis. The first test
showed no blood was
found. However, the second
test revealed skin cells on
the belts.
DNA test officer Rhonda
Craig tells the jury that no
blood was found on three
belts turned over to the
sheriff’s department that
might have been used in the
fatal “discipline session” on
two-year-old Riley Ann
Sawyers.
Craig said the re-testing
revealed skin cells on the
belts. All three showed the
presence of stepfather
Royce Zeigler’s skin cell
DNA on the belts. Two other
people’s DNA was also de-
tected, probably, in one case,
that of the child and her
mother. The other two belts
were inconclusive for their
DNA.
In earlier testimony, trac-
ings from a notebook found
on the bed of mother Kim-
berly and her husband re-
vealed a missing page and a
disturbing message.
According to a prosecu-
tor, it read in part, “my heart
is black dead... I can’t live
with myself. There is noth-
ing left.”
The detectives also pre-
sented to the jury a hand-
written note which read:
“Rules for Riley.”
The prosecutors intro-
duced this note called on the
second day of the trial and
it was presented again as a
sample of the handwriting
of Royce Zeigler and Kim-
berly Trenor, both of whom
are charged with capital
murder in the death of the
two-year-old.
An FBI analyst told the
jury that Zeigler wrote rules
1 through 6 while Kimberly
wrote the remainder. In-
cluded as “Rules for Riley”
are as follows: (1) being po-
lite; (2) listen to mom and
me; (3) sleep at 8pm; (4) nap
at 2pm; (5) toys stay in her
room; (6) puts toys back
where she got them; (7) be-
haves in public; (8) never
alone in our room; and (9)
chocolate cake or treats only
as reward.
The prosecutors then in-
sisted before the jury that
the child died during a “dis-
cipline session” resulting in
head trauma and being held
beneath water in the bath-
tub.
They added that her
body was hidden in a plas-
tic container and dumped
weeks later in Galveston
Bay.
The fisherman who
found the container testi-
fied in the trial against Kim-
berly.
The last that was pre-
sented to the jury was the
paternal grandmother of the
child, Sheryl Sawyers.
Sheryl Sawyers testified
that she saw police compos-
ite sketches of the then-uni-
dentified two-year-old and
thought it might be her
granddaughter. She said it
was her call to Galveston
County sheriff’s deputies
that gave Baby Grace her
real name.
Among the witnesses
testifying that day were co-
workers of Kimberly’s hus-
band, Royce Zeigler.
A supervisor told the jury
that Zeigler seemed emo-
tionally immature, adding
that the couple also at-
tended a company picnic af-
ter Riley was killed.
Kimberly’s lawyer claims
she was dominated and
controlled by her husband.
After the trial, the jury
deliberated for less than two
hours and delivered the
guilty verdict. To page 7
NOVEMBER 9 - 15, 2009 5

From page 1
Dangerous scenario for 2010 polls
four years plus six years is
equal to ten years.
This happened to
Gloria. She ascended from
the vice-presidency when
former president Joseph
Estrada was booted out.
Then she ran for the next
term and won amidst clear
indication of cheating
proven by the Hello Garci
tapes. Thus, she is about
to complete barely ten
years. To this, Susan
Roces, wife of Fernando
Poe Jr. whom she cheated,
labeled her as having sto-
len the presidency, “not
once but twice.”
So that the first grim
possible plot is that if,
heaven forbids!, she wins
the vice presidency due to
a manipulation to compel
a reversion to the old sys-
tem of voting using Elec-
tion Returns to be padded
up for her, instead of the
computerized voting, the
next step is easier: to kill
the elected president be-
fore the latter can take oath.
If the president-elect is
killed before the scheduled
oath-taking on July 1,
2010, she is sworn in as
president for the third
time—and with continuity
into the third term. The Con-
stitution did not contem-
plate this situation; it merely
prohibits “re-election,” a
provision that Estrada is
dying to insist as not apply-
ing to him. In this case, she
cannot be deemed to be re-
elected but she is one who
became the president for the
third straight time by suc-
cession and not election.
And if this happens, Su-
san Roces would now de-
liver a speech: “not once,
but thrice!”
Roxas and Liberal Party
should not dismiss this pos-
turing of Rep. Suarez be-
cause his words appear to
be having substance. It may
be testing the waters. But to
my mind, it is more of a hint
of what is forthcoming: that
PGMA means business.
Mar and Noynoy must
know that it is always pos-
sible for Gloria to weave
some magic. She may cause
wars to erupt in Basilan,
Jolo, Tawi-Tawi,
Zamboanga, Maguindanao,
Privileged
Spits
By TOTO CAUSING
Lanao and Cotabato. She of winners is to ensure that
can always order a full-scale their total number of votes
war like what Erap did in his in Luzon, Visayas and the
time. rest of Mindanao are big
Other than a state of enough that even if the to-
emergency and a temporary tal votes from war-torn
martial law as provided in provinces are added against
the Constitution, can you them they will still win.
imagine the legal effects if And if the proclamation
full-scale wars are staged in of winners for the presi-
these provinces just before dency, vice-presidency and
the elections in May 2010? 12 senate seats is sus-
Of course, no voting will pended beyond July 1, 2010,
occur in the war areas. the day the new term is sup-
And the fact that the to- posed to begin, what do
tal votes in these provinces you think will Gloria do?
is substantial enough in Possible: Gloria will in-
number, it would be suffi- sist on staying in office
cient to cause a suspension claiming the hold-over doc-
of proclamation of winners trine in the absence of a suc-
for the Senate seats and the cessor, considering her ar-
posts for Vice-President and rogance and greed. And she
President. will just let those who op-
The only thing for pose to go to the Supreme
Noynoy and Mar to fore- Court.
close the possibility of a Nevertheless, it may be
suspension of proclamation asked: How can she hold
over when the Constitution
is explicit in saying that in
the absence of any elected
president, the Senate Presi-
dent assumes the post of the
President until a new presi-
dent is elected?
It may also be asked:
How can she hold over
when in the absence of the
Senate President the
Speaker of the House of
Representatives shall act as
the President?
It is simple.
She will cause the newly-
composed House of Repre-
sentatives not to elect a
Speaker for she can control
them anyway. And while
only 12 of senators will be
present due to the absence
of proclamation of the new
12 senators, she will insist
the 12-man Senate cannot be
the majority number needed
to elect a Senate President.
She will never mind the
Supreme Court Chief Justice
because it is a passive body
anyway and has no armed
forces of its own to impose
its will.
And while the issues
were to be resolved by the
Supreme Court, she may in-
sist to stay and the impasse
will give her time to think
for her next move and tinker
again with the law.
And before the issues
can be resolved, she may
stage a coup d’etat and
declare the Constitution
abrogated. She could do
this because by this time
all her mistahs in the PMA
Class ’78 would be hold-
ing all the top positions in
the police and military.
Yes, all the legal argu-
ments to the contrary
would be thrown and win
in the Supreme Court. But
while the Supreme Court
is deliberating on the is-
sues, she will rein in.
Let us pray that the
soldiers will not follow her
mistahs. Let us pray that
Colonel Ariel Querubin will
spark his exploits as a
medal of valor awardee
and Gen. Danny Lim does
the same and their com-
bined moral voices be fol-
lowed by the soldiers.
Can you beat that?
Take this as a grim warn-
ing.

Police Posts If rich-man’s game casino is legal,

By JOEY GALICIA VENANCIO
LAST week, the guest of
National Press Club
(NPC)’s “NO HOLDS
BARRED” was im-
peached president and
now “presidentiable-
again” Joseph “Erap”
Estrada.
One of the questions
we asked Erap was his say
about jueteng, the reason
that sparked the Edsa 2
mass outrage that led to
Estrada’s ouster from of-
fice.
He said jueteng must
be legalized.
First, he said that the
government can earn at
least P5 billion from the
operations of jueteng. The
proceeds can be used as
social funds of the mayors
in providing assistance to
their respective constitu-
ents.
Second, he cited employ-
ment. In Regions 1 to 5, Erap
said there were more than
160,000 jueteng collectors.
So when the jueteng
stopped or removed, the
collectors will also lose their
jobs.
“Saan mo dadalhin ito?
Mabibigyan mo ba ng
trabaho ang mga taong ito?
Kapag nawalan ng trabaho
ang mga ito, matututong
gumawa yan ng
why not legalize poor-man’s jueteng?
kriminalidad… Pero kapag
ginawa mong legal ang
jueteng, maraming
matutulungan at hindi na
sila makokotongan o
huhulihin pa ng mga pulis,”
he said.
Third, Erap harped about
equality of law in looking at
the poor and the rich.
He said that if gambling
games of the rich such as
casino, cockfight, horse
race, lotto and sweepstakes
are legal, why jueteng can-
not be made as legal?
“Yang casino ay
maraming pamilya ang
naghihiwalay dyan dahil
milyon ang natatalo dyan.
Bakit legal yan? Dahil ba
larong mayaman yan at ang
jueteng ay pangmahirap
lang? E, noon pang vice
president ako ay gusto ko
nang maging legal yang
jueteng,” Estrada reasoned
out.
We recall that Erap was
impeached because of
jueteng. His “bagmen” in
jueteng, then Ilocos Sur
Governor Chavit Singson
and Charlie “Atong” Ang,
quarreled about jueteng ter-
ritories.
It was learned that Chavit
got mad because some of
his territories in Ilocos Sur
were seized from him.
This fight nearly resulted
in the ambush of Chavit.
After surviving the al-
leged ambush try, Chavit
came out in the open and
even admitted in public that
he acted as a bagman of
Erap by means of collecting
protection money from
“jueteng lords” and turning
them over to Erap.
Chavit also announced
to the public other immorali-
ties and sources of income
of the former President.
The event was so quick.
The next thing that hap-
pened, we saw the impeach-
ment hearing that was
stopped after the people
spontaneously reacted to
the votes of the senators
who opposed the opening
of the envelope that was
thought to contain the
documents of the bank
account of “Jose Velarde”
being claimed to be the
name used by Estrada.
Thereafter, Erap was
indicted for plunder and
was immediately arrested.
He was imprisoned and
convicted of plunder.
Thereafter, Erap was
pardoned by Gloria M.
Arroyo.
Now, Erap declared he
is running again for the
presidency in May 2010.
He said he wants to con-
tinue servicing the poor.
His running mate is
To page 7

The Last
Mohican
By TOTO FETALINO
HAVE you been to Lupang Tondo, Manila as the
Arenda? I never heard of country’s showcase of pov-
it until an assignment took erty. In my vocabulary, pov-
me there. erty is now represented by
The name is deceiving. Lupang Arenda. Imagine a
It sounds like Serendra, a Smokey Mountain and add
posh condominium at The it with flood water and you
Fort where a loved one is get what I mean.
staying. Thousands of poor fami-
Far from Serandra, lies live in Lupang Arenda.
Lupang Arenda is actually The number was recently
an illegal settlement in reduced by a few hundreds
Taguig. The property is after Typhoon Santi washed
big and it is underwater. them away recently.
Many people, including The government is seri-
children, live there. ous in getting the remain-
I used to regard ing families out of the
Smokey Mountain in Lupang Arenda because it
is beside the Napindan
LUPANG ARENDA
Channel, a major waterway
that connects Laguna de
Bay to the Manila Bay.
The channel was re-
cently clogged by volumes
of water lilies during the
height of Santi, resulting in
an abrupt water level in-
crease at its mouth in La-
guna de Bay.
Aside from submerging
Lupang Serendra, the clog-
ging is keeping Laguna
flooded. If unchecked, the
choked channel will keep the
province flooded for many
years to come.
But thanks to the Metro
Manila Development Au-
thority (MMDA) and the
Department of Public Works
and Highways (DPWH).
These two agencies
headed by government of-
ficials who intend to run for
the 2010 presidential elec-
tions sent their huge equip-
ment in Taguig yesterday
and de-clogged the chan-
nel.
This, however, doesn’t
mean that the families in
Lupang Arenda are already
safe. The place is already
flooded and another ty-
phoon strong as Ondoy will
completely wipe them out.
Surprisingly, many of the
families refuse to leave the
shanties they call home.
They are even fortifying
their houses in view of fu-
ture typhoons. And some
new settlers have just ar-
rived to build their shanties.
Police authorities say the
place is home to criminals.
Tattooed men in the area
dwarf the number of those
inside all the country’s
prison cells combined.
Cops do not enter the
place if they do not have the
entire Southern Police Dis-
trict force with them. This is
because, as I was told,
Lupang Arenda is also a
haven of Abu Sayyaf.
It was said that an Abu
bandit was recently pursued
by Taguig Police and found
refuge in Lupang Arenda.
This bandit exchanged
fires with the cops the mo-
ment he got inside the
settlement during the
chase.
Criminals and Abu
Sayyaf in one place!
That’s Lupang
Arenda.
How come families
want to stay there? How
are they able to settle and
grow there in the first
place?
The residents are
known as one of the
toughest in the country.
They are going to resist
any effort to save their
lives. Isn’t that confus-
ing? To page 7
 6 NOVEMBER 9 - 15, 2009
S
HEENA Halili has
started in showbiz
as underrated
among the girls
from the first
batch of GMA-7 original
artista from StarStruck.
Her contemporary then
were Jennelyn Mercado,
Yasmien Kurdi, Nadine
Samonte, Katrina Halili and
Cristine Reyes. These gor-
geous women starred in
their respective major roles
in TV and movies.
Also under rated like
Sheena was Jade Lopez,
who actually has lost hope
while waiting for own
project that she decided to
just continue her studies in
her hometown in Pampanga.
Another difficulty that
struck Jade in her showbiz
career during that time was
her relationship with her
then real boyfriend Rainer
Castillo, who was chosen to
be paired with Yasmien
Kurdi as the network’s new-
est love team to be pitted
against Jennelyn Mercado-
Mark Herras love team.
After having been elimi-
nated in StarStruck Batch 1
on December 5, 2003,
Sheena was often to be seen
in TV.
Her career became active
after she was given a
chance to play the aide-vil-
lain role to Katrina Halili in
“Marimar” as Monica. Af-
ter performing well in play-
ing the role, Sheena was
given succeeding projects
by Kapuso Network.
Sheena became the fa-
vorite of the Kapuso Net-
work to play from support-
ing to different main char-
acter roles in different TV
Sheena Halili:
The National
Best Friend of
Philippine TV
shows.
Later, Lady Luck smiled
at Sheena that she was con-
sidered and actually ac-
cepted as the National Best
Friend in Philippine TV.
After her biggest break
in “Marimar,” Sheena was
considered for the main cast
role for the remake of the
popular and award-winning
Korean drama, “Ako si Kim
Samsoon,” starred by
Regine Velasquez as
Samsoon and Mark
Fernandez as the rich and
arrogant Cyruz.
Sheena Halili continues
to shine at GMA Network;
she was included as among
the cast of the famous Ar-
gentine Telenovela
“Lalola,” starred by Rhian
Ramos and JC de Vera.
The Philippine version of
Zorro was her first project,
where she played as the
second of Rhian Ramos; Ri-
chard Gutierrez played here
as Zorro.
However, her character
was killed when she was
needed to play the role as
the best friend of Carla
Abellana in the Philippine
version of Mexican
Telenovela “Rosalinda.”
Also in 2009, Sheena was
chosen to cast in SRO
Cinemaserye entitled “Re-
union,” where she played as
“Pepper” with her high
school best friend Chantilly.
Jennica Garcia played the
role of Chantilly.
While 2009 is going to
end, the pouring of luck and
fortune on Sheena Halili is
not.
Sheena was chosen to
play the support role in the
upcoming adaptation from
a Korean drama entitled
“Full House.” This series
will premier on November 30,
2009 in the Philippines in the
GMA Kapuso Network.
This will be her second
project with Richard
Gutierrez and first with other
Kapuso stars, such as
Isabel Oli and Heart
Evangelista who will play
the role as “Jessie.”
Coming soon to air is the
upcoming drama to be di-
rected by Joey Lamangan,
where Sheena will play one
of the main roles together
with Camille Prats, Carlo
Aquino, JC de Vera, Eula
Valdez, Andrea del Rosario
and Arci Muñoz.
The said series entitled
“Kahit Minsan Lang” is
seen to be another break for
Sheena Halilis’s career.
There, she will play the role
as “Glenda.”
Sheena Halili has made
six movies: “Kilig …Pintig…
Yanig” in 2006; “Pi7ong
Tagpo” as young Carmen
and a cameo role in Jinggoy
Estrada’s “Katas ng Saudi,”
both in 2007; “Loving You”
and “One True Love” both
in 2008; and “Yaya and
Angelina: The Spoiled Brat
Movie.”
Sheena presented her-
self in “Body Buddies: The
Body Circuit Workout” and
as a back-up dancer in the
debut album of Rhian
Ramos entitled “You.”
She also appeared as a
guest in different shows in
TV, such as “Shall We
Dance” in 2006; “Kung
Ako Ikaw” that became the
Billboard Installer Winner;
Vic Sotto’s “Fulhaus”;
“Bubble Gang”; two epi-
sodes of “Dear Friends” in
2008; GMA show
“Maynila: Fight or Hide”
starred by Nikki; and
“Balikbayan,” as co-host of
Drew Arellano.
Her latest movie, “Ang
Panday,” is about to be-
come controversial due to
election. The said movie
is in danger of not to be
shown in the upcoming
Manila Film Festival.
Consistently, Sheena
Halili has been listed as one
of the sexiest women in the
FHM Philippine Edition.
She ranked No. 76 in
2004, No. 73 in 2006, No. 46
in 2007, and No. 60 last year
FHM.
Sheena was awarded as
the Most Promising Ac-
tress by PEP Forum Awards
in 2007.
Sheena Yvette Halili in
real life, she entered the
Philippine showbiz through
the first wave of StarStruck,
the original reality-based star
search of GMA Kapuso Net-
work. She managed to climb
despite having been elimi-
nated.
Sheena reached the Final
14. Sheena and those who
were eliminated along with
her were made to be known
as StarStruck 1 Avengers.
Recently, Sheena Halili
By OMAY E.
RENTA
signed another contract
with GMA Artist Center for
two years.
Born on January 16, 1987
in San Fernando,
Pampanga, her friends and
fans called her “Sheens” or
“Shee.”
According to her profile
on the net, Sheena’s unfor-
gettable childhood memory
was when she played
“patintero” with her first
crush.
Her fears are losing the
people she loves, and not
having work.
She describes herself as
sweet and kikay and her
fave expressions are “Hello-
d” and “Hay Naku!”
Sheena’s favorites
among the locals are Regine
Velasquez and Claudine
Barretto. She ranks the Bible
is her most readable book.
Among the singers,
those she loves the most are
Beyoncé, Regine V., Kyla,
Christina Aguilera, Avril
Lavigne and Rhianna.
Earrings are a must-have
in her fashion.
When she has time,
Sheena loves to eat out with
her family and friends.
Before entering showbiz,
Sheena wanted to be a pe-
diatric doctor. But now, she
wants to be a business-
woman.
After the storm Ondoy
smashed Metro Manila and
nearby provinces, Sheen
was with Rhian Ramos giv-
ing relief goods to the resi-
dents of Marikina.
 NOVEMBER 9 - 15, 2009
ANINO of
Noynoy
ABOGADO Ni Noynoy or
ANINO for short is a vol-
unteer lawyers’ group of
presumptive Liberal Party
presidential candidate
Noynoy Aquino.
Led by The Fort-based
“QT” law office, the group
has been meeting regularly
for quite sometime.
Around 50 volunteer
lawyers are having regu-
lar training on election pro-
Jury gave justice to
2-year-old punished by ...
From page 4
A story on the
step-father’s trial
Zeigler’s trial began on
October 28, 2009 and ended
on November 6, 2009 with a
guilty verdict for capital
murder.
“I wish I hadn’t been
right,” Sheryl Sawyers said
after testifying again before
another jury.
Zeigler received an auto-
matic life sentence without
parole because prosecutors
did not seek the death pen-
alty.
Jurors deliberated for 4
1/2 hours after an eight day
trial and his attorneys
hoped for a conviction of a
lesser charge of manslaugh-
ter.
The sentence was
handed down while Riley’s
mother, Kimberly, was al-
ready serving a life sen-
tence.
“The two people respon-
sible for her murder have
been convicted,” Galveston
County District Attorney
Kurt Sistrunk said. “It’s a
good day for Riley.”
Prosecutors said that the
couple killed the toddler at
their home in Spring, a sub-
urb north of Houston, dur-
ing a July 2007 discipline
session intended to teach
her proper manners. Zeigler
was upset the 2-year-old
didn’t consistently use
“please” and “thank you,”
authorities said.
“I wish it never had hap-
pened but I’m glad it’s over
and I’m glad we got the ver-
dict we did,” said Sheryl
Sawyers, who had tears in
her eyes. “I can try to move
on.”
Sistrunk said Riley’s
death “was a terrible crime
that hit us all.”
The impact of her death
was still apparent on the
day the verdict was deliv-
ered.
One of the investigators
in the case, Lt. Tommy
Hansen of the Galveston
County Sheriff’s Depart-
ment, took off his glasses
cedures and laws, includ-
ing the intricacies of the
automated elections.
They will not only help
safeguard the votes for
Noynoy but also act as a
pool of legal advisers be-
fore, during and after elec-
tion campaign period.
It will act also as a dis-
cussion group on pertinent
election issues. They are
undergoing a series of lec-
and wiped away tears after
the verdict was read. An-
other, Sgt. Mike Barry,
pumped his left fist into the
air in celebration.
Zeigler didn’t react after
the verdict was read. But his
mother, Nellie Zeigler,
slumped into one of the
courtroom’s padded
benches in tears and re-
peated, “I just want to see
him for a minute,” after her
son was taken away.
Dee McWilliams, one of
Zeigler’s attorneys, later
said his client was “pretty
devastated” by the verdict.
“From day one, we knew
what we were up against ...
how he had been demonized
in the media. We did every-
thing we could to change
that,” McWilliams said. “We
are very disappointed in
how things turned out.”
Ziegler’s attorneys told
jurors their client was in an-
other room when Riley died
and there was no evidence
he killed her.
But prosecutors said
Zeigler lied repeatedly to in-
vestigators, giving them
conflicting statements on
the girl’s death. Prosecutors
showed the Galveston
County jury video of Zeigler
admitting dumping the
child’s body in the bay.
The couple met playing
an online video game and
married in June 2007. Kim-
berly moved with her
daughter from Ohio to live
with Zeigler in Spring.
Excellence of
the jury system
There were two juries
that tried the case. The first
was the one that tried Kim-
berly and found her guilty
on February 2, 2009. The
second tried her husband
and found him guilty too of
capital murder.
Both juries arrived at the
same conclusion: that both
the husband and wife had a
hand in the death of the two-
year-old.
This is the excellence of
the jury system.
tures from people who
By JAIME PILAPIL
have the know-how of the
in and out of automated
elections like from the civil
society, Comelec legal de-
partment, Smartmatic and
experts from other legal
fields.
Although Noynoy’s
presidential ambition has
been announced late, his
handlers are swift enough
in putting up the campaign
machinery.
The composition of
ANINO is of varied back-
grounds. Some are into
private practice while
others are from the aca-
deme.
Give these people two
more months and they will
equal or even surpass the
well-manicured prepara-
tions of another presiden-
tial timber from
Nacionalista Party.
LP has its own legal
group but Noynoy needs
a dedicated and fierce law-
yers’ group not just to en-
sure that his votes are
counted for him but his
people are protected from
machinations of the en-
emies.
ANINO’s formal
launch will be a day or
two before Noynoy files
his certificate of candi-
dacy.
oOo
Every time I go to
mass, I always hear
The Last Mohican
From page 5
Not for the government I
think. As of last Tuesday,
the national and local gov-
ernment expressed political
will to relocate the families.
Let’s see what happens.
RAILWAYACCIDENT
Carlos Cruz was my best
friend in elementary. He had
cool parents and pretty sis-
ters. We parted ways in high
school. As teenagers, my
high school barkada fre-
quented Laguna for swim-
ming.
In Los Baños, we would
always pass by a high plat-
form displaying a battered
Volkswagen that warns
commuters how vicious the
railway crossing is. We al-
ways laughed at the state
of the crumpled vehicle
each time we passed by it
many times in a year.
Each time I saw the
wreckage, I felt something
strange. I looked at it for a
priests say a thing or two
against the Reproductive
Health Bill regardless of
the gospel of the day.
The Catholic Church is
against the use of contra-
ceptive methods, includ-
ing pills and condoms.
Then one time, after the
mass, a priest approached
me and said: “Yan ang uso
ngayon na t-shirt.”
He was referring to my
yellow polo shirt with the
Philippine map sewn on
it.
very long time and imagined
what happened to the pas-
sengers when the vehicle
was accidentally rammed
by a speeding train.
Anyway, I was already in
college when somebody
called me up over the phone.
The voice was familiar. It
was Carlos.
When I asked where he
spent high school days, he
said he went to America to
recover from an accident
where he lost all his parents
and sisters.
I could not believe what
I was hearing when he told
me that they were in a
Volkswagen in Los Baños
when it was hit by a train at
a railway crossing.
He said they were the
passengers of the displayed
wreckage I was thinking
about.
It was the last time I
talked to Carlos. I can no
longer see the wreckage
each time I go to Los Baños
nowadays.
I suspect he is a pro-
Noynoy. But does he
know that Noynoy sup-
ports the RH Bill?
oOo
A number of national
and local politicians are
jumping ship to Liberal
Party because of
Noynoy’s increasing
popularity and because of
Gibo Teodoro’s low plac-
ing in surveys.
Others prefer Manny
Villar of the Nacionalista
Party, hoping the self-
made billionaire will give
them campaign money.
Since we don’t have a
strong party system, it is
very easy to jump from
one political party to an-
other.
Will Lakas-Kampi-
From page 5
Police Posts
Makati Mayor Jejomar
Binay, as his vice presiden-
tial candidate.
Erap also revealed his
senatorial ticket will include
Senate President Juan
Ponce Enrile, Sen. Jinggoy,
Sen. Miriam Defensor-
Santiago as guest candidate,
Bongbong Marcos, Teddy
Boy Locsin, Gen. Danilo
Lim, Ompong Plaza, Joey de
Venecia, Edu Manzano and
Mary Grace Poe.
He said he also urged
broadcast journalist Ted
Failon to join his senatorial
ticket.
In the surveys of
“presidentiables,” Erap is
7
CMD party die a natural
death soon?
Unless Gibo’s party
wins to get Loren Legarda
as his tandem, then it will
be a Noynoy-vs-Villar
contest.
I just hope we have a
two-party system, cour-
tesy of a new law.
oOo
Gibo will soon leave the
Defense department. The
truth is—he has not ac-
complished much.
Our military is still lack-
ing in guns and ammuni-
tion.
Corruption is a daily oc-
currence in the AFP.
Has the P5-billion fund
allotted for the purchase of
night-capable attack also
gone to the dogs?
far in fourth place, starting
from Noynoy Aquino,
Manny Villar and Chiz
Escudero.
But Erap said that sur-
veys for now should not to
be believed in. He insisted
that it will be known from
February until March who
will be actually be voted by
the Filipinos.
Erap said he is not
changing his vice presiden-
tial candidate.
To this, he said: “Hindi
na magbabago, committed
na ako kay Binay. At buo na
ang loob kong tumakbong
presidente.”
That is the statement of
Erap. Period!
 8 NOVEMBER 9 - 15, 2009
MAY THE BEST
MAN-NY WIN By RONALD B. HERICO
WHILE boxing citizens of
the world are glued on the
boob tube on the 14th of
November, a Saturday to
remember, the Filipino-
blooded among them—the
boisterous, the proudest,
the most humble, the most
hopeful and the most
prayerful included—have
one thing deep inside.
They all wish: “May the
best Manny win!”
No matter how boast-
ful a Filipino you meet on
the street, for sure deep
inside he is entertaining the
possibility that Manny
may lose.
That is, no matter all the
pre-fight hooplas that
came out of the news, all
those are behind them
when the “superheroes” of
the Philippines and Puerto
Rico clash for dream and
respect.
The Philippine super-
hero, Manny Pacquiao, is
chasing his dream: to be-
come the first boxer to
hold seven titles in seven
different divisions at the
same time.
The Puerto Rican su-
perhero, Miguel Cotto,
wants to get respect by
winning over Manny to
redeem his lost honor
from two dismal perfor-
mances: a loss to
Margarito Teves and a
good-for-nothing win over
Joshua Clottey in the last
two outings.
Forget the blinding
Km. 28, Aguinaldo Highway, Salitran 2,
Dasmariñas, Cavite
M
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Shop
CP: 0912.770.8324
speed said of Pacquiao’s
hand or his ninja-precision
lateral movements. Forget
the size and the power said
of Cotto.
What matters most
when the moment of truth
comes is only one: Pride.
Carrying the entire Fili-
pino pride on his shoul-
ders, Manny will be more
aggressive when gets hurt.
Having the Puerto
Rican colors in his head,
Cotto will be more aggres-
sive whenever he cannot
catch Manny.
In Eric Sloan’s com-
mentaries published in
Examiner.com, he wrote:
“Forget the power v.
speed, little man v. big man
arguments. Cotto is a hard
fight for one simple rea-
son: pride. Manny con-
fused De La Hoya more
than anything and he sim-
ply capitalized on Ricky
Hatton’s numerous flaws.
Great victories no doubt,
but the two men are not
Miguel Cotto. Cotto is
faster than both of them.
Cotto is stronger than both
of them. Cotto will not
walk into Manny’s left
hook or any other punch,
and he most certainly will
not quit on his chair. Cotto
is going to be there for all
12 rounds. So will Manny.
“In boxing lexicon,
pride is synonymous with
heart, guts, warrior spirit
or whatever else you want
to call it. Pride is going to
“W
all e buy
of kind
scr s food just so he can reduce
ap
” his weight to make it to 145.
The ‘superheroes’ in the Nov. 14 “Firepower” duel between the pride of Puerto Rico Miguel Cotto and the Filipino
Pound-4-Pound king and boxing icon Manny Pacquiao squares off at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
force Cotto to attack
Pacquiao in a variety of
ways. Pride is going to
push Pacquiao onward af-
ter he feels Miguel’s
power the first time. Then
round 2 will begin.”
And if the stories re-
leased to the public were
correct, it says that Manny
is in the better edge of
preparation.
Manny has no problem
making the catch weight
of 145 pounds because he
does not need to trim
down. He is a natural small
man best suited as a light-
weight.
Miguel, for his part,
was reported to be having
diet problems: trying to de-
prive him of the needed
Sparring reports from
Mexican spar mates hired
by the world’s pound-for-
pound king show that
Manny has been superbly
sharp and chiseled to the
finest.
Boxing great Jose Luis
Castillo, who is another
Pacquiao spar mate, was
quoted by the LA Times
as saying: “It will be a
great fight. The more in-
telligent man will win, and
Manny is very smart.”
There has been a dearth
of reports on how the
Puerto Rican performed in
his sparring sessions.
Nevertheless, it is en-
tertaining to see what a
world-class Mexican
fighter, Urbano Antillon,
said after his sparring ses-
sions with the greatest Fili-
pino boxer to have climbed
the world ring.
By his personal ac-
count, Antillon said he has
been around many train-
ing camps as a sparring
partner and he has yet to
see anyone like Manny
Pacquiao.
The California-based
Mexican, who is now the
No. 1 lightweight con-
tender of the World Box-
ing Council with a record
of 26-1, said of Manny:
“He’s one of the hardest
workers in the sport.”
After sparring sessions
for months, Antillon,
whose wins included 19
knockouts, expected the
same rapid-punching,
hard-hitting left-hander to
overwhelm Cotto with
never-matched speed.
Antillon, who ironically
listed Manny’s brother
Bobby Pacquiao as a vic-
tim, noted that Manny has
always been successful
with his speed.
The Mexican said he
has received those quick
flurries of Pacquiao dur-
ing the sessions.
“His speed…, …when
you’re there (in the ring)
with him, it’s really over-
whelming,” he said.
Antillon said Cotto is a
great fighter but he said the
Puerto Rican is too slow
for Pacquiao.
It is reported that in
separate interviews with
Fighthype.com, Shawn
Porter and Rashad
Holloway said Pacquiao
definitely has the edge
against Cotto.
Porter said Manny is
“definitely ready.”
“I think this is his time
and I think you guys will
see a lot in the ring. You
guys might be surprised,”
Porter said.
For his part, Holloway
predicted a knockout vic-
tory for the Filipino super-
star, saying: “I believe if
he catches Cotto in the
first couple of rounds,
Cotto’s going to
sleep…That straight left
and his right hand have
gotten stronger.”
For his part, it was re-
ported that Cotto insisted
his team has cooked up
more than enough to ne-
gate speed.
Cotto said: “You know
what? That’s why we pre-
pare ourselves… “He’s a
fast fighter. We know he
has speed. We know he has
a style and we are prepared
to beat it.
“You’ll find out on the
14th how I am going to
deal with his speed. It’s not
going to be a factor, even
though everyone thinks it
is.”
Pacquiao coach,
Freddie Roach stayed
humble.
He said Cotto “is going
to be hard on us.”
It is reported that
Roach understood from
the start that Cotto is not
Ricky Hatton or Oscar De
La Hoya.
“If [Manny] stays on
the ropes, he’d get beat,”
Roach said.