Ferdinand Topacio: The Hit(ler)s Keep On Coming

The Littlest Nazi, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, is still going on about how great Adolf Hitler was, apparently.

According to ABS-CBN:

“Walang nailabas na pagpapatibay na may official state policy ang Germany sa ilalim ng National Socialist regime na patayin ang mga Hudyo. Ang gusto lamang nila ay ilayo o i-segregate, o i-exile ang mga Hudyo (There is no proof that killing Jews was an official state policy. They only wanted to segregate or exile the Jews),” he said.

And that, according to Topacio,  is fine because 1. you can’t prove Hitler had anything to do with it (He was just the Leader) and 2. a little segregation never hurt anybody.

He goes on to say that if Pulse Asia, a survey firm, was around in World War II Germany, it would probably report that more than 90% of Germans would agree the Jews were treated fairly. “But was it right? You tell me.”

It was wrong, you fucking cunt. The deaths of millions of people, including Jews, gypsies, gays, lesbians, and other people generally considered not-Aryan, is wrong.  Invading other countries to get some “living space” is wrong.  Herding people into trains to bring them to concentration camps and their statistically-eventual death is wrong.

Not even Hitler can believe this shit.

Quick to rise (but actually too late) to the defense of Holocaust victims was lawyer Argee Guevarra, who called Topacio a “history buffoon” before conveniently using the deaths of millions to make a political point:

“I would like to believe that Atty. Ferdie Topacio’s idolatry of Adolf Hitler and his pro-Nazi sentiments  are motivated only by his zealous desire to defend even the indefensible, such as his client, former President Gloria Macapagal Arrovo, este, Arroyo,” he said in a statement. [emphasis supplied]

Two things: Bad as Arroyo was, she was not Hitler. She was not even Marcos, come to that. Throwing away lines like that is lazy and disrespectful of people who actually suffered under either Hitler or Marcos.

Plus that whole “este (err)” thing? That only works in Enteng Kabisote movies, and only when delivered by Enteng Kabisote. It was funny in the 1990s, when it was used as a device to tell the audience what a character really thought of someone else.  (Ex. monster-in-law, este, mother-in-law.) It does not work in a press statement that was presumably edited before being printed and sent out to the press.

foto from foodmayhem.com

Attorney Argee Guevarra

And Guevarra is no less a “history buffoon” than Topacio, apparently:

Guevarra said he wishes Topacio well in his “campaign against the Aquino administration’s Final Solution to the Arroyo Question.” He also offered his legal services in case Topacio becomes the subject of a lawsuit of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

He added that many lawyers will support Topacio if he decides to ask a local court to allow Mrs. Arroyo to be detained in a gas chamber in the former concentration camp in Auschwitz. “I will even donate my entire savings from my law practice in 2011 to pay for GMA’s travel to Poland,” he said.

“Final Solution,” of course, refers to the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question,” which in the Nazi context was (very simplistically): “What do we do with all these Jews?*” The apparent answer to that question was the systematic attempt to rid Europe of them. In contrast, the only Arroyo question, really, is “what is she not guilty of, and how do we prove that?”

Guevarra further belittles the Holocaust by offering to “donate my entire savings from my law practice in 2011 to pay for GMA’s travel to Poland” where he proposes the former President should then be shipped to Auschwitz. So, yeah, basically, the Jews sent there deserved it as much as Arroyo, he says.  And he is only correct in this sense: Nobody deserved to be sent there.

Next up, probably: Bataan Death March: Was It Really That Bad? It’s Like A Walking Tour of Luzon.

—

*Properly, the Jewish Question predates the Nazis and referred to the question of Jewish identity in the context of the rise of nations in Europe.

Ferdinand Topacio, Bachelor of Laws: Godwin’s and Martial

Henceforth, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, lawyer to the Arroyos, can no longer be relied on to make valid arguments. Godwin’s Law is in full effect:

What? Isn't that national hero Dr. Jose Rizal?

News website Rappler.com, the Philippine journalism equivalent of the Avengers, reports Topacio admires Hitler for his “single-minded vision for what he felt was better for all members of society.”

Hitler, the infamous Fuhrer, had long been scorned by historians because of his anti-Semitic views which led to the inhumane killing of Jews. As many as six million are believed to have perished, many of them in gas chambers.

But to Topacio, an “amateur historian” by his own admission, Hitler is “one of the most misunderstood historical figures. “His main fault, his main crime, was that he lost the war. And as you know, history is written by the victors,” he says in an interview with Rappler.

Atty. Topacio may, of course, just be being an original hipster by a. liking something that other people hate or b. doing it ironically to see whether his clients are smart enough to “get it.”

At any rate, Topacio is right when he calls himself an “amateur historian”, but only in the sense that he does not seem to have a working grasp of history.

A report from The Daily Tribune:

“President Aquino must be reminded that even during Martial Law, during the height of the Marcos rule which the Aquinos and their allies have consistently denounced and even at present continue to demonize, the Aquino family was allowed to leave to join Senator Ninoy Aquino for medical attention in the United States,” said Topacio.

“It is thus most execrable for the present government to accord such treatment to the Arroyos that is worse than what they had experienced during the Marcos administration,” the lawyer stressed.

Well, technically, Martial Law was over by then, I guess.

Hostage-taking ex-cop actually was an extortionist

Ex-cop Rolando Mendoza, who took tourists hostage last year to protest charges of extortion, which he said were used to extort money from him, actually was an extortionist, says the Court of Appeals.

In a 19-page decision, penned by Associate Justice Francisco Acosta, the CA’s Thirteenth Division, eventually cleared the names of (former ombudsman Merceditas) Gutierrez and (former deputy ombudsman Emilio) Gonzalez after it affirmed their ruling that Mendoza, who was killed during the hostage-taking, and his men were indeed “extortionists” which warranted their dismissal from the service.

The appellate court has junked the petition for review filed by petitioners Mendoza, P/ Insp. Nelson Lagasca, SPO1 Nestor David, PO3 Wilson Gavino and PO2 Roderick Lopeña.

Mendoza insisted he was innocent (of extortion, at least) and that his dismissal from the service was unjust. He was killed in a failed rescue attempt that night. Gonzalez lost his job after the incident for supposedly delaying action on Mendoza’s appeal and for supposedly trying to extort P150,000 from the dismissed cop.

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., who signed the order dismissing Gonzalez, said: “The circumstances surrounding the charges of gross neglect of duty and gross misconduct lent credence to Mendoza’s accusation during the hostage-taking incident that Gonzalez was extorting P150,000 from him in exchange for a favorable decision.”

Now, this development doesn’t mean Gonzalez didn’t try to extort money from Mendoza but it does sort of demolish the narrative that Mendoza was an honest man forced by a corrupt system to take over a bus of tourists to protest that corrupt system. Mendoza was, apparently, dismissed from the service for cause. Gonzalez was removed over, in the end, nothing.

The appellate court ruled that the Office of the Ombudsman was correct in ruling that Mendoza and their men should be sacked from the PNP roster.

“Besides, questions remain unanswered: We could not understand why the petitioners extendedly kept or detained Kalaw in the police station when the purported basis was just a mere traffic violation, i.e., illegal parking and/or driving without required license; and why the petitioners put so much attention on Kalaw’s alleged traffic violations when primarily it is their job to apprehend traffic violators in the City of Manila,” the decision stated.

Gutierrez resigned as ombudsman in March after she was impeached by the House of Representatives for her supposed lack of action on corruption cases, especially those concerning former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Gutierrez defended and cleared Gonzalez of any wrongdoing.

Well...this is awkward, isn't it?

Christmas Message!

We apologize for the absolute dearth of recent posts.  Things have changed a lot since Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was arrested for electoral sabotage: a Supreme Court Chief Justice that she appointed has been impeached, her former Elections chief has also been arrested, and her Butcher of Mindanao ex-general is on the lam. This, alongside the Aquino administration seemingly unsure of whether to be decisive or bumbling.

We have always tried to have an opinion on things, but recent events (the impeachment, Sendong, losing at the Philippine Blog Awards yet again, Christmas) have us rethinking paradigms and stroking our napes from high blood pressure, and taking naps.

If nothing else, we have seen the Philippines mature politically. Although, sometimes, that maturity strays into senility. Take our rage at the “railroading” of the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Renato Corona, for example. We were alarmed at the speed of the thing, from a House majority caucus to a complaint signed by an overwhelming majority of congressmen, to actual impeachment faster than it takes some lawmakers to wrap up their privileged speeches.

“Martial Law!,” so many of us cried.

Never mind, as it turns out, that impeachment is a power given to the House of Representatives, and that the so-called railroading is enshrined in the Constitution. In the words of Bro. Eli Soriano, “Magbasa muna kayo.” Not to the point that you can quote the Constitution to answer whether man and dinosaur co-existed or anything like that, just enough to know what you claim to be defending against tyranny, I guess.

Sometimes, the senility of our political maturity is less metaphorical: as in the case of Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Lim, who, when prevented from going to the lavatory while on a flight to Manila, allegedly whipped out his trouser snake for all and sundry. It was the arrogance of the Philippine elite, uh, writ small. [Ed: Important, but not mentioned, is that Lim is 59 and may just be old, not arrogant ] [Thanks, Ed!]

Dramatic Reenactment

Diaz said Lim also partly pulled down his underwear while seated in the front row facing them. She said the mayor violently reacted after she prevented him from going to the lavatory while the “fasten your seat belt” light was on.

” You want me to pee here?” Lim reportedly asked Diaz.

To avoid trouble, the pilot, Capt. Ronaldo Ramos, who was informed of the commotion, allowed Lim to use the lavatory.

“It was a shocking, traumatic experience we had,” Diaz said.

Diaz said she was embarrassed by the incident and cried in front of the passengers. She was even more shocked after learning that the “exhibitionist” is a city mayor.

Anyway, we have been talking about a new direction for Indolent Indio since this whole political commentary thing hasn’t really blown up as much as we hoped. We’ll still be doing commentary but will be branching out to other topics as well. Food blogging maybe, or movie reviews, or vague and self-righteous regional pride that can get pretty goddamned annoying. Watch this space.

Internet Research and How Not To Do It

The Internet is such a wonderful thing for the curious.

Anyone can go online and have almost any question answered by downloading free books from Project Gutenberg, or using Wikipedia as a jump-off point for further research. With the right kind of eyes, you can even gain access to entire peer-reviewed journals and scientific papers.

Or, you can do your Internet research the lazy way:

That's what the National Historical Commission is for, right?

I would not be the least bit surprised if “IVAN” actually thought he was sending a message to former chief justice Jose Abad Santos and that Abad Santos would rise from the grave, walk to the library, and look it up “faster cause this is IVAN’s report.”

That report isn't going to write itself, former chief justice Jose Abad Santos

Make up your mind, little girl

It’s difficult to believe Arroyo spokesperson Elena Bautista-Horn’s claims of a plot to murder former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo because she doesn’t seem to know anything about the plot except that it supposedly exists and because she doesn’t know what she wants the government to do about it.

When the Aquino administration played down the alleged murder plot as a work of fiction, Horn got angry at the government’s callousness:

“Mas ma-appreciate namin kung sabihin man lang nila paiimbestigahan ang report na ito. Walang effort to even investigate, (We sould appreciate it if they at least said they will investigate the report. But there’s no effort to investigate),” she told dwIZ radio.

Which, apparently, the police did “even as some sectors were simply laughing off the claim.”

[Philippine National Police chief Nicanor] Bartolome admitted he just learned of the supposed slay plot from a news report Wednesday evening, adding that the PNP has yet to receive details of the alleged assassination plot.

He said that it would be of help if Horn would name her source so that police could go directly to the person to investigate.

And Bautista-Horn, eager to nip any assassination plot in the bud promptly did, giving the police leads that led to the dramatic arrest of a group of disgruntled military officers who had been biding their time to exact vengeance. Or, at least, that’s would have happened in a normal world where people do things that make sense.

What actually happened, apparently, is Bautista-Horn told the police nothing.

 

The Arroyo camp will also not be asking for additional government security since that will mean more risk for the former President since the government itself is trying to kill her.

So basically, Bautista-Horn wants us to take an alleged plan to kill her boss seriously but also not do anything about it (aside from snickering, anyway). People skilled in politics (being politicians) have called the move a red herring and an appeal for sympathy, which it might well be. But really, Bautista-Horn can save herself the trouble of doing the rounds of TV and radio station by just getting on Twitter and sending this message: “The government wants to kill my boss. #justsaying”

 

This hat keeps Them out of my head but I know They are listening.

An Expected Plot Twist

On a scale of 1 to 5, how crazy would you say the shit you say sounds?

The winds changed again last night when Elena Bautista-Horn, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s spokesperson, bared a pretty bare bones plot to kill her boss.

The supposed assassination plot is backed up by a tip from an anonymous member of the Aquino administration and an opinion column by Mon Tulfo, that paragon of journalistic integrity who has quit profanity but still turns out shit.

“Alam rin po natin na lumabas sa column ni Mon Tulfo na sinabi daw po ni Secretary Butch Abad na kung pababa-biyahihen si Mrs. Arroyo eh mabuti na daw na barilin siya sa tarmac. So napagtatagpi-tagpi namin ang istorya na talagang parang may agenda na hindi maganda para sa dating pangulo, [As we know, a column by Mon Tulfo said Department of Budget Butch Abad said it would be better to shoot Mrs. Arroyo on the tarmac*]” she said in an example of constitutes quintiplemillion hearsay.  

Tulfo, whose column now features more asterisks than words, actually wrote:

What’s this I heard from the Malacañang grapevine about a bad joke made by a Cabinet official during a meeting that P-Noy had with his Cabinet over the showdown between his government and the Supreme Court?

Budget Secretary Butch Abad allegedly butted in during a discussion on why Gloria and her husband should not be allowed to leave the country: “Why don’t we just shoot her at the tarmac?”

If true, Abad’s joke was in bad taste, but to jump to the conclusion that this is proof of a laughably named Operation ‘Put The Little Girl To Sleep’ is such a leap that even Arroyo lawyer Raul Lambino, who has come up with a lot of whoppers himself, probably said “what the fuck?” before scrambling to come up with something even more outlandish. Like an alien plot to abduct Arroyo, maybe. Or that a team of time-travelling terminator robots have been sent from the future to take her out.

A few weeks ago, the nation sort of felt sympathy for Arroyo when she was kept from leaving the country even though the Supreme Court said she had. The supot stand off at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, where Arroyo arrived and left in a St. Luke’s ambulance/airport taxi service,  had Bautista-Horn, Lambino, and lawyer Ferdinand Topacio screaming about martial law and the death of democracy. And for a while, people actually bought it.

How dare the government prevent Arroyo from exercising her right to travel? She has hypoparathyroidism and a rare bone disease that could kill her if left untreated by foreign doctors who are much better than local doctors!

Until last week, when Arroyo’s doctors told a Pasay City court that their patient was actually doing okay. Until then, Arroyo’s people had been saying she needed to fly abroad for urgent treatment. If she couldn’t fly out, she should at least be granted hospital arrest.

With that cat out of the bag, Arroyo’s lawyers dropped the bid for hospital arrest and asked that she be allowed house arrest instead. Arroyo has since developed colitis, an incredibly rare and deadly disease that the rest of us call being poopy.

And since being a poopy pants isn’t really enough of a reason to not stay in jail while facing a case of electoral sabotage, her camp probably thought playing the “there is a plot to kill me” card would win them sympathy.

Except it’s not. Not when it’s based on two rumors and no proof. Not when you squandered away your credibility in nine years of saying one thing and doing another, saying “I’m sorry” for something that you never acknowledge doing again, and surrounding yourself with an increasingly shady inner circle of crooks.

With this latest claim of a kill plot against her, Arroyo’s camp is finally scraping the bottom of the barrel and has run out of halfway credible things to say. There is only one thing to say at this point, however incredible: Not guilty. And she should say it in court.

—

 *Because, you see, this is Martial Law and she is the new Ninoy Aquino.

Wrong As They Are, They Are Right

Infuriating as listening to lawyers Raul Lambino and Ferdinand Topacio wail about their poor oppressed clients Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Jose Miguel Arroyo is, they are fundamentally right.

 

The 1987 Constitution, that pesky litle document, does say the right to travel cannot be impaired “except in the interest of national security, public safety, or public health, as may be provided by law.” The Memorandum Circular giving Justice Secretary Leila De Lima the power to put the two of them on a travel watch list, although convenient for us, is not a law.

 

And although it’s true that the Aquino government will be courting riots if it lets Arroyo escape justice*, as lawyers like saying, that has no basis in logic or in law either. And unless the Arroyos suddenly gain the ability to turn into giant mecha-Arroyos, they do not pose much of a threat to national security. If Arroyo plans to go to Europe for an operation to give her that ability, maybe… Otherwise, though, as smarmy suspects like to say on police procedurals, charge them or let them go.

 

NOT a Mecha-Arroyo

 

Sure, Arroyo is probably exaggerating the seriousness of her hyoparathyroidism and her condition can probably treated here as well as it can be abroad. Sure, she’s probably looking for a way out of the plunder and electoral sabotage complaints filed against her. Sure, we probably all want to slap that smug look off her face. But that is of no moment because the Constitution and our set of laws say we cannot keep her from leaving the country unless she’s actually facing a case in court.

 

“But she’s been charged with plunder/cheating/making deals with the devil/the apostasy of claiming to talk to God!,” you might say. And you would be right. But “charged,” in these cases, means accused of. That means people have accused her of all of those things, but that does not mean those complaints have been brought to court.

 

They are in that limbo called “preliminary investigation” that basically means the prosecutor (or fiscal, if you prefer) is still trying to find out if there is enough of a case to bring before a judge.

 

No, that kind of case comes after...

 

No matter what Attorney Topacio says, this is not Martial Law. And one of the things that the oligarchs put into the Constitution to prevent Martial Law-esque abuse is a limit to the power of the executive to do whatever it wants. Hold-Departure Orders, the actual and legal order to keep someone from leaving the country, can only be issued by a court.

 

The Watch List Order issued by the DOJ is, by requiring people on the list to ask permission before leaving, is a sort of freak hold-departure order that could mean the executive branch could keep you from leaving the country just because a complaint has been filed against you. And as we have learned through long years of watching celebrities do it to each other, anybody with money to spare can file a complaint even without basis.

Annabelle Rama alone generates 10-15% of revenues collected each year from filing fees

 

Yes, we want to see the Arroyos behind bars (especially that Mikey, for looking and acting like a douchebag), but not like this. The Arroyos are innocent (except in out hearts) and deserve the same rights that everybody else enjoys even though we hate them. In the meantime, you can head over to the Other Website and look at borderline funny pictures of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo given the DPWH treatment. If nothing else, it will keep your rage going.

 

Fuck you anyway, Mikey

 *”Justice”, in this case, meaning imprisonment.  

(Thx, Indolent reader FreeSince09)

Indolent Internet Digest 8

When the stars are right, Indolent Indio comes out with a short and hastily-done roundup of things we’ve found on the Internet (pinoy chapter, of course.) Quality, quantity, content, and success may vary.

—

Third World Truth is either good or sort of scary. In any case, it’s a blog that deserves watching.

An excerpt:

Now, when those clowns get to save enough after slaving in their corporate blow jobs, they can finally rent or perhaps even own an entry-level unit. They’ll struggle with payments, but they’ll do what they need to do to maintain that illusionary status symbol. Watch out for these guys in your family reunions. They’re going to borrow money from you at the first chance they get. It’s pathetic.

 

Congressional Observer, whose pictures we posted/totally stole this week, is a blog run from within the House of Representatives although certainly not by the House of Representatives. Here’s a throw-away line on former Akbayan Representative Risa Hontiveros-Baraquiel’s gown at the State of the Nation Address a few months ago: “Sorry but mas maganda ang mga gay companions’ get ups kesa sa iyo, mudra.”

 

Also, while we were sleeping, a video on the truth about the Cojuangco family went viral and infected us with the “truth” as presented by some dude with animation skills:

Indio: Bravo (no relation), who is a historian and is good at it, posted the video then took it down because “while I still do believe that we have a feudalism/padrino system that has to be crushed by empowering Filipinos through education, it is clear that the video indeed is promoting a sort of propaganda.”  And that is true, the video strays into silliness at times.

Here is a longer discussion by De La Salle University professor Michael Charleston Briones Chua on the “truths” in the video.

TL;DR version: “There is nothing here that is new for those who read Philippine History books.”

 

Also, more than 1,000 people have liked a Facebook page absolving murder suspect Ramon Joseph “RJ” Bautista, thus freeing up court dockets for other cases. Indeed, the Facebook page renders our justice system redundant.

 

A Facebook page supporting his sister Ramona Bautista/Revilla is not doing so well, with only 159 people liking it so far. Maybe her flying to Turkey instead of facing charges has something do with that. You can’t fool Internet justice, Ramona. We’re not stupid.

 

Also, we are not sure what is happening over at fake news/comedy website Mosquito Press. They’re showing photos of the 7-billionth baby. Is that the punchline? Are those fake babies?

Murders Most Foul

The All Saints’ weekend was not good to relatives of celebrities: the half-brother of an actor-senator was shot and killed, and the estranged father of an international singing sensation (cringe) was stabbed and killed.A

 

The authorities tried their best to make it up to the celebrities themselves, though. Catching and charging suspects in record time, all under the glare of media klieg lights.

 

Angel Capili Jr., now charged with the murder of Ricky “Charice’s Father” Pempengco, surrendered to authorities after being on the run for a few days, sleeping in bus terminals with his cellphone turned off while police “tracker teams” hunted him down in Southern Luzon.

 

The killer is in this very room.

 

Police also have custody of Ramon Joseph Bautista (aka Revilla) and two of his alleged accomplices in the murder of his brother Ramgen “Ram” Revilla (aka Bautista). Police say Bautista, the two other non-celebrity suspects, and his sister Ramona Revilla (aka Ramona Bautista) conspired to have Ramgen killed for P200,000. Supposedly, a family squabble over a P1-million monthly allowance given to the Genelyn Magsaysay chapter of the Revilla clan came to a head with Ramgen’s murder.

 

They let him hide his face

 

Police say the two cases were not given undue attention because the victims were relatives of celebrities. Still, Laguna and Cavite officials offered a P200,000 reward for Capili and Revilla is related to Senator Ramon Revilla Jr.(aka Ramon Bong Revilla Jr.), so, surely, that made the two cases extra important? Still, the police say the cases were treated just like they would treat regular murders.

 

The same cannot be said for how suspects in the two cases were treated, however. Capili was brought from Cavite to the Philippine National Police headquarters in Manila for what was essentially a glorified perp walk. Laguna and Cavite officials were there to turn over the suspect to Laguna police (before he was brought back to Laguna, which is nearer to Cavite than Manila). Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo even came over to give a statement.

 

What? The guy in the middle?

 

Through it all, Capili was in full view of television cameras and all local stations cut their programming to bring viewers and listeners a blow-by-blow account of the “bad guy” in what was essentially a drinking spree that ran its natural course.

 

The Revilla/Bautistas, on the other hand, were treated with kid gloves. Ramona Revilla/Bautista/Horn was not subject to the same scrutiny and Senator Revilla was quick to both ask for privacy and to excuse his half-siblings, both suspects in a murder. He called for a reinvestigation and hinted the police may have mucked up their jobs (which, to be fair, is actually quite possible.)

 

There was no perp walk for Ramona Revilla, who initially said the killers abducted her but later recanted when police showed she faked the supposed kidnapping. She was even interviewed on ANC so she could deny everything.

 

That night, ABS-CBN (which owns ANC) reported her leaving the country on a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong. Immigration officials couldn’t stop her because they had no authority to. She was also reportedly accompanied to the VIP lounge by a “male escort.”

 

"You'll never catch me, porkchops!"

People who know about these things say someone with clout–a senator, or a congressman, or a mayor–had to have helped her get the VIP  treatment. Ramona Revilla/Bautista is related to a senator, at least two congressmen, and at least two mayors. That doesn’t even count her semi-relatives on the Ynares side of the family.

 

A visibly angry Revilla said he was shocked at Ramona’s flight and denied knowing anything about what happened. Some found his statements unbelievable and hinted the senator himself is the powerful figure behind Ramona’s flight from justice. After all, better a suspected murderer in the family than a convicted murderer.

 

Others were quick to say the episode could derail Revilla’s political plans for the 2016 presidential elections. This is true whether he knew about Ramona’s escape or not. If he did know about it, then he put his family above the justice system and his pronouncements of “I am a senator of the Republic, not a senator of my family!” are just fluff and showbiz make-believe.

 

If he did not know about it, then what does that suggest? If relatives have been accused of murdering their own brother, and risk dragging the Revilla name into the mud like former action star and senator Ramon Revilla Sr. was in Nardong Putik, should he have not kept better tabs on those relatives? If his own relatives can pull the wool over his eyes, then how about people who are not his relatives?

 

Also interesting, but probably easily explained, is that Ramona Revilla/Bautista boarded the Cathay Pacific flight at 8pm. The news broke at around 10pm and the Revilla clan only began reacting at least half an hour after that.

 

Now, if an ABS-CBN crew was at the airport in time to catch her waiting for her flight, could they not have asked Revilla about it before breaking the news?  At which point, presumably, Senator Revilla would say “Anak ng Teteng!“, put on a cowboy hat, and head to the airport for a confrontation with the half-sister he was defending just hours ago.

 

Or he could catch her himself.