He had an epiphany after all

He had an epiphany after all, as he laid there with nothing but artificial white light, a prayer, and his loved ones. Mike Arroyo has instructed his lawyer to drop all libel suits he had filed against journalists (ANC 12:00 noon news).

 

I’m taking back what I wrote two Saturdays ago( blog post title: The Epiphany You Never Had), when I said that when his EDSA was blocked (aorta) at the EDSA of his life, you would think he would have an epiphany, etc., yet he continued knifing the journalists he had sued. Those paragraphs were prompted by the fact that one of his first visitors after he was wheeled out of surgery, unable to breathe on his own, was his libel-cases-lawyer; and that the libel hearings continued even as he lied in his near-death bed.

 

I take all of it back and I apologize to FG. He did see what really mattered.

 

 

Just take it easy, Mr. First Gentleman. There are many days ahead of you. You can’t control everything, even if you had fleets of workers and soldiers at your command. You make plans in the morning, but you won’t be able to control even how that particular day would unfold, or any day. (well, we try our best.)

 

 

Here’s a photo I took the other day; several; I’m no photographer, pagpasensiyahan na po, my sister-in-law gave me this neat gizmo that I never used.

 

 

ll

 

My orange sky. I see this everyday, but I never stopped to look, the other day I snapped a photo, like 20 or so; and it was still there, and it was taking its time changing colors from orange to tangerine to pink to purple too quiet and taking a really long time. So I drove away because I had to submit a memo. I thought, anyway, I took 20 snapshots of it.

ll

 

And I didn’t get it, did I?

 

FG did.

 

 

Orasyon by Balagtas. Print from National Power Corporation

Have you ever noticed that many Filipino painters use reds, oranges, browns, the warm colors. By the way, sir, I listed down the cases and the journalists that you had sued po, you might miss one po, here they are:

 

(source: Philippine Journalism Review, October 2006)

Newsbreak, “More Properties” Dec. 8, 2003

1.Marites Vitug

2.Glenda Gloria

3.Ricky Carandang

4.R.E. Otico

5.Jose Dalisay Jr.

6.Booma Cruz

Newsbreak “Will She Now Change?”, June 7, 2004

7. Concepcion Paez

Malaya “Poe’s Camp Says Mike is Chief Cheating Operator” May 19, 2004)

8.JP Lopez

9.Regina Bengco

10.Amado Macasaet

11.Enrique Romualdez

12.Joy de los Reyes

13.Ma. Teresa Molina

14.Minnie Advincula

15.Ellen Tordesillas

 

Malaya “First Couple’s Idea of Charity”, July 9, 2004; “Business Insight” column by Macasaet

16.Rosario Galang

Amado Macasaet

 

The Daily Tribune (“So I See” column, July 21, 25, 28, Aug. 11, 13, 15, 2003: six counts)

17. Lito Banayo

 

Philippine Daily Inquirer (Tulfo’s column “On Target” Jan. 14, 17, 26; March 9, 23; May 23, June 17, Aug. 3, 2006: 14 counts)

18.Ramon Tulfo

19.Isagani Yambot

20.Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc

21.Jose Ma. Nolasco

22.Abelardo Ulanday

23. Rosario Garcellano

24.Artemio Engracia Jr.

25.Jorge Aruta

26.Pergentino Bandayrel Jr.

27.Juan Sarmiento Jr.

 

Bandera, Tulfo’s column “On Target” Jan. 26, May 23, 27, June 6, 8, 17)

28.Eileen Mangubat

29.Beting Laygo Dolor

30.Jimmy Alcantara

31.Raymond Rivera

 

Tribune (for stories that quoted Tatad saying FG was his wife’s “chief cheater”, May 14, 26, 17, 18, 2004)

32.Ninez Cacho-Olivares

33.Romulo Marinas

34.Gina Capili

35. Jake Martin

36.Marvin Estigoy

37.Gerry Baldo

38.Sherwin Olaes

39.Lito Tugadi

40.Jing Santos

(For saying Mike Arroyo influenced RPN-9 to axe “Isumbong Mo, tulfo Brothers” in a presscon Aug. 2)

41.Erwin Tulfo

42.Raffy Tulfo

Ramon Tulfo

Inq7.net

43.William Esposo

 

FG, there is also this matter of the journalists sued having been made to suffer being served arrest warrants, or posting bail, hiring lawyers, going over their legal problems, meetings, talking to their families and friends, emotional, mental, physical strain. I guess the lawyers have to get together on how to settle this. [of course, lawyers can’t tell their clients how they should feel; but they can present the options and timetables and work. If there had been counterclaims filed in the civil aspect of the cases (in harassment suits you usually file counterclaims, anyway); the counterclaims survive the dismissal, etc.) so these matters have to be threshed out.

 

There is also this matter, FG, of the incidents that gave rise to these news reports for which you sued, such as what really went down in 2004, how Jocjoc Bolante distributed the slush fund for fertilizer bought at P1,000.oo per kilo and which in the market cost P89.oo per kilo, and also where is Jocjoc Bolante now? There’s also this teeny-weeny matter of the Garci tapes where a man who sounded like you instructed Garci on what to do with election board inspectors in Lanao, etc. and also….okay… a day at a time.