kris, and imelda, on our minds

i’m in the middle of putting together a ninoy bio but kris and imelda in the news at the same time — amazing synchronicities all around — calls for a blogging break.

kris is screaming theft.  “tens of tax paid millions from my sons’ trust funds,” she said in sept 25.  ayun pala some P1.2 M lang, in credit card charges pa, that the accused is perfectly willing to pay, as on previous occasions.  what’s going on, kris?  magkano ba talaga?  tapos, may pa-threat-threat ka pa daw?

JESUS FALCIS:  I heard it personally.  Ms Aquino threatened  my brother.
You f*cking asshole!  Nick, wag ka tatapak dito sa Pilipinas.  Dare to step in this country and you will be dead.

parang the level of anger is O.A.  isn’t she relieved na nagkamali siya, hindi pala tens of millions ang nawawala, as she thought at first?  might this be a more complicated case, with aggravating pangs of unrequited something-something, as in, a woman scorned?  if not, fine.  if yes, well, yes, P1.2M is P1.2M, lalo na if the guy led her on, or something like that.  but i don’t know.  it feels like a publicity stunt to me.  a running publicity stunt, maybe all the way to 2022?  who knows with these crazy rich women.

which brings me to imelda, who has been found guilty of seven charges of graft while in office back in the good old bad days of martial law.  loyalists are asking why has it taken so long to prove her guilt, 27 years, what about her right to a speedy trial?  say ko naman, it’s not as if the marcoses weren’t paying their big time lawyers to delay and delay and delay, maybe until a marcos-friendly supreme court happens along, presumably if/when bongbong manages to reclaim the palace?

loyalists are also saying that at 89 imelda’s too old to go to jail.  kay digong ko una narinig ito, early in his presidency.

President Rodrigo Duterte said that prisoners who are at least 70 years old should be released from prison, according to the law. And since he’s already 71 years old, he can no longer be jailed.

but wait.  atty raymond fortun begged to disagree.

… litigation lawyer Raymond Fortun said that Duterte thought wrong about being safe from imprisonment because of his advanced age.

“With all due respect to the President, he is wrong here,” Fortun said in his Facebook post.

“Age is merely a MITIGATING circumstance (Art. 13, Sec 2, RPC). It does NOT mean that he cannot be charged and, if found convicted, cannot service his sentence in jail. Being 70 years of age merely reduces the penalty to its minimum (or, if there are other mitigating circumstances, by 1 to 2 degrees lower),” he said.

iyan rin ang sabi ni atty noel del prado sa usapang de campanilla on dzmm kanina.  as for the health issue —  she’s suffering from “multiple organ infirmities” and  “under strict orders to refrain from stressful conditions” — medyo mahirap ang excuse slip na ganyan kapag nakaka-four terms ka na sa konggreso, at may balak ka pang tumakbo for governor sa 2019.

i imagine though that imee, bongbong, and irene will move heaven and earth to spare their matriarch, and i get it.  in their place, i would probably do the same.