Punzi's Corner Blog

Some may think of lawyer Oliver Lozano as a foolish old goat, just trying to seek publicity by filing a disqualification case against ex-President Joseph Estrada this early.

I have to admit, I was one of them, unworthy of the name we both share.

But when he said he would appeal the COMELEC's dismissal of the case, I realized the brilliance of his move.

When Erap files his certificate of candidacy next month, the appealed case would be in the Supreme Court already, and Lozano can claim that as a supervening event of the filing so he need not re-file with the COMELEC again.

That would save him (and actually us) A LOT of time (of re-filing and arguing orally and in writing) with the COMELEC. With that move, he bypassed the COMELEC's processes (which could take ages), saving him and all of us a lot of time.

Had we gone through the normal process, we would have filed the disqualification case with the COMELEC. Then COMELEC would require Erap to answer within a period of time. Then, the parties would probably file their replies and rejoinders. Then, go through oral arguments. After that, the COMELEC will decide and that decision would be elevated to the Supreme Court, where the entire process would be repeated.

But with filing the disqualification case now, there would already be a COMELEC decision up for review by the Supreme Court, hence legally bypassing a necessary but time-consuming step.

But of course, that move is a double edged sword. He may or may not be disqualified, we don't know how the Supreme Court decides. At least, we will know quickly.

So Atty. Lozano may be a lot of things, but not stupid. As a matter of fact, it was a brilliant move. That's a move that I admire. The maneuver that appears to be stupid at first, even at the point of mockery, but in the final analysis, was really brilliant in the first place.

So okay, he is worthy of the name we both share.

Most of my friends don't know about this but I have survived several flood incidents back in my younger years.

I grew up in an area of Pasig/Cainta that floods every year. Fortunately, we had a second floor and the water only gets to about hip-high. The flooding there was so common, we already built a high ramp to put our cars so they were dry when the waters rose.

We were still high and dry and we somehow got used to flooding. The flood then was localized in our particular area so there were times I still had to go to school as classes were not suspended. I remember wading in waist-high flooding for a long distance to get to my dad's office, where the car was. And from there, we cleaned up and headed off to school. I remember I really had to attend classes then because we had our quarterly exams. Leptosyrosis was unheard of then.

We got used to it. But it came to a point where we got fed up with the annual floods in the area. So we headed to Quezon City.

When I got married, we settled again in Pasig, in a place called Pinagbuhatan. It was a a swell place back then. Since we lived near the city market, it was a place that never sleeps. During the wee hours of the morning, the delivery trucks came to unload their goods. It was fascinating.

We moved out of that place because, ironically, water was scarce. The local water supply was unreliable at best and we went for a few months there without water in the pipes. Imagine having to haul water to the fourth floor.

Then, it was back at Quezon City, in a place called Northview.

When I got unmarried, we went back to my parent's house. You know that bit...

And then these floods came...

Never have I seen floods on such a wide area. And all the places I have lived got severely flooded. The flood waters went up to the second floor in our original house. My old house in Northview got flooded all the way to the ceiling. And the now infamous Pinagbuhatan, it's still flooded until now... and the waters have turned sewer black...

Fortunately, my present place was spared. But we were stranded in Nico's school that day. As we tried to find a route to go home that fateful day, we even attempted to pass by Barangka, Marikina, only to turn back when we heard on the radio that we cannot pass through Nangka anymore.

As we tried to go back to Nico's, we even passed by the now infamous Provident Village just mere minutes before the flood waters there rose. We literally saw the waters in Marikina that day turn from transparent to mud.

We were lucky to have made it back to Nico's school that day. Any time difference we would have been flooded in our car with nowhere to go...

So we consider ourselves lucky and are grateful that we came out of that "adventure" alive. We know it could have gone either way.

Given recent events, I'm compiling a tentative list of the lessons I have learned:

1. Pray.
2. Help.
3. Be careful of what you post or tweet in social networking media.
4. Sometimes, sitting still to think is way better than trying to move around getting nowhere.
5. Every little bit counts.
6. Give.
7. There's good in all of us.
8. There's pure evil in some of us.
9. Technology can really make a difference. Even if you're far away.
10. Mother Nature can be a great equalizer.
11. Insure your stuff against "acts of God."
12. No matter how much an alcoholic you are, never make a beer run on a whim, especially when you are a public official and every person has a celphone camera.
13. Keep calm.
14. Share.
15. Give thanks. For there's always a person in a worse situation than you. But keep your gratitude to yourself and don't gloat, else you become famous for the wrong reason.
16. Never depend on government anymore. You'll just get disappointed.
17. Learn to edit re-tweets in 160 characters or less since you have to acknowledge the author of the original tweet.

I'll add to this list as I think of more things I have learned.

Hello!

It's been a long time since I posted something. The blackout is still in effect. But there's really nothing much to blog about anyway. Well, nothing I like to broadcast, anyway.

I don't know why this song came to mind this morning. Wait a minute there... I think this was playing on my iPod... that's why. But this is a very good and very original rendition.

Have a great and productive week, everyone!



I Won't Last a Day Without You
(by the Carpenters)

Day after day, I must face a world of strangers
Where I dont belong, Im not that strong
Its nice to know that theres someone I can turn to
Who will always care, youre always there

(*) when theres no gettin over that rainbow
When my smallest of dreams wont come true
I can take all the madness the world has to give
But I wont last a day without you

So many times when the city seems to be
Without a friendly face, a lonely place
Its nice to know that youll be there if I need you
And youll always smile, its all worthwhile

Repeat (*)

Touch me and I end up singing
Trouble seems to up and disappear
You touch me with the love youre bringing
I cant really lose when youre near
When youre near, my love

If all my friends have forgotten half their promises theyre not unkind, just
Hard to find
One look at you and I know
That I must learn to live without the rest
Ive found the best

Repeat (*) twice

Here are some videos of what I have been doing recently. I just hijacked these from Liesl's site

Again, thank you guys! It has been an absolute thrill to have served with you. Until the next service.

Former Philippine President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino passed away at 3:18am (GMT+8) on Aug 1, 2009. She was 76.

Rest in peace, HE Corazon C. Aquino. The country owes you more than a debt of gratitude.

Prayer for a Happy Death
(by Corazon Aquino, 2004)


Almighty God, most merciful Father
You alone know the time
You alone know the hour
You alone know the moment
When I shall breathe my last.

So remind me each day, most loving Father
To be the best that I can be
To be humble, to be kind,
To be patient, to be true,
To embrace what is good
To reject what is evil
To adore only You.

When that final moment does come
Let not my loved ones grieve for long
Let them comfort each other
And let them know how much happiness
They brought into my life.
Let them pray for me
As I will continue to pray for them,
Hoping that they will always pray for each other.
Let them know that they made possible
Whatever good I offered to our world
And let them realize that our separation
Is just for a short while
As we prepare for our reunion in eternity.

Our Father in heaven
You alone are my hope
You alone are my salvation
Thank You for Your unconditional love. Amen.

First, some apologies are in order:

1. Sorry for the stray notes, I was in a hurry and I wanted to get this out. Of course, there's performance anxiety also.

2. Sorry for the cheap equipment I used to record this. I just used an iSight webcam, and Photobooth with some editing from iMovie.

3. Sorry for the bad audio. I just used my computer's built-in microphone. And I was quite near it when I was recording. Just lower the volume while playing.

4. Sorry, all you can see is my belly, with some glimpses of my chin and the flute. People who know me personally know why that is so. But I can assure you, I played this one live.

5. Finally, sorry Fr. Arnel Aquino, S.J. for messing up your recording by my lay-over track.

6. As a catchall, sorry for those I have offended in making this recording.

Now for a background:

Even with my blog blackout, I wanted to do something special for this year's Feast of St. Ignatius. Well, there's a lot to be grateful for. For one, it's my school's sesquicentennial. Second, it's my son's first year in the Ateneo and he seems to be having the time of his life.

This is the first piece I have learned on the piano and on the flute. It is but fitting that I record this piece first.

I started practicing using my YFL-221, but I ended up using my main flute for this, my Yamaha YFL-471. There was a big difference between the two flutes.



The song is "Panalangin ng Pagiging Bukas Palad" by Fr. Manoling Francisco, S.J. and Jandi Arboleda I will post the lyrics here but it's the Filipino translation of St. Ignatius of Loyola's Prayer for Generosity.

So here goes:




Panalangin ng Pagiging Bukas Palad
(Fransico, S.J. and Arboleda, Ofracio, translated lyrics from Prayer for Generosity)

Panginoon, turuan Mo ako maging bukas-palad
Turuan Mo akong maglingkod sa Iyo
Na magbigay nang ayon sa nararapat
Na walang hinihintay mula sa 'Yo

Nang makibakang di inaalintana
Mga hirap na dinaranas
Sa tuwina'y magsumikap na hindi humahanap
Ng kapalit na kaginhawaan
Na 'di naghihintay kundi ang aking mabatid
Na ang loob Mo'y siyang sinusundan

Panginoon, turuan Mo ako maging bukas-palad
Turun Mo akong maglingkod sa Iyo
Na magbigay nang ayon sa nararapat
Na walang hinihintay mula sa 'Yo