Exclusive
By Raïssa Robles
It was a moment that warmed the heart of a nation and left it teary-eyed: the sight of Cristina Corona hugging her long-estranged Basa cousins on national TV last Friday, while Cristina’s husband Renato sat on the dock being tried on a charge that could lead to his disgrace and dismissal.
UPDATE: TV drama scriptwriter Baby Nebrida replied to this story at 2:00 a.m. Without contesting the version given to me by the Basas in the article, Nebrida said I have “polluted the minds of the public” and I’m “a poor role model” to the youth. You can find her full reply in Comment #73.
I asked a Basa relative to tell me more about their dramatic reconciliation. I was rather taken aback by the blunt answer I got: “There was no apology (from Cristina), just small talk and hug-hug.” The version of events I was told differed in some vital parts to what Cristina’s friend Baby Nebrida told ANC TV.
In this piece, I will put side by side Baby Nebrida’s version of the reconciliation and the version of the Basa relatives, as told to me in several exclusive interviews.
One Basa relative just told me today:
If the reconciliation was a ploy on Cristina’s end and we fell for it hook line and sinker, on our end we were sincere.
I decided to come out with this piece after the Basa version was confirmed today in the form of a statement released to a national daily by the main actors in that telegenic reconciliation – namely, Ana, Carmen, Isabel, Francesca and Eric Basa.
The five Basa siblings had issued a statement to the Philippine Daily Inquirer saying that despite the reconciliation,
There are still fundamental differences that have to be addressed, including the damaging statements, falsehoods and accusations against our family, the probate of our Lola Charing (Rosario Basa), court convictions, BGEI stock and financial issues, and, most especially, clearing the tarnished good name of our father, Jose Maria Basa III. The truth must be made evident.
This will be a long journey of healing and reconciliation. It will take time and it may be a painful process for all involved in light of the 30 years of pain preceding it.
Before I go on, I would like to put the reconciliation in context and try to explain why the Basa siblings had issued such a statement to Inquirer after such a momentous group hug. It now appears that Cristina Corona approached the Basas last Friday, not to say sorry to them, but in order to forgive them for the wrongs they had done to her.
Did you get that? The Coronas were FORGIVING the Basas.
While the Basas, on their part, were expecting an apology from Cristina Corona. As one Basa relative told me:
She (Cristina) just made small talk. She said (to one cousin) – You’re the favorite of lolo. And, how was your trip. There was no invitation (to meet) after. No – let’s talk tomorrow, give me your cellphone. Wala. There was no apology.
Cristina was also persuaded to approach the Basas by her friend Baby Nebrida, who helped engineer the entire episode. Nebrida told ANC TV afterward:
I told Tina, I know it’s painful, very painful, but offer it for the acquittal of the Chief Justice.
How else can you interpret this statement? It seems Cristina went along with the reconciliation in order to help save her husband from conviction.
Apparently the gesture was not lost on Senator-Judge Miriam Santiago. The same Inquirer report said:
The dramatic reconciliation between Cristina Corona and her long-estranged cousins at the impeachment court last Friday will inevitably have a bearing on the verdict in the case of the Chief Justice, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said.
“Definitely it will tug at the heartstrings of every sentimental Filipino. The masa (masses) like tons of tears leading to a happy ending. After all those waterworks, the public might not become comfortable with an unhappy ending,” Santiago said in a phone interview.
It is not entirely far-fetched that politicians seeking reelection in May 2013 will take advantage of this, she said.
“Politicians are first and foremost political animals. The first instinct is to survive, and the survival instinct is strongest among politicians when an election is approaching. The reconciliation tableau that we all saw on TV, which affected millions of voters, will surely affect those who plan to run for office (in 2013),” she said.
I learned today that I’m also not the only one who had misgivings about the reconciliation. Former Senator Rene Saguisag shared with me his views on the matter in an e-mail. Saguisag said:
Good that the Basas and Coronas reconciled. Let’ s see a month or two from now whether the Basas will say that they should have counted their fingers after shaking hands with the Coronas.
First, a recap
In the last four months, the nationwide telecast of the Senate impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona was largely doze-inducing to the general public. Much time was spent squabbling over legal technicalities, marking numerous exhibits and taking testimonies about bank accounts, real properties, income taxes paid by Corona and his total earnings.
Only the occasional tirade of Senator-Judge Miriam and the private prosecution lawyer who covered his ears in front of Santiago relieved the tedium.
Things really perked up when the defense made the inexplicably colossal mistake of demanding that the Ombudsman appear as a witness as a precondition to Corona’s own appearance.
When Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales appeared, she completely flabbergasted the defense by producing a 17-page document from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) which she said detailed a total of US$12 million flowing into Corona’s accounts, which numbered 82 in all from 2003 to 2011.
Corona himself took the witness stand last Tuesday. Instead of testifying, he delivered a three-hour diatribe; signed a waiver on his bank accounts; but added that one senator-judge and all the congressmen who signed his impeachment complaint should do the same first; pocketed the waiver; then left without leave from the Senate court after imperiously saying: “The Chief Justice wishes to be excused.”
His dramatic exit was slowed by the nimble photographers and TV cameramen who crowded around him. It was foiled by the impeachment court presiding officer Juan Ponce Enrile who swiftly ordered a lockdown of the entire building. Humiliatingly, Corona was forced to go back to the session hall on a wheelchair, to be berated by Enrile.
After that, Corona took to a hospital bed and did not get up until Friday, when he tottered to the witness stand once more. There, he started waving a piece of paper which he said would allow the court to examine all his bank accounts. Not wanting to bicker in front of the public, the senators retired to debate the implications of accepting Corona’s waiver so late in the trial.
During the break, TV cameras suddenly caught sight of Corona’s wife Cristina, who was unmistakable in a flaming red suit. Cristina was suddenly beside her Basa cousins whose father, the late Jose Maria Basa III, she had successfully sued for four counts of libel.
The late Jose Maria Basa III was convicted of Cristina’s libel charge even after he had died. And the Basa-Guidote Enterprises Inc., where Jose had held majority shares, ended up with Cristina’s daughter Carla in a court-sanctioned auction. This was ostensibly to pay for the moral and civil damages awarded by the court to Cristina. But the moral and civil damages were a fraction of the real value of the company, since by then it had acquired P34 million in cold cash from the sale of its lone asset. Cristina, with the help of her husband Renato, had personally arranged the 2001 sale to the city of Manila.
From this you can see how much bad blood had been flowing between the two sides of the family. It was against this backdrop that the dramatic “reconciliation” took place last Friday afternoon, eclipsing all other telenovelas on TV.
Like everyone, I had wondered what Cristina and her cousins were talking about in between hugs since the TV cameras merely caught their images but not their voices.
Lynda Jumilla of ANC TV was able to interview Cristina’s friend Baby Nebrida afterward. Nebrida is a writer, director and producer of TV dramas and documentaries. She is also a known supporter of Renato Corona and former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. This is what Nebrida said:
Actually, it was all impromptu, we didn’t expect this. And then I saw Betsy Tenchavez (at the Senate impeachment court). I didn’t know she was a Basa. And so I said (to)Tina – and I waved to Betsy – Betsy is my friend. And then I said, who is Betsy Tenchavez? Is she a Basa also? She’s wearing black. And Tina said yes, she’s a first cousin. She’s the daughter of Mario Basa.
The view from the other side is quite different.
My source — a Basa relative — cast doubts on Baby Nebrida’s version. My source pointed out that Cristina Corona and Baby Nebrida were once classmates at Maryknoll College, while Betsy Tenchavez – Cristina’s cousin – was two years ahead of them both in Maryknoll and was then called Betsy Basa. My source added that Betsy Basa-Tenchavez was among those whom Cristina had sued for libel. Because of this, my source doubted that Nebrida did not know that Cristina and Betsy were cousins.
Nebrida continued her tale:
So I called Betsy. When I got a text this morning that ANC mentioned that they’re willing to reconcile. So Sally Zaldivar-Perez texted me. I said, are you sure they want to reconcile? I was very, very skeptical. So what happened, I talked to Betsy immediately and I said, ‘is it true you people are willing to reconcile?’
And Betsy said , yes.
My source confirmed that Betsy and Nebrida indeed talked with each other.
Nebrida continued with her story on ANC TV:
And I said (to Betsy) really! That’s great. And I said let’s see what I can do. So I talked to Tina. Tina has been my friend. We’ve been praying together at the Supreme Court. I said Tina, forgiveness is the way to healing. You have to forgive and you will be healed. I know it hurts you. Don’t you want to reconcile? And she (Cristina) said, of course, of course I want to reconcile. As a matter of fact I never said anything bad against them in public. All the things I’ve been hearing and reading, I kept quiet. Because to me, my family is my family. That’s what she said. And I don’t want to be throwing dirty linen around and I value my family.
And then Carla, the daughter, came to me. And said Tita, actually I miss them. They’re my aunts and most of them I don’t know them anymore.
Then Tina said, for 30 years they’ve been at odds with each other. And so Tina said, OK, OK, I’m willing. And then Bel Cunanan, you know Bel, and Chit Pedrosa, we were all together and Sally (Zaldivar-Perez). How do we do this?
And so I called again Betsy and said, Betsy let’s do it this way. And I said, Tina will go there. That side. And also Carla. And then um — nobody naman is watching right now, I said. But if after the ano, it will be a spectacle. Right now nobody is watching. So you know, so I saw the sincerity of Tina and Carla.
And so I went again to Betsy’s side. This time. I said are you sure you want to? Ya, ya, ya , sabi niyang ganoon. So we brought Tina there, sa middle middle ground. So Bel Cunanan, me and Sally and Chit Pedrosa. We were in tears, you know. It was so moving.
My source contradicted Baby Nebrida’s take of events and gave me the following blow-by-blow version:
Betsy Tenchavez was in the gallery, not in VIP (section). Nebrida approached her and said, Cristina wants to reconcile and all that. Is your family open. And she (Betsy) said ya. They’re gonna go over and Betsy said – not here, not when everyone is watching.
And then Nebrida told Betsy, – they’re (the senators) are all in the caucus. There’s no camera. And then she left. Dala na niya si Cristina. Wala na – Cristina was already there. Binati ni Betsy si Cristina (because) we have breeding.
Nebrida had also told ANC:
And then this Ana, Ana Basa came to me and said, actually I really want to hold CJ (Corona) and kiss him and wish him luck, sabi niya.
This time, my source – a Basa -relative – said “Ana Basa never ever said those words to Baby Nebrida. She never said, actually I really want to hold CJ (Corona) and kiss him and wish him luck.”
Among all the Basa relatives at the impeachment court, Cecilia Basa, husband of Mario Basa, did not get up and go to Cristina. However, Cristina’s daughter Carla went up to Lola Cely and kissed her.
From these photos, you can see how awkward the meeting was between grandma and niece. Carla – to recall the history of the feud – had bought Basa Guidote on the cheap during a court auction in 2003.
Lola Cely merely gives her niece a wave.
While Carla pecks her on the forehead.
Afterward, my source said, Cecilia Basa was heard to mutter:
Mukhang nauto yata tayo.
One of Cristina’s cousin, Eric Basa, was also heard to blurt out:
What just happened?
I asked my source what Cristina Corona had actually told her cousins inside the Senate session hall that had been converted into a court room. My source said:
She just made small talk. She said (to one cousin) – You’re the favorite of lolo. And, how was your trip. There was no invitation (to meet) after. No, let’s talk tomorrow, give me your cellphone. Wala. There was no apology.
In the succeeding hours, it dawned on the Basa relatives that they might have been taken for a ride by Cristina Corona. However, the family was divided on how to do damage control.
My source quoted Ana Basa as saying she believed the reconciliation was “a work of God” and she wanted to leave it at that.
Perhaps, to put the entire thing further into context, it was the Basa side that first talked about their wish to reconcile with their cousin Cristina during an interview with Ted Failon over DZMM that Friday morning.
Fortunately, I was listening and taping that very interview. I have transcribed for you what the Basa siblings said in the last part of the program where Ted Failon asked them about closure:
Ted Failon: Anong magandang closure dito as far as your family is concerned?
Eric Basa: Kung anuman ang resulta ng impeachment, maganda naman sana kung matapos na at magkabatian nang lahat ang pinsan namin para merong peace ang mga pinsan namin. Wala ng away-away. Yon lang ang sasabihin ko.
Ted Failon: Ako medyo – I asked Sr. Flory about it – sa magkakapatid – Sister Concepcion, Mario Basa, mother ninyo, magpipinsan – sinong humiwalay? Meron bang anak kasama sa grupo ni Corona?
Basa: Actually, noong bata pa kami. Lahat kami magkakasundo. Ang humiwalay lang, sila. Sila ang naghiwalay.
Ted Failon asked Ana Basa to give the final message. She said:
That we will see the final resolution, the just cause, tama na. Let’s just get along. Whatever it is, nobody wins. Let’s just have closure. Really praying one day, Cristina and us will be be together and say hello.
Ted Failon asked them if they were willing to settle amicably.
Ana Basa replied:
Matagal na naming ginagawa yan. What is it that will take to settle. Ang problema, kung ano lang gusto nila. Ano ba ang gusto ng ibang stockholders? Parang hindi naman fair yon. So matagal na kaming nag-sesettle. What is it that you want?
It was these words that prompted Baby Nebrida to arrange for Cristina to meet the Basas – ironically inside another court room, but this time with Cristina’s husband as the accused. If Nebrida is to believed, Cristina behaved as if she was the offended party, approaching the Basas not to ask for forgiveness but to forgive them.
If indeed Cristina had managed to put one over the Basas again, my source said:
If the reconciliation was a ploy on Cristina’s end and we fell for it hook line and sinker, on our end we were sincere.
My source vehemently denied that a monetary settlement had been reached with Cristina.
Kabalyero01 says
Mam Raissa, if i may add this very important piece of our history in your forum:
JOSE MA. BASA FROM KASAYSAYAN: THE HISTORY OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE
Who was Jose Ma. Basa and why was he so close to Jose Rizal that there was copious correspondence between the two men? What role did Basa play in the country’s fight for independence from Spain that he would be exiled to the Marianas along with other Filipino patriots?
The Basa name recently emerged from the mist of history after his feuding descendants figured prominently in the impeachment trial of then Chief Justice Renato C. Corona, who is married to Basa’s great granddaughter Cristina.
At the center of the dispute is the family-owned Basa-Guidote Enterprises Inc. (BGEI), whose properties were bequeathed by Basa’s direct descendant, son Jose Ma. II and wife Rosario Guidote, to their five children: Sr. Concepcion FMM, Mario, Asuncion, Jose Ma. III—all deceased—and Sr. Flor Maria FMM.
In his testimony, Corona brought up the BGEI properties to explain away some of the tremendous assets that he had failed to declare in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).
But while the BGEI sidelights thickened the plot of the impeachment drama, there is another reason why the Basa name deserves to be remembered in the Philippines’ struggle for independence: thanks to Jose Ma. Basa, copies of Rizal’s controversial novels “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo” were smuggled into the country and helped fuel a nationalist consciousness.
Smuggler
The story of this nationalistic “smuggler” came to light through one of Jose Ma. Basa’s great grandchildren, Mario Henson Basa Jr., now a systems engineer based in Japan. For his 1987 college thesis at Ateneo de Manila University, the younger Basa did a thorough research on his great grandfather titled, “Jose Ma. Basa: An Unknown Hero.”
Mario’s thesis cited National Artist Guillermo E. Tolentino’s painting, “Filipino Ilustres,” that shows Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini and other familiar faces, among them Jose Ma. Basa.
The artist’s inclusion of Basa in this distinguished group is deserved, Mario wrote. “Like the men around him, Basa devoted his whole life for the betterment of his country. He was at the forefront of the early stages of the battle for reforms. He became the distributor of the liberal newspaper and was a member, with Fr. (Jose) Burgos, of the Comite de Reformadores.”
It was through Basa’s efforts, his great grandson emphasized, that “La Solidaridad” and Rizal’s two novels, “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo” reached the Philippines. Basa also wrote propaganda pamphlets in Hong Kong and opened his home to Filipino exiles, Mario added.
Born in Binondo
According to Mario’s research, Jose Ma. Basa was born on Dec. 19, 1839, in Calle San Jacinto corner Calle Basa in Binondo to a Spanish mestizo known as Matias Basa (Jose Ma., according to archives) and Joaquina San Agustin.
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) and later associated with fellow UST alumni like Joaquin Pardo de Tavera and Fr. Jose Burgos, who shared his views on the atrocities of the Spanish friars. At 21, Basa already had a thriving business, with his distillery being the most lucrative.
The elder Basa was a member of the Comite de Reformadores, which aspired for Philippine autonomy from the centralized government of Madrid and took up the cudgels for the native clergy. This latter sentiment soon evolved into an antifriar stance that raised suspicions among authorities that the group’s members were separatists.
The Comite’s voice for liberal reforms was “El Eco Filipino,” which was published in Spain by Basa’s brother-in-law Frederico Lerena, a Philippine-born Spaniard married to Basa’s elder sister, Rafaela. The newspaper was ingeniously smuggled into the country by Basa.
Exiled
Basa and several others were condemned to exile in the Marianas in the wake of the 1872 Cavite mutiny. When the authorities tracked down people suspected of having instigated the mutiny, those arrested included Jose Ma. Basa and his brother Pio, Pardo de Tavera and Father Burgos. Fathers Jose Burgos, Pedro Gomez and Jacinto Zamora were executed while the rest were sent to the Marianas on board the ship Flores de Maria.
Historian Ambeth Ocampo wrote in his essay “Kasaysayan: The Story of the Filipino People,” that most of the exiles remained abroad in Europe or Hong Kong after their release. “Though some of these expatriates, like Basa in Hong Kong or Regidor in England, would assist the Propaganda Movement particularly in its antifriar aspects, their concern had been for reforms and liberties rather than national identity. Their assistance in the Propaganda Movement should be seen more as the result of their hatred for the friars and their desire for revenge than as an effort to promote a Filipino nation ruled by indios.”
Hong Kong
Basa stayed in the Marianas for two years before moving to Hong Kong. There are two interesting versions on how the exiles got there. One was that they were allowed to leave the Marianas but not to return to the Philippines. The other was that they bribed their way and dressed as priests so as not to be noticed.
While the rest of the exiles would later go to Spain or return to the Philippines as soon as they were allowed, Basa remained in Hong Kong and later sent for his wife Bernarda and their children. More children were born in Hong Kong where Basa rebuilt his business and resumed his antifriar campaign.
Basa used the same smuggling techniques for his propaganda pamphlets, for editions of “La Solidaridad” and, later, the books of Rizal, Mario wrote in his thesis, citing Jesuit historian Fr. John Schumacher as source.
“(Basa) knew perfectly well where the customs were most lenient and which customs officer to bribe. Because of his connections in Hong Kong, he was able to place Filipinos in vessels that made the regular Hong Kong-Manila runs; there are numerous anecdotes to prove this. These Filipinos, probably out of gratitude or because they were paid by Basa, were the ones who actually brought the materials into the Philippines,” Mario wrote.
“An example of this, obtained from the biography of a certain Roman Basa, is Eugelio Santiago, a maquinista in the boat Don Juan… smuggled materials in demijohns which he would hide in the coal bin of the ship. Once the coal ship arrived in Manila, the materials were passed on to Roman Basa (relationship to Jose Ma. Basa cannot be verified) for distribution in Manila and its neighboring provinces. Sometimes the materials were sent to Jolo where customs (was) practically nonexistent, then afterwards were sent to Manila.
“The methods that Basa employed became so successful that pamphlets began to proliferate in Manila and its neighboring provinces. Marcelo H. del Pilar was caught in Bulacan distributing pamphlets from Basa. Del Pilar must have been impressed with Basa’s success because on Oct. 28, 1888, he went to Hong Kong to specifically meet Basa, before he went to Europe to take on the editorship of ‘La Solidaridad’…
“Four months after the meeting between Basa and Del Pilar, Rizal also followed suit and went to Hong Kong on February of 1889. Rizal also wanted to get the assurance from Basa that the books he intended to write would reach Manila. Later, Rizal would ship the entire first edition of both ‘Noli Me Tangere’ and ‘El Filibusterismo’ to Hong Kong for Basa to smuggle into the Philippines.
“This meeting in Hong Kong sparked a very close friendship between the two men, a friendship that lasted their lifetimes. It is only because of this friendship with Rizal that Basa is remembered in history. Rizal corresponded regularly with Basa, sharing with Basa his ideas and frustrations. Basa responded by supporting Rizal both morally and economically.”
Chink in Basa’s armor
In his thesis, Basa’s great grandson did not gloss over the chink in Basa’s armor: “What many people considered Basa’s only lapse happened with the coming of (Gen. Emilio) Aguinaldo. Because of the agreement in Biak na Bato, Aguinaldo together with his entourage exiled themselves in Hong Kong. Shortly after the arrival of Aguinaldo, a circular penned by Basa was distributed in the Philippines. This circular illustrated the growing suspicion of the Filipino leaders in Hong Kong that the American government was interested in occupying the Philippines. On Aug. 8, 1898, to the surprise of many, Basa cabled US President McKinley: ‘All wealthy and educated Filipinos pray that America through the Consul General Wildman in the name of humanity grant them protectorate or annexation.’”
Added Mario: “Basa was so obsessed with American annexation that he even went as far as pledging his wealth and fortune to the American government as a form of allegiance… It may seem curious, that a man fighting so vehemently to rid his country of a colonizer was yet willing to be colonized by another… (But) America was a gleaming example of democracy at that point of time, and Basa thought that this democracy can be passed on to the Philippines.”
Since his exile, Jose Ma. Basa visited the Philippines only once. With the Stars and Stripes fluttering in the Philippine breeze, he could have come home with his family but he chose to stay on in Hong Kong where he spent his sunset years. A tumor in his leg left Basa wheelchair-bound in his later years. He died in Hong Kong on July 10, 1907.
Basa’s admirers and friends made sure that his final resting place would be his motherland. Eight years after his death, on April 18, 1915, his remains were brought back to the Philippines and interred at Manila’s North Cemetery. That day, all of Manila’s newspapers carried the story of his life.
Babypie says
As a practising & devout Catholic, i learned that one of God’s Commandments is not to profane His Name. But Ms. Nebrida, you should have left the Name of God alone in your chastisement of Ms. Raissa. One word kept coming back to me as i was reading your piece, and i am sorry to say this, but it was all so Phariseean ! I read one of the comments & the writer was right, you didn’t have to brandish your good works, holy (to you ) they may be. You didn’t have to malign Ms. Raissa, afterall, she never said any disparaging remark against you. All she did was provide her blog readers an account as accurate as she can get it to be, as any professional journalist worth her salt. I salute her work, keep it up, Ms. Raissa, may the Holy Spirit guide you in your seek for the Truth, whatever issues they may be…:)
raissa says
Thank you.
Angela says
Family problems like this, brought down through generations, is very, very complicated. I dont think any one of us is in a proper position to judge them and I think it is best to just leave them alone. There is nothing we can do to help them resolve this anyway.
raissa says
The public can’t leave this alone until Ex-CJ properly accounts for this liabilities to the family company. It was ex-CJ who dragged them into the picture in the first place.
Deng says
It was not complicated, the essence of the problem was more of a complete dominance. However, the factor of public opinion changed the whole story. Now that Renato is gone the situation was reversed. Nagkaroon na nang napakalaking pagkakataon ang mga Basa na muling maangkin ang saganang kanila. Nawala si Renato, Nagkaroon nang tsansa na muling mabawi ng mga Basa ang kanilang sapi….lahat ng ito ay dulot nang opinyong publiko. Wala nga ba tayong magagawa?
jbaldwin says
diba Iglesia ni Kristo si Renato Corona? didnt know they also do Novenas and pray the Rosary… kala ko Roman Catholic lang gumagawa nyan…
raissa says
No. Renato is not an INC. But he tried to use the INC to maximum advantage.
The INC refused.
pelardo gutieres says
If there’s a camera, there’s drama… there should also be a director managing the sequence… nebrida fits the shoe…
jubre says
pls. relay to nebrida that she should advise the coronas to settle with the basas soon. fork out the P80M to them provided that the basas undertake to hold the P40M in trust for the coronas to hide at least P40M from the ombudsman, AMLAC and BIR.
net says
rip mang indo & jose ma. basaiii. poetic justice
Arnel says
YES! Guilty….
mgapulong says
I think it’s somewhere in-between the lines there, uttered by Ms. Nebrida during her ANC interview: “I told Tina, I know it’s painful, very painful, but offer it for the acquittal of the Chief Justice.” Sincerity? Motivation?
ArielD says
So approaching the Basas was going to be a painful experience, but she should be brave and endure it for the sake of her husband’s acquital? Wasted effort, as it turns out.
meg fuentes says
like atty. saguisag, i too had my reservations about the supposed “reconciliation” while i was watching it being played out on tv. if indeed it was genuine on the part of the coronas, well and good. let’s see how the basa siblings will react in the succeeding weeks.
joans says
truth to be told:…who cares about Corona’s and Basa’s anyways?…just like who cares about those ‘masa’s” struggling to make a living everyday while these players i.e. the senate,the defense,and the prosecution,wasting “our” time, money,and morale’s…So Raissa!,just kicked him out pleaseeee….and let them fight to death on their properties whatever…Lol
Deng says
Wasting time and money? Maybe, but it’s fine. Kung ang resulta naman ay para sa kapakinabangan ng lahat…..bakit ang hindi?
Ang mga Basa ay wala ng matakbuhan at isang napakataas na public official ang kanilang nakatunggali, kung sa tingin ng publiko ay nagkaroon nga nang pagmamalabis….tulungan sila? Bakit ang hindi? Maaaring ganito rin ang ating gawin kung tayo ang lalagay sa kanilang sitwasyon.
Why not use the power of social media against abuse in authority?
Yvonne says
@Baby Nebrida
As a nun, Sister Flory is sworn to Marian slavery. As a Marian devotee, did you ever pay a visit to Sister Flory – a fellow Marian devotee – at her convent to try to work a possible reconcilation with Cristina and the Corona family? What, no TV cameras at the convent?
Tof says
haha! gotcha! or maybe they have to set up an audience first.
xander carreon says
I do not have any idea who is Baby Nebrida and only in this blog I knew who is she.
Im positive that she may not answer my queries but I still want to ask these questions and post it here, and sana Ms. Nebrida you may have the time to response or kahit na iyong anak mo or yung mga classmates ng anak mo. And here are my questions:
1. Did you really not knew who is Betsy Tenchavez?
2. Why did it come to your mind na baka gawin ni CJ ang ginawa ni Angie Reyes? Do you have any idea why Angie Reyes took his own life?
3.You said Raissa is a POOR ROLE MODEL of young students? How and Why? And whom do you think is a BETTER ROLE MODEL of young students?
4. Weren’t you aware of the cameras and the media people inside the court for you to tell na “nobody naman is watching right now,” and then you orchestrated the reconciliation?
Raissa did not say that scriptwriters are liars. Possibly most of the CPMers are having that thought and that you really engineered that reconciliation because of your timing and your choice of venue.
jundel says
If indeed it’s 23-0, then it would be perfect:
G – uingona
O – smeña
D – rillon
P – imentel
L – egarda or Lapid
E – scudero
A – ngara
S – otto
E – nrile
H – onasan
E – strada
L – acson
P – angilinan
C – ayetano Pia
O – nyok Tigasin (Bong Revilla)
N – arcisso Santiago’s wife Mirriam
V – illar
I – locos pride’s Bong Bong Marcos
C – ayetano Allan
T- rillanes
R – ecto
.C – abalen Lito Lapid.
Nevermind Joker Arroyo,
RC – Renato Corona
raissa says
Galing mo, Jundel.
Linda Cruz says
Jundel, I believe you are guided by God to have such awesome talent writing this. Bad system and corruption forced me to leave the country. Corona’s conviction, is a big step I hope, that will lead our country to progress and uplift the lives of our poor people.
petr says
kaya nagtataka talaga ako kung papaano nangyari ang hindi dapat mangyari. well, kung nandoon nga naman si baby nebrida, bel cunanan, chit pedrosa at sally perez, ano ang dapat asahan? MARIAN DEVOTION… my toes! PRAYER PARTNER OF GLORIA! my knees! GETTING NOTHING IN RETURN…my shoulder! ASKING CRISTINA TO FORGIVE THE BASAS… my BOBO head! HAY ETONG SI BABY NEBRIDA, akala naman nya mauuto pa nya ang mga pilipino… siguro pwede nyang mapagtaka sa mga unang limang minuto pero pagnatauhan na kami, at bumaba na ang alikabok sa lupa… at nakita na namin ang ‘napakagandang intensyon’ ng mga scriptwriters at stage managers, naku kahit PUMUNTA KA PA SA LAHAT NG PINAGMILAGROHAN NI MAMA MARY, hindi mo pa rin kami mapagpaniwala… DI BA MERONG DIAMOND ROSARY SI MADAME IMELDA MARCOS… at MARIAN DEVOTEE rin sya… at lumalakad pa nga syang papaluhod sa BACLARAN CHURCH para manalangin sa INA NG LAGING SAKLOLO. oo na magkasing sincere nga kayong dalawa! isama mo na marian devotion mo ang fellow devotees mo na si MAYOR SANCHEZ ng calauan, laguna at si JALOSJOS ng zamboanga, si GLORIA at ngayon si CORONA. ayoko ko kayong husgahan, pero subukan nyo ngang LUMAKAD NG PAPALUHOD (side by side) sa BACLARAN CHURCH at tingnan natin ang epekto nito… malay mo magkaroon nga ng malaking MILAGRO!
Muhammad Eisa de Jesus says
Bakit lalakad nang paluhod? Mas maganda magkarera nang nakawheelchair, kasama na yong nagsabi ng puro kagaguhan ang prosecution sa palpak na proseso (di bumoto rin pala sa kagaguhan ang 20 matatalinong senador?). Pare-pareho na silang may mga sakit.
Iyon namang tungkol sa Marian Devotion, insulto yan sa Most Blessed of All Mothers, na kinikilala ng Christians and Muslims. They invoke her name in vain, as if being”devotees” to her is a brand of holiness. The truth is she does not have to be invoked, only God has to be so invoked in sincerity and true worship. We only have to emulate her good deeds on earth. As these “devotees” doing that, or making use of identifying themselves to be “credible”? Pati relihiyon, kinakasangkapan ng maraming tao sa kamalian. Mabuti na lamang at “hindi natutulog ang Diyos.” Nagabayan Niya ang mga senator-judges, salamat sa Diyos.
tetta says
grabe talaga yung nangyari sa senate “reconciliation”. alam nyo pag sa masa nyo tinanong yun simple lang ang sagot (sorry to the basas) pumalakpak ang tenga ng mga basa ng narinig nila na di pala ginasta yung pera nila kundi pinalago “owzzzz”. kaya ang comment sa labas pera pera talaga, nag away sa pera sa pera din nagkabati. kaya tama si rene saguisag, wait and see tayo. mga gloria crony di maka get over sa mga baduy na pakana nila. sana naman minsan pag me mga ganito sa labas kumuha ng feedback comments kasi mga tao dito totoo at walang motibo pag bumukas ang bibig di tulad ng mga ineinterview minsan me hidden agenda…
thellie says
ngayon ko lang nabasa comment mo petr pero kahit huli nang mag-comment, i have to say “AMEN”. :)