Inside Philippine politics & beyond

Veteran publisher-editor Vergel Santos backs me in face of Corona canard

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By Raïssa Robles

I am greatly honored to have my former editor Vergel Santos give me his full support in the face of being publicly called a “pekeng manunulat” by the ex-Chief Justice Renato Corona during his three-hour diatribe to the Filipino nation last week.

UPDATE, 6:35 p.m. June 1, 2012: Because Facebook disabled  my personal account without any warning or reason, my hubby Alan has put up a Fan page for me.

Unfortunately I can’t access it because I have no personal FB account. LOL.

Alan will be posting my articles there. Pls go to this link to join –

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Raissa-Robles/338451912878886

Thanks –

Raissa

Vergel trained me as a young reporter to sniff out the news and to tell it very simply. He is a trustee of the watchdog Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility and concurrently the publisher and editorial-board chairman of BusinessWorld newspaper.

I am especially touched by the following paragraphs he wrote in the shared column, In Media Res, since it’s coming from a blunt editor like Vergel:

Indeed, she is one of the few genuine journalists populating cyberspace—few, that is, relative to the hordes of impostors who have set up shop there. Under her belt are 25 years of serious, highly competent practice. Both she and husband Alan worked for newspapers I edited, and I haven’t stopped following them, proudly.

BusinessWorld replaced the late Raul Locsin’s Business Day newspaper, where I began my journalism career. One of the lies being spread about me, which was texted to my fellow reporters’ mobile phones, was that Locsin got mad at me for plagiarizing. None of the reporters who got the text believed it. They told me about it.

Before I go on, I would like to thank ABS-CBN News site for taking me on as an independent blogger.

Here is Vergel’s story –

A walking smoke bomb
By Vergel O. Santos / Posted on 01-06-2012

ANY NEWS subject who likes to hide simply cannot abide Raissa Robles: she’s a walking smoke bomb.

And she has never been so challenged, she herself admits, as during the impeachment trial of the chief justice, Renato Corona. In fact, even now that Corona has already been judged guilty and consequently booted out of the Supreme Court as well as barred from holding public office, for Robles the challenge has not ended: she remains under attack from an enemy mostly disguised or shrouded, or, at any rate hidden, although an enemy unable all the same to conceal being Corona partisans.

Where Robles shoots with facts and reasoned readings of them, her enemy snipes back by calling her names and throwing accusations with no basis in fact—accusations in fact too wild-sounding to be credible. For instance, she has been called shoplifter and plagiarist, two names easy enough to make stick if deserved: Show the piece of furniture lifted (yes, the supposed crime scene was that kind of shop) and the writings appropriated (incidentally too, Corona’s Supreme Court has tried to whitewash the case of a plagiarist member, but the stain just won’t come off—in fact the plagiarist is likely to be the next impeached).

To read the rest, please click on this…

P.S. Please share this for me in Facebook.

Comments

  1. I am proud to say I learned from Vergel Santos and Boss Raul Locsin too! Plus si Misis [Locsin] na din!

  2. please anybody teach me how to sign the petition for raissa’s fb. i want to give a little help to restore it. anybody please!

  3. Thank you, Mr. Vergel Santos, for setting the story straight. Raissa is a true journalist, one of the best, if not the best, in her field. Her quest for the truth and for public enlightenment is a noble one and we are fortunate to share the journey with her.

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Raissa. I am one of your avid supporters. You are loved and admired by many.

  4. if it is any consolation to you, look where corona is now: another scrap in the proverbial “dustbin of history.” what a way to end a career! peke? he was the one who was born peke. i never knew how miserable a human being he was until he testified to his own idiocy (is there such a word?)

  5. BREAKING NEWS:

    Egyptian court sentenced former president Hosni Mubarak to life imprisonment for corruption.

    Same court acquitted mubarak’s 2 sons for corruption.

    I’m waiting for the sentencing of corona for ill-gotten wealth and tax evasion – to complete the tele-novela.

    The Lady Justice is blindfolded while Lady Gaga’s (a.k.a. brenda) big mouth is spewing boiling magma

  6. the “Rizal” of this generation…
    salamat ng marami Ma’am Raissa and Sir Alan

  8. ”THE PEN IS MIGHTER THAN THE SWORD”…………….. who said tha! Peking or not peking journalism!…. Ah I forget these was said during the era of the “THE THREE MUSKETEERS” OR BETTER STILL CALLED – “the three blind mice” (Arroyo, Marcos, Defensor)…. THE KEYBOARD OF THE INTERNET IS MUCH BETTER THAN THE PEN!

  9. Goons from Get Real are the ones actively pushing the shoplifting story. They are afraid to post their lies on this blog: One goon complained a couple of months ago that the commenters here are like “crazed steer.” Maybe it was because of the way he got trampled into a tiny pulpy toxic spot when tried to troll

  10. At the height of the “Small Lady = Raissa Robles” allegations, I was fortunate to have this discussed in a proj meeting with a very good friend/client, who, before joining an International Agency, was twice awarded the Jaime Ongpin Excellence in Journalism.

    He told me: Raissa Robles’ integrity is unquestionable. Sila sila yan nina Marites Vitug.

      • Great! Nice to know that you know the person who vouched for Ms. Raissa’s integrity. Initials are DLL. A very nice man. A family friend, actually. He was instrumental in pushing me to enroll in SURP. I think he mentioned that he knows you too.

        • we’re still in touch, in fact I met him just this March before I left for Germany

  11. @raissa,

    It’s really great for giving us write-ups that are worth reading.

    I am, in a way, giving some back…

    I hope this will cheer you up:

    —–

    hi50 says:
    May 31, 2012 at 3:44 pm

    Now that the Corona impeachment trial is over, has anyone kept track of the Latin phrases that were thrown around (by MDS)?

    EIUSDEM or EJUSDEM GENERIS

    I already made my explanation in raissarobles.com/2012/03/26/coronas-daughter-bought-california-and-the-fort-properties-22-days-of-each-other/ at Comment No. 428 entitled “The RULE of Law”.

    It was a bit disappointing that MDS was not corrected in her view of “betrayal of public trust” parroting Fr. Bernas’ assertion that only a high crime constitutes an impeachable offense.

    The Constitutional Framers never meant it that way for they inserted “betrayal of public trust” as the sixth and last ground for impeachment.

    Interpretation of the plain language of the text (the letter of the law) must be done ahead of the “ejusdem generis” rule. That’s the rule.

    Fr. Bernas (and, MDS) was betrayed by a punctuation mark “comma” and a word “or”.

    The “comma” set “betrayal of public trust” apart from the first five impeachable offenses which are all high crimes.

    While the conjunctive word “or” set “betrayal of public trust” as an alternative impeachable offense same as the first five impeachable offenses. “Betrayal of public trust” is never a high crime BUT may be chosen as a ground for impeachment when the situation calls for it.

    Further statutory construction will easily bear me out on this explanation.

    However, what I find to be a blessing for us is the fact that the true intention of an impeachment prevailed. The next Latin word will make us understand…

    QUASI

    MDS said impeachment is quasi-judicial and quasi-political. “Kung wari judicial at kung wari political.”

    Wrong. Impeachment may be quasi-judicial because Rules of Court are suppletorily applied but NEVER quasi-political because impeachment IS political!

    One of her colleagues represented the political side of impeachment while MDS the judicial side as she bragged too much about it…with the “preponderance of evidence, blah, blah, blah”.

    One of her colleagues even said, “Hindi na ako magmamarunong-marunong…”

    Yes, he need not pretend great knowledge in judicial proceedings for impeachment as a political process will prevail…and, true enough, had prevailed.

    This goes to show that Latin phrases or words are really for the erudite; but used inappropriately, the erudition is replaced by idiocy.

    • Nice. As usual @baycas, thanks for clearing the mud (my favorite is still – hell does not exist).

  12. Thank you, Ms. Raissa, for your advocacies and leading me to the website where Mr. Santos writes.Ang galing nyang magsulat! I was inspired by his article “Redemption”. God, look at the way he writes his sentences! A master. Reminds me of Kashiguro.

  14. hi ms. raissa,
    pekeng journalist?
    sana dumami pa ang pekeng journalist na katulad mo. i found it here na ang pekeng journalist na katulad mo pala ang may tapang na maglahad ng katotohanan at pawang katotohanan lang.
    kailangan ng ating bansa ang maraming pekeng journalist of your kind para mahayag ang kadilimang tinatahak ng ating bansa upang mapabilang man lang sa hanay ng mga mauunland na bansa kahit na sa ASEAN lang.
    ipagpatuloy nyong mag-asawa ang blog mo. hindi ko pagsasawaang basahin ang mga inilalathala nyo kahit na kayo ay parehong pekeng journalists. LOL
    peke daw oh…
    keep up. a lot of people back you up…

    • This tempts me to make a list of fake declarations during the trial … hmmm, just worried that the list may be sooo loooong. Starting with Pekeng SALN.

  15. Don’t worry Raissa, the truth is sya yung PEKE.. Pekeng Chief na appointed ni Pekeng Pangulong Gloria!

    • Thank you, Raisa, for your always interesting & well written blog.

      I also would like you & all CPMers to advice P’noy that he should follow the example of the Supreme Court when it ordered the entire judiciary to sign a waiver allowing the public to scrutinized their wealth. Esp. P’noy had promised to do this before the election.

      Citing the SALN waiver as an excuse will only brand him a hypocrite and all employees of the executive will just use him as an excuse for not signing a waiver like the employees of the judiciary.

      Congress will have no reason to drag it’s feet if both the Judiciary & the Executive branches of gov’t are in agreement. Whatever concerns P’noy has can then be addressed in a bill passed by congress.