Last week, Prestoza himself announced the cancellation of the visit of Aling Gloria, his boss, to the PMA in Baguio City because of some undisclosed threats to her life. It looked normal but the curious thing was that Mrs. Arroyo went on to visit Binalonan, Pangasinan. Aside from being the hometown of Aling Gloria’s mother, the late Doña Eva, the place is just a few kilometers away from Baguio City.

I am not a loss to explain why Aling Gloria would be safer in Binalonan than the PMA since the implication is that the chief executive is better off in civilian town instead of a military installation. It does not make sense not unless there are truths to the accounts going around that the PMA Corp of Cadets were getting ready to stage some kind of a mass action that would definitely embarrass Aling Gloria and give the impression that she is losing her grip on the military establishment. That would certainly throw a monkey wrench into all the analysts’ predictions that Aling Gloria will weather the current National Broadband Network (NBN) scandal because she has the military solidly behind her, among other things.

Even the likes of former Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri, who is right in the middle of the NBN scandal, is not being categorical in his statements expressing his continued support to Aling Gloria. Pressed to confirm or deny reports that he ever described Aling Gloria as "evil," all Neri would say was that he cannot remember. Almost any other person would have denied it outright, even in just the traditional "pabalat-bunga" manner, but Neri had to plead memory loss. And in a forum where there was absolutely no chance that he was going to perjure himself.

Maybe Neri is starting to think how history will judge him if he keeps stonewalling the Senate and the Filipino people from prying the truth out of his sealed lips. At least, some of us are still hoping that Neri will tell all that he knows about this administration that we love to hate and see the virtue of the expression that "A promise is a promise."

United opposition head and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay must be laughing his heart out at this turn of events. After all, Binay is the first official victim of this administration’s blundering vindictiveness. It practically begged him to stay on as Metro Manila Development Authority chairman upon assuming power after EDSA II even if Binay had already tendered his resignation. Immediately after the poor guy was prevailed upon to stay and the decision was publicly announced, Binay got tossed out of office in favor of now alleged NBN scandal broker Benjamin Abalos, of all people. What goes around really comes around.

Even Malacañang seems conscious of the possibly that it may soon hear a chorus of fat ladies singing, which is why it is moving heaven and earth to consolidate its own forces. The problem though is it may not have too many people left to work with. For one, the personnel of the Bureau of Customs (BoC), one of the acknowledged corruption flagships, are bracing for the possibility that losing senatorial candidate and former Rep. Prospero Pichay may soon be installed as their new head in place of Napoleon Morales. My source at the BoC says the agency is buzzing with rumors that Pichay is lobbying for the post.

Setting any allegations of misdeeds and misconducts aside, how smart can that move be? It will not help this administration or Pichay’s reputation any if he gets appointed to the BoC now that the one-year appointment ban on election losers is set to lapse. Pichay was one of the top, if not the top, election spenders, in the 2007 senatorial race. Putting him in the BOC would be like banishing a monkey to a banana plantation in the hope it will starve to death.