This is of course milder than what an earlier Senate did to one Jean Arnault who was actually jailed by the Senate. Here is part of the pertinent Senate resolution: "Whereas, on the 15th May 1950 the Senate of the Philippines, transcending divisions of party and faction in the national interest, adopted a Resolution ordering the detention and confinement of Jean L. Arnault at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa, Rizal, until he should have purged himself of contempt of the Senate by revealing the person to whom he gave the sum of P440,000 in connection with the Buenavista and Tambobong Estates deal, and by answering other pertinent questions in connection therewith;

"Whereas, after considering the lengthy testimony offered by the said Jean L. Arnault, and the report thereon rendered by the Senate Special Committee on the said deal, the Senate holds and finds that, despite numerous and generous opportunities offered to him at his own instance and solicitation, the said Jean L. Arnault has failed and refused, and continues to fail and refuse, to reveal the person to whom he gave the said amount of P440,000, and to answer other pertinent questions in connection with the Buenavista and Tambobong estates deal;

"Whereas, the Senate holds and finds that the situation of the said Jean L. Arnault has not materially changed since he was committed to prison for contempt of the Senate, and since the Supreme Court of the Philippines, in a judgment long since become final, upheld the power and authority of the Senate to hold the said Jean L. Arnault in custody, detention, and confinement, said power and authority having been held to be coercive rather than punitive, and fully justified until the said Jean L. Arnault should have given the information which he had withheld and continues contumaciously to withhold;

"Whereas, the insolent and manifest untruthful statements made by the said Jean L. Arnault on the occasions above referred to constitute a continuing contempt of the Senate, and an added affront to its dignity and authority, such that , were they to be condoned or overlooked, the power and authority of the Senate to conduct investigations would become futile and ineffectual because they could be defied by any person of sufficient stubbornness and malice;" and so on.

Eventually, after first saying that he could not remember or never knew the name of the person (about 5’2’ to 5’6") to whom he gave the money, Arnault gave the name "Jess D. Santos" but the Senate would not believe him.

These days, witnesses who do not convince our present senators are getting off easy with just being called "liar."

***

We have a letter: "You said your parents taught you to be true to yourself. Being resourceful as you are, I believe so many people reading your column are also eager to know your honest thoughts about the following questions:

"1. Is it true that Gloria cheated the 2004 presidential election?

"You may wish to elaborate further about how honorable was Chairman Abalos, how reputable was the Comelec, and how illegal is the Garci tape.

"2. Is it true that Gloria is the mastermind of the 728 million pesos Fertilizer Scam?

"You may explain about the missing undersecretary Joc Joc Bolante, the results of the COA’s investigations, and why the Ombudsman seems to be just sitting and does nothing about the case.

"3. Is it true that Malacañang is supposed to get multi-billion pesos kickback from the NBN-ZTE deal?

"You may wish to explain why Gloria approved the deal despite knowing the 200 million pesos bribery, only to cancel the deal six months after its signing due to the expose.

"4. Is Gloria telling the truth that she is not kurakot?

"Please publish these questions in your column with your truthful answers." – Jeph Sy

***

My answers: 1. Yes; 2. Probably; 3. Very Possible; 4. No.

No need for explanations – we all know how bad the present government is; what we do not know, if we again act (as we did with Erap) without thinking is whether we are improving our lot or worsening it. If anyone has the goods on her, they ought to come up with proof that is convincing enough so that even her political allies will fall in line in getting rid of her.

As long as she has a majority in the lower house, however, who remain convinced that she ought not to be deposed, what can we do? That is the process and we have to live by these rules. If we cannot do that, perhaps, we ought not to be living in a Democracy.

We have good people in the Philippines who are easy for politicians to manipulate by getting them angry over anything at which point the politicians can lead them wherever the tradpols want to bring them.

If you or anyone else can take Gloria out, go ahead but don’t involve the rest of us. Gloria came to power from the exclusive action of the elitists of Metro Manila who could not stand an Erap in Malacañang. There was no people power in the Visayas or Mindanao or even in North Luzon or Bicol. This curse on our country (Gloria Arroyo) is the exclusive doing of the Metro Manila elitists.

The least that these so-called leaders (including the bishops, priests and nuns, Makati businessmen and the elite) should do is admit that they did a stupid thing by going outside the Constitution in 2001.

I am loath to follow them again. If they cannot even see their previous error, how can we be sure that they will not again lead us down the road to further perdition? Talk of false prophets! If you want to follow them, however, go ahead. Maybe, you still believe that they have your interests at heart. Good luck.

But I do hope you do not succeed. Going outside the Constitution is never the smart thing for any people to do.