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FVR looked like an angry man when he gave a press briefing on the subject of political dynasties. "It (leadership) is earned and you have to work for it," he said. There is a provision in the 1987 Constitution which bans political dynasties. The particular provision also says that the ban on political dynasties must have an implementing law. But will lawmakers act against their personal interests?

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We all know that political dynasties exist throughout the country. The prominent names involved in political dynasties include the Marcos family. Rep. Imee Marcos and Ilocos Norte Governor Bongbong Marcos will trade places. Add to the list the names of President Sergio Osmeña Sr., some of his siblings, Sergio Osmeña Jr, the Aquinos of Tarlac, Dys of Isabela, Josons of Nueva Ecija, Roxas family of Capiz, Remullas of Cavite and many others.

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Why do voters keep on voting for the candidates of political dynasties? Wala na bang ibang magaling? Don’t answer that one, for a thousand reasons.

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Election lawyers Romulo Macalintal, Leila de Lima, Sixto Brillantes Jr., and Pete Quadra sought the help of Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno in the prosecution of corrupt judges. They informed him about the "dubious" decisions issued by many trial court judges. The four lawyers requested Puno to create a special court for election-related cases.

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Macalintal said that the group had observed that many judges would readily unseat an official whose proclamation and assumption of office are contested by a political rival…"At first, we didn’t pay much attention to it because we were afraid of being accused of sour-graping. But this time the rule is to unseat."

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The Supreme Court sacked Appeals Justice Elvie John Asuncion for "ignorance of the law" and for delaying resolution of pending motions for reconsideration. Such decisions could further endear the Supreme Court to the public. In an earlier survey, the Supreme Court was voted No. 1 in good performance.

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The Commission on Human Rights ruled that there is no evidence linking retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan to human rights violations in Central Luzon. Ano ba yong cases ng human rights violations? Tsismis lang ba yon?

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Teodoro "Ka Doroy" F. Valencia wrote in March 30, 1971: "Philippine politics is essentially a one-man show, one-man operation regardless of what it looks like to you. The President calls the shots. He flashes the green light for dramatics, cuts off the lights when he wants to and takes the credit if what comes out is good. Denies all when things flop… It’s done with mirrors."

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Ka Doroy added: "The Filipino voter is a pitiful case. His choices of good men, assuming he wants to choose the good ones, are limited to what the political parties put up in their official tickets. And the principal parties chose men depending on the relative strengths of vested interest groups that put up their candidates whom they will support. Thus, we find among the LP and NP line-ups, men backed by money vested interest groups. There are tobacco group candidates, the sugar bloc men, the industrialist group candidates and what have you. There’s almost nobody who represent the consumer group or the masses. The masses have only to choose which group they will elect to take advantage of them."

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The Senate was commended by the World Health Organization for the passage of Senate Bill 2263 on third reading before Congress went on a recess for the 2007 electoral campaign. Senator Mar Roxas, one of the principal authors of SB2263, made this announcement after he received a letter from Dr. Jean-Marc Olive, WHO representative. She wrote: "We would like to congratulate you for your outstanding leadership and steadfastness in the passage of the Access to Medicines Bill. This work is the first and most significant step not only towards improving the access to medicines to millions of Filipinos, but also in improving the health outcomes in our communities as well." The bill, if signed to law by President Arroyo, will go along way in providing cheap medicines to the people.

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It’s good thing to know the Philippine is the No. 1 supplier of virgin coconut oil (VCO) in the world market. But Philippine Coconut Authority Deputy Administrator Carlos Carpio warned that the country may soon be overtaken by competitor countries like Indonesia and Thailand. Product development develops very fast, and coconut growers in Asean countries are moving fast in order to compete with our VCO.

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Carpio says assuring quality of VCO can protect the industry. Let it not be said that we will again lose our VCO market in the same way we lost patis or fish sauce. Patis Navotas, which used to be exported, is not even in our local supermarkets. In their place, we find patis manufactured by other Asean countries.