After reading this:
http://cathychronicles.blogspot.com/2007/08/noli-eala-scandal.html
I wanted to give my two cents worth on the scandal that is rocking both the legal profession and the basketball world, both of which are close to my heart. So here goes....
In high school, the teacher I looked up to the most was Ms. Maryann Tantoco. She taught English Literature and in the one year that I was under her, the love for books and reading were instilled in me. So much so that when I filled up my college application form, I decided to take up Literature. Literature would be my passion while Legal Management (the other course i took in college) would be the course that would make my parents happy. They would never have allowed me to take Literature alone since, in their words, 'walang pera sa course na yan'. But I persisted and even if I made my college life twice as hard, I never regretted taking the course.
During that time, I wanted to be like Ms. Tantoco. I think we all did. She was smart, attractive, articulate, affluent PLUS she had a boyfriend studying at the Ateneo Law School. That boyfriend would eventually become her husband, later on to be known as the controversial Noli Eala, now her ex-husband.
When I would see Noli Eala at the PBA games with his young and attractive mistress and their children in tow, it made me uncomfortable. I felt bad for Ms. Tantoco even if it had been years since I last had contact with her. But because he held a position that commanded respect, me and the rest of the basketball world accorded him that respect. Besides, no one seemed to think that morality was an issue in the league. Otherwise, they would not have made him the Commissioner in the first place. So I sat back, kept my opinions to myself and watched the PBA grow by leaps and bounds under his leadership. I thought, hey, the guy may be messed up personally but at least he's doing a good job for the PBA.
I was not around when news of his disbarment first came out. When I heard about it, it hit me like a rock. As a lawyer, passing the bar and getting your license entails blood, sweat and tears. You sacrifice going out at night, unable to do what other young people are doing, not earning money while being beholden to your parents.....hoping that someday, all your sacrifices will amount to something. And once you pass the bar and earn the distinction of becoming a lawyer, it's as if you never went thru any hardships at all. It is for this reason that taking away someone's license is, for me, a serious matter. It is not to be taken lightly and should only be revoked under the most serious and grave circumstances.
In comes my dilemma. Is it right for Noli Eala to be condemned because he abandoned his legal wife and their children for a woman who is married to another? And while still in their own respective marriages, how can anyone ever justify Noli impregnating her? Does he deserve to be in an office that commands so much respect? Does he have the moral ascendancy to lead a professional league that represents the number one sport in this country? But more importantly, does his indiscretion amount to serious and grossly immoral conduct to constitute a legal ground for disbarment?
I am of the opinion that being granted the license to practice law carries with it numerous duties and responsibilities, all of which were made known to us even before passing the bar. There is even a subject in the bar devoted to legal ethics. Noli Eala knew what he was getting into. He is well versed with the laws of the land. He should've known that what he was doing was illegal, criminal, immoral and unethical as a member of the court. His responsibilities become even more burdensome because not only is he a lawyer, he is the leader of the number one professional sports league in the country. You cannot have a leader espousing rules of conduct, proper behavior, propriety and demanding the same from its members if he himself fails to practice the same. If he was brazen enough to carry on such a public affair, then he should be man enough to face the consequences of his actions.
Are the circumstances enough to revoke his license? No less than the Supreme Court voted in the positive. These justices take pains in each and every case they handle. They realize that each decision issued by the SC is life-changing. They do not take this duty lightly. As such, I believe that the decision to disbar was arrived at only after very careful consideration and much debate among the justices. In light of this, my answer to the question would also be yes.
What about this: Noli Eala isn't the first person to cheat on his wife, why disbar him? This, i'm sure, is indisputable. But in most cases, the aggrieved party will not file a disbarment case for fear of negative publicity. Nobody wants to wash their dirty laundry in public, right? In Noli Eala's case, the aggrieved party (the husband of his mistress) did. He had every right to defend his honor and I will not fault him for this. In most cases, extra-marital affairs are carried on discreetly. Not so with Noli Eala. He made his affair a very public spectacle for everyone in Araneta to feast on. And because the definition of what constitutes gross immorality is within the purview of the SC, they declared that his actions did indeed constitute a legal ground to disbar him. Regardless of the argument that every other male lawyer is doing the same thing and getting away with it, it doesn't make the SC decision wrong.
Controversial, unfair, excessive, harsh? Maybe. But no one can say it is without basis. So why haven't all the other immoral lawyers been booted? Simply because no one has initiated disbarment proceedings against them and NOT because it has become an accepted norm in the legal profession. And maybe, they did a better job at keeping their affairs private and discreet.
So there, I've said my piece. Since this is my blog, I guess I'm free to say whatever I want. But I'm not naman that callous. Should this post offend anyone, please know that it was never my intention.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Monday, August 6, 2007
The Last Temptation
No matter how hard we tried to resist, we just couldn't bring ourselves to go on another tour. Instead, we give in to the temptation and spend our last day here at the mall. For someone who takes pride in immersing herself in culture and history, it was a letdown of sorts. But then again, I'm sure I'll get over it soon.
The day began with our appreciation lunch for Mom. It was held at the Liyen Chinese Restaurant of the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The food here was excellent, our servers were gracious and extra-attentive and the price -- it will shock you. For food and service this good, you would expect to pay a fortune. Instead, we end up paying less than RM 500. You must, must try Liyen if you ever find yourself visiting KL in the near future.
As soon as the bill was settled, we were off for one last hurrah at the Suria KLCC. If the obsession yesterday was clothes, today it was finding the right cosmetics. As such, we spent hours at the counters of MAC and Shu Uemura. Shyla, who is the thriftiest person around, actually took out her credit card. We were astonished! We all had our turn on the hotseat. At the end of each session, we all purchased our own loot. We are happy now but I'm not sure we will still be smiling by the time we get our bills at the end of the month. Heehee.
After a frantic search for a cab that would take us back to our hotel for less than RM 15, we finally arrived at the Koryo Won Restaurant for our despedida dinner. John joined us once again. The food did not disappoint us. A word of advice though. My Mom ordered Bulgogi expecting their famous barbeque beef. She was served some stewed beef that we had to send back. Look at the menu carefully and don't rely solely on what you're used to ordering in Manila.
Time for some last minute packing. Remember that any liquids, creams or gels that are more than 100ml will have to be packed in your check-in luggage. The Malaysian officials (even at the LCCT! heehee) are very strict about this. We left the hotel at 10:30 pm in preparation for our red-eye flight back to Manila at 1:20 am. Goodbye KL (sniff, sniff). You will be missed. But next time, can we fly Malaysian Air? Peace Cebu Pacific! You know I love (and patronize) you!
The day began with our appreciation lunch for Mom. It was held at the Liyen Chinese Restaurant of the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The food here was excellent, our servers were gracious and extra-attentive and the price -- it will shock you. For food and service this good, you would expect to pay a fortune. Instead, we end up paying less than RM 500. You must, must try Liyen if you ever find yourself visiting KL in the near future. 
As soon as the bill was settled, we were off for one last hurrah at the Suria KLCC. If the obsession yesterday was clothes, today it was finding the right cosmetics. As such, we spent hours at the counters of MAC and Shu Uemura. Shyla, who is the thriftiest person around, actually took out her credit card. We were astonished! We all had our turn on the hotseat. At the end of each session, we all purchased our own loot. We are happy now but I'm not sure we will still be smiling by the time we get our bills at the end of the month. Heehee.
After a frantic search for a cab that would take us back to our hotel for less than RM 15, we finally arrived at the Koryo Won Restaurant for our despedida dinner. John joined us once again. The food did not disappoint us. A word of advice though. My Mom ordered Bulgogi expecting their famous barbeque beef. She was served some stewed beef that we had to send back. Look at the menu carefully and don't rely solely on what you're used to ordering in Manila.Time for some last minute packing. Remember that any liquids, creams or gels that are more than 100ml will have to be packed in your check-in luggage. The Malaysian officials (even at the LCCT! heehee) are very strict about this. We left the hotel at 10:30 pm in preparation for our red-eye flight back to Manila at 1:20 am. Goodbye KL (sniff, sniff). You will be missed. But next time, can we fly Malaysian Air? Peace Cebu Pacific! You know I love (and patronize) you!
Sunday, August 5, 2007
To Infinity and Beyond
Darkness had already fallen by the time I took pictures on the third day of our trip. The whole day was spent exclusively inside the Suria KLCC Mall at the Petronas Twin Towers. Nakakahiya man aminin, it's true. I've fallen into the trap of going into a store simply because the word SALE is posted on its window. Even more embarrassing is the fact that I only saw the first floor of the mall and about 4 or 5 other shops on the second floor. Not even 1/4 of the mall! Ah-ya-yay.
The whole day didn't go to waste naman. I finally met up with my high school friend, Cherry, after years of not seeing one another. Itong Cherry na 'to, akala ko out of touch. Yun pala, mas marami pang alam sa akin! Since we met up at Suria KLCC, we ended up eating there as well. She chose the Secret Recipe - a local resto. I asked her if it was similar to Cibo but Cherry said malabong Cibo yan. Their pumpkin soup had curry in it and their pasta was mixed with some sort of local herb. We talked about ourselves, our kids, our lives now and of course, cheese(mis) about our AC90 classmates. Heehee. After dinner, we walked around a bit, took pictures outside then said our goodbyes.
When I got to the hotel at 10:00pm, wala pa sila. Cheap-o me had no cellphone so I had no way of knowing where they were or if I could still follow them. Too much boredom can lead you to take random pics of your hotel room kahit walang sense. They arrived at 11:00 with double the number of bags when I separated from them at 7:00pm. Grabeh! While the others were dog tired, Mom and Shyla sneaked out for a karaoke extravaganza with John. SsIL and I contented ourselves with admiring all our purchases for the day.
Tom. is our last day. Should we go to the Lake Gardens / Carcosa Seri Negara or back to Suria KLCC for another round? Hmmm. What do you think?
Downtown, New City, Old City and the Concorde
I think I forgot to mention that another facet to my Mom's personality is that she never appears in public unless she is in full battle gear -- full make-up, fashion outfit, jewelry and accessories. It's her thing. It takes her about 4 hours in the morning to get moving but once she does, she's good until the end of that day. Having said this, it's no wonder our day begins after lunch. So to save us the unnecessary stress of arguing about tardiness, we just let her be and amuse ourselves by going around the stores at the Starhill Gallery. Shopping, shopping.
By 1pm, we meet up at the lobby for lunch at MyThai. The food was good naman but we thought it was too pricey. So, bumawi nalang kami sa pictures. After a dozen photo requests, we met up with Sherbert at 2:30 pm to continue our tour of KL.
The great thing about Sherbert is we just give him a list of places we want to go to and he makes an on the spot itinerary for us. He knows which one to go to first, next and last. We started with the Istana Negara which is the official residence of the King of Malaysia. Hanggang gate lang kami. Moving on, we then head for the Thein Hou Temple. Sherbert says that anything you pray for at the Temple will be granted. Smarty me was so busy taking pics, I actually forgot to take time out to pray. Next stop was the Dataran Merdeka or the Merdeka Square where you can find the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, Royal Selangor Club Complex, St Mary's Anglican Cathedral and a 95-meter flagpole, one of the tallest in the world.
What's a trip to KL without making a stop at the Batu Caves? Ok lang to go pero sinong nagsabing akyatin mo yun? Yes, crazy me climbed 272 steps with my platform shoes and in drizzling rain. I missed Reymond so much and knew that it was something my crazy hubby would've wanted me to do. Again, another been there done that moment (consuelo de bobo). Was glad to be relaxing in the van for the 40-minute ride to Putrajaya. It's still as beautiful as I remember it to be.
Quick stop at the hotel after our 'day' long tour to freshen up! It's time to chow again! On to Jalan Alor, a popular place for Malaysian Chinese hawker food, especially seafood. This used to be the red light district of the city now converted into street food heaven. In direct contrast to KL's modern facade, this place looks like time had stopped. Anyway, you just stroll down the street past the various stalls until you see a place that's clean enough for your taste. Heehee. In our case, we just went to the resto we had gone to the last time around.
Seen in the pics for the first time beside T.Jean is John. He is Mom's adopted nephew in KL. They first met when John was still working in Pangkor Laut in 2002 and they have been friends eversince. Everytime my parents visit KL, they make it a point to meet up with John.
After dinner, John led us to the Concorde Hotel to satisfy my Mom's Tuesday fix (this is her regular dancing day at Conway's). We watched Take Note (pinoy) and Colors (local). Ok lang. We had fun naman. And something drinks! That helped alot. Heehee.
Our day finally ended at 1am. Before going to bed, I declared that tom. should be 'relax' day. Time for some retail therapy naman!
Saturday, August 4, 2007
LCCT and Fireflies
Let me first introduce the Cast of Characters:
Mom/Nini - birthday celebrant and financier
Me - daughter and roommate (together forever)
Joan, Shyla and Cindy - Mom's DsIL and my SsIL (walang takas kay MIL kasi adjoining rooms kami)
Tata - Mom's only sister but acts like her oldest child (spoiled just like me)
T.Jean and T.Cora - the Kaladkarins (defined as those who have no hubbies with children already grown up so kahit saan mo ayain, sasama with no hesitation and no hang-ups)
To continue....
Since the airfare and the accommodations were for Mom's account, we opted to take the Cebu Pacific red-eye flight to KL to save a little. The last time we were here, we landed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The KLIA is a state of the art facility. You ride on a train to get from one end to the other. Cebu Pacific, on the other hand, lands at the LCCT (also known as the LOW COST Center Terminal). You should've seen my Mom's face when they let us go down a flight of stairs from the airplane, walk on the tarmac and enter the LCCT. Heehee. Ang image ni mader! We all had a laugh but c'mon! What did you expect after paying only P48,000 for 8 round trip tickets!
Anyway, whatever Mom saved on our tickets, she splurged on the accommodations. We stayed at the JW Marriott on Jalan Bukit Bintang. Even if we didn't arrive in style, at least we were living it up in KL! We arrived in the hotel at 2am. We spent most of the morning in bed and regrouped at 11am. First stop was the Lot 10 Shopping Mall to change our dollars. Since land transpo, food and shopping are for our account na, we had to be armed for any and all emergencies. One such emergency is the sale at Isetan and Mango. Kanya kanyang rack! The Mega Malaysian Sale sure lived up to its hype! First day palang, masakit na yung arms namin sa dami ng dala.
Our first meal of the day was at the Chiu Chou Restaurant in the Feast Village of the Starhill Gallery. We had eaten there before and we wanted the first time KL travellers to see for themselves what we were constantly raving about. In a previous post on Friendster, I mentioned that the Feast Village is a group of restaurants at the shopping area adjacent to our hotel. Yummy, yummy chinese food and their prices won't leave you with an empty pocket.
Shopping would have to take a backseat as we went on our first adventure!
Our regular driver Sherbert had driven to Penang right after dropping us off at the hotel so he no longer had the strength to drive for us in the afternoon. He sent Ali instead who was just as gracious as Sherbert although severely lacking in navigational skills. What was supposed to be a one hour ride to the 'monkey farm' turned out to be a three hour nightmare on the road. Gawd! We initially refused to go to the 'monkey farm' (who the hell would want to go to a monkey farm!) but Ali insisted since we needed to waste time before heading to the firefly resort. The farm turned out to be a sanctuary and the highlight of that adventure was when a monkey so viciously grabbed a bag of fish crackers from the hands of Tata Ruby, ran and savored his loot atop the wire fence. Tata was horrified! But after we had all gotten over the initial shock, we were all laughing hysterically at Tata's experience! We didn't catch that bit of action on film but T.Jean and Shyla's monkey encounter was well documented!
After our close encounters of the third kind, Ali brought us to dinner at the Restoran River Selangor. Yummy, yummy food but very, very murachi (term coined by T.Cora). You're not supposed to forget your diet when you're on vacation but that's precisely what we all did! I guess that's what extended hours on the road can do to you!
Our nightcap would be at the Kuantan Kulung Fireflies Resort. It is world reknowned as one of the largest colonies of twinkling fireflies on mangrove trees. In order to enjoy this experience, you must sit in total silence aboard a boat and no flash photography is allowed. At first, we were all making jokes about how intricate the christmas lights were! Heehee. Sabi namin, ang hirap ilagay niyan ha! But upon closer scrutiny, there were hundreds and thousands of fireflies all twinkling simultaneously on the trees.
It was beautiful! But the beauty of the fireflies will not sustain you for very long. The attack of the buzzing mosquitos in our ears was enough to end our supposed 30 minute boat ride after just a few minutes.
Well, at least we can say we had been there and done that! After what seemed like a hundred mosquitos biting at us, we were now back at our lovely hotel for some much needed rest. It took Ali just one hour to get us back to the city. After our post-game analysis which lasted until 2am, we finally fell asleep eager to take on Day 2 of our Mega Malaysian Sale este Adventure.
Mom/Nini - birthday celebrant and financier
Me - daughter and roommate (together forever)
Joan, Shyla and Cindy - Mom's DsIL and my SsIL (walang takas kay MIL kasi adjoining rooms kami)
Tata - Mom's only sister but acts like her oldest child (spoiled just like me)
T.Jean and T.Cora - the Kaladkarins (defined as those who have no hubbies with children already grown up so kahit saan mo ayain, sasama with no hesitation and no hang-ups)
To continue....
Since the airfare and the accommodations were for Mom's account, we opted to take the Cebu Pacific red-eye flight to KL to save a little. The last time we were here, we landed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The KLIA is a state of the art facility. You ride on a train to get from one end to the other. Cebu Pacific, on the other hand, lands at the LCCT (also known as the LOW COST Center Terminal). You should've seen my Mom's face when they let us go down a flight of stairs from the airplane, walk on the tarmac and enter the LCCT. Heehee. Ang image ni mader! We all had a laugh but c'mon! What did you expect after paying only P48,000 for 8 round trip tickets!
Anyway, whatever Mom saved on our tickets, she splurged on the accommodations. We stayed at the JW Marriott on Jalan Bukit Bintang. Even if we didn't arrive in style, at least we were living it up in KL! We arrived in the hotel at 2am. We spent most of the morning in bed and regrouped at 11am. First stop was the Lot 10 Shopping Mall to change our dollars. Since land transpo, food and shopping are for our account na, we had to be armed for any and all emergencies. One such emergency is the sale at Isetan and Mango. Kanya kanyang rack! The Mega Malaysian Sale sure lived up to its hype! First day palang, masakit na yung arms namin sa dami ng dala.
Our first meal of the day was at the Chiu Chou Restaurant in the Feast Village of the Starhill Gallery. We had eaten there before and we wanted the first time KL travellers to see for themselves what we were constantly raving about. In a previous post on Friendster, I mentioned that the Feast Village is a group of restaurants at the shopping area adjacent to our hotel. Yummy, yummy chinese food and their prices won't leave you with an empty pocket.
Shopping would have to take a backseat as we went on our first adventure!
Our regular driver Sherbert had driven to Penang right after dropping us off at the hotel so he no longer had the strength to drive for us in the afternoon. He sent Ali instead who was just as gracious as Sherbert although severely lacking in navigational skills. What was supposed to be a one hour ride to the 'monkey farm' turned out to be a three hour nightmare on the road. Gawd! We initially refused to go to the 'monkey farm' (who the hell would want to go to a monkey farm!) but Ali insisted since we needed to waste time before heading to the firefly resort. The farm turned out to be a sanctuary and the highlight of that adventure was when a monkey so viciously grabbed a bag of fish crackers from the hands of Tata Ruby, ran and savored his loot atop the wire fence. Tata was horrified! But after we had all gotten over the initial shock, we were all laughing hysterically at Tata's experience! We didn't catch that bit of action on film but T.Jean and Shyla's monkey encounter was well documented!
After our close encounters of the third kind, Ali brought us to dinner at the Restoran River Selangor. Yummy, yummy food but very, very murachi (term coined by T.Cora). You're not supposed to forget your diet when you're on vacation but that's precisely what we all did! I guess that's what extended hours on the road can do to you!Our nightcap would be at the Kuantan Kulung Fireflies Resort. It is world reknowned as one of the largest colonies of twinkling fireflies on mangrove trees. In order to enjoy this experience, you must sit in total silence aboard a boat and no flash photography is allowed. At first, we were all making jokes about how intricate the christmas lights were! Heehee. Sabi namin, ang hirap ilagay niyan ha! But upon closer scrutiny, there were hundreds and thousands of fireflies all twinkling simultaneously on the trees.
It was beautiful! But the beauty of the fireflies will not sustain you for very long. The attack of the buzzing mosquitos in our ears was enough to end our supposed 30 minute boat ride after just a few minutes.
Well, at least we can say we had been there and done that! After what seemed like a hundred mosquitos biting at us, we were now back at our lovely hotel for some much needed rest. It took Ali just one hour to get us back to the city. After our post-game analysis which lasted until 2am, we finally fell asleep eager to take on Day 2 of our Mega Malaysian Sale este Adventure.
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