Not Guilty?! Oh Come On!

Andal Ampatuan Jr. just entered a 'not guilty plea' for the 41 counts of murder in the Maguindanao massacre case.
Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes started around 8:30 AM in the Police Non-Commissioned Officers' Clubhouse inside Camp Crame that housed the temporary courthouse.


He sported jeans and a pink tshirt with corresponding handcuffs that was really nice to see with Ampatuan while he was being escorted by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents. There was a sudden photo-op for members of media before they were escorted out. I watched this all in ANC. Asst. Chief State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon headed the team for the government and public prosecutor while well known paid Atty. Sigfrid Fortun stood for Ampatuan’s defense.


First on the table was to have the Department of Justice (DOJ) explain why Ampatuan needed to appear and be on the preliminary investigation where a couple of photographers and newsmen hit him on his face with cameras.
Judge Solis-Reyes gave DOJ 3 days to explain. Aside from this, there will be a hearing for the petition for bail of Ampatuan. Fortun said he will make a preliminary conference so they can agree on the evidence that will be presented in the hopes of a speedy case. Fadullon however resisted and said that the 'petition for bail' was the only thing that was discussed in that particular hearing. Judge Solis-Reyes instructed the prosecution to limit the number of witnesses since there are around 12 for the bail hearing. Around 9:30AM Atty. Ric Diaz of the NBI was adjudged witness that will be cross-examined by Fortun because he said that his testimony would only be irrelevant. Diaz heads the Anti-Terrorism Division of the NBI and he was the first one to get there on the day of the massacre.
University of the Philippines (UP)Professor Atty. Harry Roque also added that Ampatuan should be in the Quezon City Jail, as it was also noted by Judge Solis-Reyes. The next hearing will be on January 13 at 8:30AM and I just hope he goes straight to Muntinlupa instead.

Good for My Room!

My Dad, Mom, Brother and I went to SM North EDSA this evening to get some needed time together. Aside from the usual mall and restaurant activities, I went to the household section since we needed to buy curtain rods and drapery for my room. I am not an interior designer but I think my room just needs a little jazzing up because it has been a few years since I updated the look. Actually it still looks like the same room just as it was in the 1990's so you know how it feels when I am cramped in there. The curtains would get it to look a little bit organized and classy.

I do not like clutter and even if I have a messy table in the office, I keep it a point to still get the papers fixed before I go home. I do not have anybody to follow my trash wherever I go so I try my best to be tidy even if I am alone. I do not have to make that my new year's resolution, but this is one thing I will do for myself since I spend most of the time in my room. I think I deserve that right?!

Thank You For Making Me Extremely Lucky!

It must be luck... I think I have been so lucky last year a lot of things have happened to my life that I really really love. Part of that is probably due to the help I got from prayers. I know, you don't see me as the praying type but I really do... heheh...

Aside from that, I had the chance to get to know Xander Angeles. In the photography world he is like the Barack Obama... a man that would change the fashion photography world. He's also Filipino and he has been in the greatest fashion shoots for America's Next Top Model and a lot of other clients in the US. When I saw his shots, I was at awe and said to myself "I thought I was doing fashion photography, but this one was helluvah great shot!" which means it really did influence me a lot. Today I have been doing a lot of post processing techniques which I got to know when I saw his portfolio called the XBOOK... every celebrity and model that was well photographed in the Philippines and the US was there. I really love every bit of it!

He is now based in New York but I think they are coming up with a plan to do something for the Philippine photography industry come this year and I will surely be looking forward to that.

For the friends I made and the new lifestyle I have now, thank you! I am really looking forward to better things in the future!

To Buy or Not to Buy

I never knew it was going to be hard to make a choice about the property we were planning to buy somewhere south of Manila. It seems that I have a few questions to ask first before purchasing it for my family and I would not want to get my money spent on worthless ones so I took a short trip yesterday and checked the village out. It was a parcel of land spanning the right part of the road where there are a couple of Pineapple plantations. It was a nice place although I was a little dumbfounded why they did not have a sign of some sort in front of the actual village. The real estate company did not have a corporate office and they were just situated on a vacant lot that had three tables and a couple of assistants to man the stations. It seemed to me that they were just fly-by-night corporations but since I was there for a specific reason, I went ahead and asked about it.



The lot that I was trying to buy was very near the pool, the church and the club house that they plan to put up. They are still unfinished so I did ask if they have an estimate when the amenities are going to be accessible but apparently they are clueless. I know they were from one of the premier real estate companies in the metro but it was really not that appealing anymore. They did not even have Real Estate Logos which made them really look unprofessional. I think they need to fix things first before I am going to be convinced to pay for it. I however was impressed with the model house that they showed us. It was the ideal three story house with a large garden outside and a parking space that could fit around 2 vehicles. I know this is going to be expensive if we were on the other side of the road because that part had a view overlooking a world renowned volcano. If only they make things better this would have been an easy decision. Now I'll ask you guys, to buy or not to buy?!