BishopAccountability.org
	Wenceslao: Jesus Christ's Alter Ego By Bong O. Wenceslao Sun.Star October 5, 2007 http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ceb/2007/10/05/oped/bong.o..wenceslao.candid.thoughts.html The complaint for acts of lasciviousness against Fr. Benedicto Ejares has been dismissed. Fine. But when I read the arguments presented by investigating prosecutor Alexander Acosta and approved by Cebu City Prosecutor Nicolas Sellon, I thought something was amiss. The reasons ranged from shaky to downright laughable. While the prosecutors may have had legal basis for its ruling, its arguments sounded grating to this non-lawyer's ears. My main beef is the prosecutors' use of God and their subjective interpretation of motive to prop up the decision to dismiss the complaint. That strayed far from the usual evidence-based points dished off by lawyers. Just because Ejares is supposedly "the alter ego of Jesus Christ" does not mean he could not commit lascivious acts. Whatever happened to priests being human? And toying with the girls' bra a "matter of routine"? How can the prosecutors, who weren't there, be more competent than the students themselves in interpreting the priest's motive? *** Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos resigned amidst allegations linking him to bribery in government's National Broad Band Network (NBN) deal with a Chinse firm. President Arroyo canceled the NBN deal. That these happened in seeming succession had conspiracy theorists believing these were part of a Malacañang face-saving scheme. My imagination is not that fertile, so I prefer to stick to something less subjective. Adverse public opinion spawned by the Senate probe into the NBN deal and the impeachment complaint filed against him in the House of Representatives forced Abalos to resign. Public pressure also pushed the Arroyo administration to scuttle the NBN deal. Conspiracy theorists may have a point but until they can present solid proof their ranting will remains empty. But I agree that Abalos' resignation and the cancellation of the NBN deal took the sail away from the impeachment proceedings and the Senate probe. That obviously hurt destabilizers and limelight-seeking politicians the most. *** I am a Dream satellite subscriber and was among those who felt short-changed by the sharp drop in the number of TV channels it is offering. That is why I have not been recommending to friends a shift from their present cable provider to Dream. If you are a National Basketball Association fan, for example, you will see nothing much there. But one can still mine advantages, if you may call that, from Dream. Like in this Sunday's bout between boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao and Mexican superstar Marco Antonio Barrera at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas Nevada. Dream has again offered a pay-per-view (PPV) showing of the fight to its subscribers The first and only time I went PPV was Pacquiao's second fight with another Mexican, Erik Morales. That was for P300. When I asked Dream card provider Charlie about the Pacquiao-Barrera PPV price, he said, "P500." "Kamahal!" I said. But there must be something in Pacquiao that forced me to go PPV despite the price. He better win. *** A texter chided me for saying in my column yesterday that dismissed ABS-CBN reporter Ramil Paican is honest. The reason for his dismissal, the texter said, was his dishonesty in reporting the incident. But my saying Paican is honest referred to his entire record as reporter. I think I should have inserted the word "generally" before honest. khanwens@yahoo.com/ 0915-9228651/my blog: cebuano.wordpress.com
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