SEN. Joker Arroyo appeared to have placed the P-Noy administration on his knees for a spanking for disrespect of the Constitution even as the good senator gave it a filial dimension for President Benigno S. Aquino III to dwell oh.

Joker upbraided Justice Secretary Leila de Lima for “inhumane and degrading punishment” imposed on ailing Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former president, in violation of her right to travel enshrined in the fundamental law of the land .

But Joker’s scowl at P-Noy was ill-concealed, deliberately as I see it, with his remonstration: “Kaninong Constitution ‘yun? That’s the Constitution of (the late former President) Cory Aquino.

“Pero binabastos nila. That was enacted in 1986 when Cory was first year in office. It’s not a perfect Constitution, but it is a good Constitution.”

The play for the bleeding heart gallery and flashback anti-Marcos arousal was simply too unbecoming, not just out of character, for the famously cerebral Joker of the anti-martial law “parliament of the streets,” the democratic straight and narrow upon which the EDSA people-power uprising swept up Cory to the presidency.

No, I don’t say anything discordant between the P-Noy government and the “Cory Constitution.” I’d be ready and willing to fault P-Noy, however, for causing a glitch in the radar of Arroyo’s own sense of importance, even relevance to “the creative tension” between the Aquino government and Corona Judiciary.

Hingan mo naman ng payo si Joker o makipagkape man lang sa kanya, G. Presidente.


Good news, bad news

Remittances of migrant workers from the developing countries topped $350 billion, Agence France Presse reported, quoting figures released by the World Bank. And the good news was the dollar inflow of $23 billion came from overseas Filipino workers.

Behind India’s $58 billion, China’s $57 billion, and Mexico’s $24 billion, Philippine remittances came up a respectable fourth – ahead of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Vietnam, Egypt, and Lebanon.

Further on the current events flow, the WB said that, despite looming global economic hardship, the eight- percent increase in remittances is expected to expand by 7.3 percent in 2012 and 7.9 percent in 2013.

Notwithstanding, Sen. Edgardo Angara’s warning an a possible dip in the competitiveness of our OFWs shouldn’t be ignored. Specifically imperiled are Filipino seafarers who, according to the Department of Labor, make up close to 30 percent of the World’s maritime manpower.

Angara disclosed that in 2009, the International Convention on Standards of Training of Seafarers found Pinoy compliance to be “not sufficient.” Lowering hiring rate of our seafarers could negatively impact their expected remittances in 2012.

Investments in Filipino seafarers’ training and educational upgrade, not to mention protection from illegal recruiters, must be substantially increased, Angara stressed. The senator from Southern Tagalog is chairman of the Senate education committee and finance committee vice chairman.