Thanks to Inquirer for this photo.

Sitting as the presiding judge in the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, Enrile’s competent handling of one of the biggest legal events in the country assures the public that whatever the decision of the senator-judges, whether Corona would be acquitted or convicted, Philippine democracy would be enriched.

Enrile was very much part of the two-decade Marcos regime in various capacities in the department of justice,finance, and defense.

As defense minister, he was an enforcer of martial law declared on Sept. 21, 1972, that saw the arrest of thousands of Marcos political enemies including members of media. Newspapers and TV stations were closed and only Marcos-friendly media were allowed to operate later.

To freedom fighters, Enrile’s name evoked fear and hatred.

I remember in the mid- 80’s when Sylvia de la Paz, wife of slain doctor Bobby de la Paz , in a TV show, looking at Enrile straight in the eye and accusing him and the establishment he was representing of having to do with the death of her husband. It was an astounding act of courage.

Then, EDSA One happened. On Feb. 22, 1986, Enrile with then chief of the Philippine Constabulary Fidel V. Ramos,led a coup d’etat against Marcos. Supported by the population, Marcos fell four days four later and Cory Aquino was installed president.

Cory Aquino Spokesman/Speechwriter and former Makati representative Teddy Locsin has said all the martial law sins of Enrile were erased by his role in EDSA One.

But the uneasy partnership between the former jailor and the jailed didn’t last long because Enrile was implicated in a number of coups against Cory Aquino led by Enrile’s former aide, then Capt. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, now a senator.

Enrile was also implicated and even jailed in another incident of political shakedown directed against the unelected presidency of Gloria Arroyo in May 2001.

While many of his EDSA One co-actors have faded into the background, Enrile continues to play a prominent role in the current political scene. At 88 years old!

Rex Robles, who headed the special study group in Enrile’s office at the defense ministry and one of the participants in EDSA One, also marvels at the transformation of his former boss into an “iconic” political figure.

He said the rehabilitation of Enrile from a martial law enforcer and destabilizer to a source of political stability is a result of “circumstances prevailing upon him to reinvent himself.”

He said Enrile is able to draw from his deep emotional, spiritual and intellectual resources. He further said that Enrile’s love for books on philosophy has given him a wider view of things.

Robles gives a lot of significance to Enrile’s “88”, which, he said, viewed horizontally is double “ Lemniscate” ,the infinity symbol.

“In a sense, ‘free from boundaries’. JPE is clearly at the moment in time when he has liberated himself from the boundaries of his past. At the same time, he clearly indicates the boundaries of the impeachment process for the prosecution, the defense, and for the court itself,” Robles said of his mentor.

Missing

There’s also the disappointing lack of action by the Aquino administration on the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance which has been signed by 92 countries , 31 of which have ratified the Convention.

The Aquino government also never replied to the annual requests by the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances for official invitation to visit the country.

That’s why I’m worried about the three missing Muslim men – Najir Gumuntul Ahung,38;Rasdie Bisita Kasaran,21; and Yusup Cadlus Mohammad,21, all residents of Al-Barka,Basilan – who were last heard last Jan. 3, when one of them texted a brother, Jamih Arawi, Barangay Captain of Barangay Guinanta. Al-Barka, Basilan, of their arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 1.

They came on board Air Philippines flight from Zamboanga city. They were scheduled to leave the next day for Khartoum, Somalia. They were going to Sudan to study Arabic language at the International University of Africa on scholarships.

In the petition before the Supreme Court for the issuance of a writ of Amparo seeking for their protection filed by the relatives through their counsel, Roque & Butuyan Law Offices, they said they have a reasonable ground to believe, have been abducted by agents of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in connection with the Al-Barka, Basilan debacle.

Named respondents are Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Jessie D. Dellosa and the AFP Intelligence ServiceCchief, Brig. Gen. Cesar Ronnie Ordoyo.

The relatives’ suspicion is based on unconfirmed reports that the three were suspects in the Oct. 19, 2011 ambush of Philippine Army Special Forces by suspected members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, reportedly joined by villagers near Al-Barka, Basilan.

Nineteen soldiers were killed in that incident, 14 of them were beheaded Twelve more soldiers were wounded.

Authorities filed a complaint with the Basilan Prosecutor’s Office against the MILF men behind the massacre. They also implicated 300 “John Does.”

The relatives have tried looking for the three everywhere. They have gone to the Philippine National Police and to the Commission on Human Rights. They sought the help of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearance and its allied organization, Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance.

The agonizing search yielded zero information.

Very recently, the relatives said, CHR has received information that the three men are in the custody of the ISAFP. “However, any formal acknowledgment from the AFP and the ISAFP about this matter remains to be seen,” they said in their petition.

Counsel Harry Roque said,”Assuming for the sake of argument that they had indeed taken part in the massacre, the proper way to do it is to charge the men in court and to cause the issuance of arrest warrants against them.”

He further said subjecting the three supect to involuntary disappearance and holding them incommunicado violate their fundamental constitutional rights, not to mention the fact that the opportunity given them by the International University of Africa in Sudan to study the Arabic language on scholarship was snatched away from them.

“There is thus a very serious threat to the life, liberty, and security of the three Aggrieved Parties. Their rights to life, liberty, and security are violated or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of public officials or private individuals that are under the control and/or supervision of Respondents,” Roque said in the petition.

Inip na sa ending ang mga tao.

Sa aming baryo sa Guisijan sa Antique, marami ang sumusunod ng Corona impeachment trial.Sa mga nakita nilang lumabas na mga impormasyun sa trial, naniniwala silang guilty si Corona.Kaya kahit medyo palpak and prosecution, umu-ubra din ang kanilang stratehiya na lumilihis sa proseso.

Ngunit alam din ng taumbayan na malaki ang papel ng pulitika sa pinal na desisyun kaya medyo nag-alala sila.

Sabi nila may mga naparusahan na nagkamali na hindi naman masyadong malaki ang perwisyo sa taumbayan. Nalulula sila sa tagong milyunes ni Corona at kung hindi maparusahan, parang hindi nila yan mapagtagpi sa kanilang paniniwala sa hustisya.

Ganun din ang damdamin ng mga OFW na kahit malayo sila sa ating bayan ay tumututok sa impeachment trial.

Katulad ni Arnulfo Mayo na nasa Salerno, Afghanistan. Sabi niya: “I am really so disappointed on what is going on to our country, we OFW, we tried our best to help our country, but for some persons in the positions, like Corona, na kita na’t bisto na, nagbubuhat pa ng sariling bangko.

“ I don’t know why in our country, kapag madaming pera ang nasasakdal ang hirap mapatunayan.”

Sabi naman ni Jun Fontanilla na nasa Brunei Darussalam, “Nakakalungkot marinig at basahin ang mga action/reaction ng mga experts on legal matters how they twist things even though it is crystal clear that if you lie in your Sworn Statement you violate the Law and Constitution that you have sworn to uphold and defend.
Too much attention is being spend on legalities and technicalities.

“In my own opinion, nothing will come out to define these two words in a debate dahil sa pagalingan at talino, lahat ayaw patalo.

“ Just simple question :why do you have to deposit a big sum of money in your name and account if it is not yours?

“Bahala napo kayo sa kasagutan dahil minsan nakakaawa napo ang sambayanang Pilipino na dapat ay pagtuunan na lang sana kung paano tayo babangon muli sa kahirapan at hindi sa pagkakamali at pagkasala ng mangilan-ngilan na tao na walang inatupag kundi ang sariling kapakanan.

“We are wasting a lot of precious resources instead of giving a focus and attention to our country’s current problem and challenges.”

Ito naman ang sinabi ni MPRivera na nasa Saudi sa aking blog:

“Matanong ko la’ang: ano baga talaga tamang pagpapairal ng paglilitis?

“Ito baga ay ‘yung pagpapalabas ng katotohanan kahit mali ang ibang paraan ng paglalahad ng ebisensiya upang maigawad ang katarungan o ‘yung pagsunod (sa tamang presentasyon ng ebidensiya) kahit mangahulugang umabot sa pagtatago ng katotohanan?”

Dapat sagutin yan ng mga senator-judges.

Corona stated in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) for 2010 that he had only P3.5 million in cash and investments. Yet his five peso accounts at the Philippine Savings Bank showed he had P19,728,555.39 while his checking account at the Bank of the Philippines Island, Ayala branch contained P12,024,000.67 or a total of about P32 million as of Dec. 31, 2010.

Yesterday, more Corona millions were disclosed. PSB President Pascual Garcia and Tiongson disclosed that Corona closed three time deposit accounts worth at least P36 million on Dec. 12, 2011, the same day that the House of Representatives adopted the impeachment complaint against him prompting Sen. Jinggoy Estrada to quip, “Ayoko mag-isip ng malisya pero nagsususpetsa talaga ako. (I don’t want to cast malice but I’m really suspicious.)”

That was not the only cause for malice and suspicion that surfaced in the impeachment trial. Tiongson, upon questioning by Sen. Loren Legarda, disclosed that on Jan. 31, 2012, Rep. Jorge Banal of Quezon City came to her office and showed her a two-page document that looked like the signature card of the bank.

Tiongson , demonstrating how Banal tried to conceal the full contents of the document, related that the congressman tried to verify if it was a dollar account. She said she was shocked to see the document that is supposed to be a highly classified document.

That account has been the subject of the temporary restraining order by the Supreme Court.

She said she asked Banal how he obtained the document and the congressman replied, “So many people are helping us.”

Tiongson also said that Banal offered to tell her the source of the document if she would help them.She said she told Banal, “I’m sorry, I can’t help you.”

On Feb. 2, Inquirer columnist Conrado Banal III, brother of Rep. Banal, wrote about Corona’s dollar account.

“For some time now, word goes around in business that a dollar bank account in PSBank was opened about four years ago under the name of one of the Chief Justice’s children, with an initial deposit of $700,000—or about P30 million,” Conrad wrote.

On Feb. 3, the Prosecution requested for a supplemental subpoena on the dollar accounts of Corona, using as an attachment photo copies of the document related to Corona’s dollar account and Conrad Banal’s Feb. 2 column.

On Feb. 6, concerned that the bank documents the prosecution attached to their request for subpoena, which was granted, violated the secrecy of bank deposits law, Sen. Francis Escudero inquired how they obtained them. That was when the story about the ‘small lady” came up.

Rep Niel Tupas, head of the prosecution team, said it was given to him by Oriental Mindoro Representative Reynaldo Umali, a member of the prosecution team. Umali said while he was in the Senate Feb. 2, he was approached by a “small lady” who gave him an envelope containing the documents containing information on the dollar account of Corona.

A review of the Senate CCTV did not show any “small lady” approaching Umali.

Last Monday, Feb. 13, Pascual and Tiongson said the bank documents on Corona’s dollar account which was the basis for the subpoena was “fake” because it had markings that was not in the original. The account number and the amount, however, were correct.

It is understandable that PSB would insist on the document to be ‘fake’ because if would turn out that they were accomplice to the leak of the document, they would be liable for violating the banking secrecy law.

Tiongson’s disclosure of Banal’s Jan. 31 visit to her office raised further doubt on the “small lady” story of Umali.

The question that was immediately asked was, if Banal, who is a member of the prosecution secretariat, had already the document on Jan. 31, why didn’t Umali know about it?. Or did he really not know about it?

Before the trial ended yesterday, Banal, who is the House deputy majority leader, took the stand and related that when he came home late in the evening Monday, Jan. 30, he saw a document at the gate which turned out to be the document on the dollar account of Corona. He said he went to see Tiongson the next day. That jibed with the account of Tiongson.

He said he didn’t inform other members of the prosecution team about the documents on Corona’s dollar accounts. He said he just kept the information to himself even as he followed it up with the bank.

Banal, who is vice chairman of the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture, has authored children’s books.

Banal’s version looks more plausible than the ‘small lady” tale except one thing: How did he know that Corona’s account was in PSB, Katipunan branch when it was not indicated in the document he got?

Enrile showing prosecution's 'fake' document

That document, which PSB Katipunan branch manager Annabel Tiongson, said was fake became the basis of the subpoena issued by the impeachment court for the information on Corona’s bank accounts.

An ABS-CBN report quoted Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda as saying, “Ano ba ang fake? Fake ang account number e mayroong account number doon sa PSBank eh. Kung signature card, pirmado naman po ni Chief Justice Corona ‘yun. So I suppose they’re protecting their bank because there’s a violation of the Bank Secrecy Law so I would assume that the bank will do everything to protect itself from liability from the Bank Secrecy Law. But what has been proven is that it is not fake insofar as the account numbers, insofar as the figures are there.”

Must Lacierda vouch for the prosecution’s documents? Why can’t he let the prosecution do their job in the impeachment court?

We understand Malacañang’s desire to have Corona removed as part of their crusade to institute reform in the judiciary. Although we do not believe the defense panel’s tale of P100 million per senator to oppose the High Court’s temporary restraining order on Corona’s dollar accounts, we know that the prosecution team, composed of members of the House of representatives, is getting a lot of help from Malacañang. But can’t they do it more discreetly?

Malacañang’s indiscretion is not doing the prosecution a favor.

Lacierda’s statement makes one wonder, was the fake document Malacanang’s handiwork?

This was the part last Monday’s hearing that made Enrile ask the prosecution explain why they did something unethical:

Enrile: Are you saying that these documents are false documents?
Tiongson: Yes, Sir. It seems fake.

Enrile: Huh?

Tiongson: They are fake documents, Sir.

Enrile: They are fake documents. Are you sure?
Tiongson: Yes, Sir.

Rep. Niel Tupas, head of the prosecution panel, said in their request, they never claimed the document, which they said came from an anonymous source, to be authentic.

Yesterday, Sen. Miriam Santiago went ballistic again scolding the prosecution panel for submitting an unauthenticated document to the court. She said it happened in a regular court, a judge would order the sheriff to haul the lawyer to city jail.

As to the reasoning of the prosecution that they felt it was their duty to bring the document to the attention of the impeachment court, Santiago remarked, “Duty, my foot! It is not your duty. It is your liability.”

It is of interest to many how the authenticity of the document submitted by the prosecution would affect the information from Corona’s bank accounts that were revealed as a result of the subpoena issued by the court.

The subpoena resulted in the disclosure by two bank executives that Corona as of Dec, 31, 2010 had at least P32 million in the banks. He stated in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) for 2010 that he had only P3.5 million in cash and investments.

The Supreme Court, however, issued a temporary restraining order on the release of documents on Corona’s dollar accounts.

The prosecution may lose some points in the impeachment court on this issue of submitting fake documents. Enrile even warned them that their lack of evidence at the start of the impeachment process may prove to be a “fatal error.”

But in the court of public opinion, they scored big with the disclosure of those multi-million peso bank deposits. To many senator-judges that matters a lot.

'Of comfortable means'

My wife and I have been privileged to come from families of comfortable means. We grew up never lacking in anything and even enjoyed some luxuries. We earned our academic degrees in some of the best exclusive schools in the country. I went on to earn several postgraduate degrees, including a Master’s degree in Harvard Law School. Our parents provided well for our future. Family resources continue to be available to us anytime.

I had a very successful career in the private sector where I was a top executive before I joined the government. That is public record.

For the past 40 years, my wife and I lived in a house, which was inherited property, and for that reason never had to pay rent or amortization on our residence. This translated to significant savings over forty years.

We have lived simple and frugal lives since we got married more than 40 years ago, to the point of thriftiness. This contributed to how we have been able to accumulate these assets. Other than our house, which we have lived in for almost 40 years, we have never had any other house.

I do not spend on vices like smoking, drinking or gambling, and have been completely devoted to my family. My family has always been my priority.

It pains me to see my family suffer the reckless abandon of a few who want to paint a different Renato C. Corona. I will not allow a career carefully nurtured and a family lovingly cared for in my lifetime to be tarnished by people in the business of lies and falsehoods.

But I am determined, with my Defense Team, to explain everything satisfactorily when our turn comes to present our evidence. If you look closely at the documents already marked, the explanations are all there.

In the meantime, I would like to request the public not to make any hasty conclusions. This “expose” that the prosecution is trying to herald as another “bombshell” will, in due time, be exposed as another dud like the 45 properties they claimed I owned.

To the Prosecution Team, I do know my law. I have not broken any law. I have no liability to the people and to the government.

What my wife and I have is the fruit of hard and honest work for which all taxes have been fully paid. Since the Prosecution alleged wrongdoing, the obligation to prove it is theirs and theirs alone. Do not extract it from me through means that are foul, coercive and illegal because this can only mean one thing: YOU DID NOT HAVE ANY IOTA OF EVIDENCE AGAINST ME WHEN YOU FILED THE IMPEACHMENT COMPLAINT.

As to the effort of the Prosecution to enlist the assistance of certain patently partisan and inquisitorial Senator-Judges to help obtain the evidence you are digging up only now, not to mention the ruthless, unchristian and unrelenting public persecution through trial by publicity against my family and I, I hope the public will see through your schemes. My entire family is now, among others, being harassed by the BIR. I hope this persecution will never happen to any other official, officer, captain of industry or Juan dela Cruz. I would not wish it on my worst enemy, should I have one.

Finally, the President has clearly committed an impeachable offense when he came out swinging by openly urging the Senator-Judges to disobey the Constitution he has personally sworn to uphold.

Itong impeachment trial na ito ay isang huwad, isang paghihiganti ng sukdulan at kahiya-hiyang tangka na pigilin ang pagbabahagi ng lupain sa Hacienda Luisita.

Lee made the clarification in reaction to a VERA Files story yesterday that said she saw herself tying the knot with the President.

In a text message to Ellen Tordesillas, author of the report, Lee said, “The only points about your article I want to clarify is that I never uttered the words ‘altar’ or anything that might hint to desiring marriage.”

Lee later said in a phone interview with Tordesillas that the issue about she and the President ending up at the altar was part of the banter between hosts of the program “Good Times in the Morning” which airs on radio station 89.9.

Lee also said it was Suzy who replied “The full length” when asked by New York-based Mo Twister how long the relationship would last.

She also clarified that she did not say “I’m praying for this,” referring to her relationship. “What I said is that I pray everything will go well,” she said.

“It was my female co-DJ who teased me on the air and I laughed it off,” Lee said in her tweet earlier in the day as social networking sites ran the story.

In the phone interview, Lee also denied revealing that the President had offered to provide her a team from the Presidential Security Group. “It’s not true. There was no security issue that I ever discussed with anyone,” Lee said.

VERA Files sources had earlier quoted Lee telling a TV talk show host off-camera that the President had offered to provide her with PSG escorts.

For her report, Tordesillas quoted from the conversations of the “Good Times” anchor during the show’s episode on Feb. 8, which happened to be Aquino’s 52nd birthday. She was listening to the program at the time.

The altar.

That’s where Grace Lee says her relationship with President Benigno Aquino III is headed.

In her morning show “Good Times in the Morning” last Wednesday, the Korean-born radio and TV personality was asked by her New York-based co-anchor Mo Twister how long their relationship would last.

She replied, “The full length.”

Needled further on where she expected their dates would lead to, Lee answered, “The altar.” She added, “I’m praying for this.”

For the rest of the story, please click here (VERA Files).

Prelude to withdrawal?

Palace says claims are ‘unsubstantiated,’ a ‘desperate gimmick’

The defense on Sunday alleged that Malacanang offered P100 million for senators to skirt around the Supreme Court-issued temporary restraining order on the subpoena issued on Chief Justice Renato Corona’s alleged dollar accounts.

Citing a “very reliable” source, defense lawyer Dennis Manalo said Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. has been contacting senator-judges not to honor the halt order.

Another lawyer, Jose “Judd” Roy III, alleged the money will be sourced from government savings to be used for “soft projects.” The funds will supposedly be released this week.

In a prepared statement read by Manalo, the defense said: “Yesterday, we received very reliable information that Executive Secretary [Ochoa], acting in behalf of President Aquino, was personally contacting and phoning senator-judges to pursuade or pressure them to defy TRO issued by SC in favor of PSBank.”

He said they condemn in the strongest terms the actions of President Benigno Aquino III to “undermine the constitutional process that he himself initiated.”

He added that Corona “in good faith” participated in the process, but now “it’s apparent that the President is bent on convicting CJ Corona at all cost.”

Attack on the judiciary, economy

The defense did not reveal their source, noting only that he is very reliable.

But they stressed they would not risk their reputations as lawyers by coming out on a Sunday to issue a statement on news that has no bearing.

They also called on lawyers “to be more vigilant and stand up for the independence of the judiciary and the integrity of our constitutional processes.”

What is happening now is an attack on the entire judiciary, the defense added.

They also called on the public to “guard against efforts to undermine the constitution and rule of law…We must…secure the independence of the judiciary. Otherwise, the oppressed would find no refuge from abuses and rights cannot triumph over injustice.”

Defense lawyer Ramon Esguerra also added that if the senator-judges decide on Monday not to respect the TRO, “the backlash will not only be on the Chief Justice, but on the banking industry and the entire economy.”

The defense did not say what it will do with the information it received. They said, however, that what Aquino did, if true, is already “a culpable violation of the Constitution.”

Palace says defense allegation a ‘squid tactic’

Executive Secretary Ochoa called the accusations of the defense as “unsubstantiated” and a “desperate gimmick.”

In a statement issued to the media, Ochoa said: “As a member of the Bar, I respect the right of the lawyers of the Chief Justice to protect the interests of their client, within the bounds of the law. However, citing rumors to prove baseless accusations to support their cause goes against the principles of decent and ethical lawyering.”

He said: “It is a desperate gimmick that does not belong in the proceedings of any court of law, especially an impeachment trial.”

He said the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, is capable of making decisions to provide Corona a fair trial.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda urged Corona’s camp to “stop running and stop hiding” and inflicting on the public “idle talk.”

“Their conspiracy theories concerning the Executive Secretary [Ochoa] is a diversionary tactic to distract attention from the evidence coming to light in the impeachment trial,” he said.

He said the defense chooses to use “squid tactics” in order to deviate from the real issues.

“The Senate has been conducting the impeachment trial in full light of day; the prosecution and defense have been given every opportunity to have themselves heard,” he said. “We can only surmise that the defense has run out of ways to conceal the culpability of its client, and has engineered this move as a last-ditch effort to confuse the proceedings and prevent a resolution.”

“The only danger in the disclosure of the Chief Justice’s assets is the Chief Justice’s defense: the integrity of the banking system, our system of laws, the cause of justice and good governance are not endangered by the proceedings of the impeachment court,” he added.

Pull-out imminent?

The senator-judges will hold a caucus on Monday morning to discuss whether or not to follow the halt order issued by the Supreme Court last Thursday.

The High Court, in a vote of 8-5, issued on Thursday a TRO on the subpoena issued by the impeachment court on the alleged dollar accounts of Corona in PSBank.

Esguerra added: “We respect the trial…but we came in already scathed and wounded…Sugatan na ang Chief Justice, lopsided na ang sitwasyon, di kami makapag-motion for reconsideration, we can’t object to the questions of the senators.”

He said, however, that they still hope that “the senator-judges will see reason and implement the Constitution.”

Asked if they will pull out from the trial if the Senate insists on the subpoena, defense lawyer Paolo Quicho only said: “Kami pong mga abogado ay handing lumaban, manindigan…Sama-sama po namin itong haharapin. Marangal naming haharapin ang persecution na ito.”

In the meantime, the defense is asking stakeholders to wait for their turn in ducking the accusations against Corona.

Malacanang has also called on Corona to just open his bank accounts to end the speculation.

But Manalo said: “There is a process. Sila dapat muna ang magpatunay. Bakit kailangan ng shortcut?”

The meeting that ignited the 'sparks'

In her radio program, “Good Times in the Morning”, with Mo Twister last Wednesday, the 29-year old Korean TV and radio host who has admitted dating 52-year old President Benigno Aquino III, said, “I can always convince the guy to quit smoking.”

Lee should have a good chance to succeed in convincing Pnoy to stop smoking because she said they always talk “animatedly for three to five hours. “

Lee’s self-imposed mission should warm the hearts of anti-smoking advocates in the country like Dr. Anthony Leachon, internist-cardiologist and consultant to the Department of Health on Non-communicable Disease and Dr. Cecilia Llave, gynecologist-oncologist, Initiative Coordinator of the national Cancer Institute.

Heart attack, stroke, cancer and, chronic obstructive lung disease (bronchitis and emphysema) and diabetes are NCDs and they are the top killers of Filipinos today.

Since NCDs are lifestyle-linked diseases (cholesterol-laden diets, lack of exercise and smoking), the solution is also in the change of lifestyle and one of them is to stop smoking.

The two believe that the most effective campaign booster against smoking is leadership by example.

“When you’re sick, you are not productive. You spend money for medication and hospitalization… When we look at the bigger picture, a nation’s health is a nation’s wealth. A sick population is a sick nation,” Leachon said in a TV interview.

Like a chimney

This should be sent to Lee who is talking about her relationship with the President going the “full length” and headed to “the altar.”

Here’s the article in ABC News written by Carrie Gann titles “Smoking Slows Memory, Reasoning in Middle-Aged Men.”

“New evidence suggests that smoking isn’t only bad for the body but can also take a toll on the mind.

“A study published today in the Archives of General Psychiatry linked smoking to faster, more dramatic age-related mental decline in men.

“Researchers from University College in London studied more than 5,000 men and 2,000 women from Britain’s long-running Whitehall II study, which has surveyed the health of thousands of British civil service employees.

“The researchers studied each participant’s performance on tests of memory, verbal skills and reasoning over a period of 10 years, beginning when the participants were about 56 years old. They found that men who smoked showed a greater decline in these mental functions than those who had never smoked.

“Smoking seemed to speed up the cognitive aging process, making men function mentally as if they were 10 years older, said Severine Sabia, the study’s lead author.

“’For example, a 50-year-old male smoker shows a similar cognitive decline as a 60-year-old male never-smoker’ she said.

“The brain changes weren’t necessarily permanent. Men who stopped smoking more than 10 years before the tests performed as well as those who had never smoked. But men who kicked the smoking habit less than 10 years before the cognitive tests began didn’t do much better than the men who’d kept smoking.

“While smoking seemed to drain men’s brains, the researchers didn’t find a similar connection between smoking and declining mental function in women. Sabia said that could be because women in this age group smoked less than men do, or that there were simply fewer women in the study.

“Researchers said there are several factors that could explain the connection between smoking and mental decline. One reason could lie in the way smoking affects the heart, lungs and blood vessels. Because smoking ups the risk of vascular disease, it could limit the body’s ability to deliver the blood, oxygen and nutrients the brain needs to function at its best.

“Dr. Charles DeCarli, director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Center at the University of California at Davis, said differences in cardiovascular disease may also explain why the study found that men showed more cognitive decline linked to smoking than women did.

“’Men have more heart disease and greater stroke risk than women do up until about age 70 or so. Part of that is related to lifestyle,’ DeCarli said. ‘en of this age group often smoked more than women did.’”

“Philip Harvey, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Miami School of Medicine, said the addictive nature of cigarettes may also take a toll on the brain, noting that molecules of nicotine in the brain latch onto the same brain receptors involved in attention, concentration and memory.

‘”’That just may lead to a disregulation of those receptors, it may make them function less well,’ Harvey said. ‘But that could mean that rather than some kind of long-term damage, it’s a reversible process that may involve resetting the receptors.’

“The study’s authors said that smoking’s long-term effects on mental function are probably underestimated, since smokers are more likely to die of other health problems before they have the chance to develop dementia.”

Dementia is not only heartbreaking for the patient but also for their loved ones. Lee should use that pitch to Pnoy.