Piercing Pens

Jaime Cardinal Sin, Archbishop Emeritus of Manila, passed away this morning. He was 76.

“The Cardinal, who had been confined at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center since Sunday (June 19), succumbed to multiple organ failure secondary to sepsis at 6:15 a.m.,” a news release from the Archdiocesan Office of Communications said.

Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines President Archbishop Fernando Capalla expressed the bishops’ sadness over the death of Sin, whom he described as a friend and brother. (more…)

The Hello Garci ring tone has new versions, including an “Ice Ice Garci” and “Without Me Garci.” You may download them at the TXTPower site.

Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Manuel L Quezon III on June 16 posted on his blog his stand on the Gloriagate tapes. Manolo is political analyst, columnist, and blogger. A grandson of a former president, he is also a chronicler of the history of the presidency. He used to work as President Arroyo’s speechwriter, then as a technical assistant, and eventually as a presidential assistant. He left his work in Malacañang after the President went against her earlier statement that she would not run in 2004. (more…)

This year’s six top winners of the Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Excellence in Journalism (JVOAEJ) will be announced at a ceremonies to be held at the AIM Conference Center Manila in Makati City on June 30, according to a news release from the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). (more…)

Amid all these hoopla, the Gloriagate scandal, jueteng inquiries and Hello Garci ring tones, a colleague pointed out that the media seemed to have forgotten all about the implementation of the previously announced wage hike starting June 15. The P11 to P25 increase in daily pay seemed to have passed us by unnoticed, perhaps hinting on its inadequacy.

Progressive labor forces have been calling for a P125 across the board wage increase as far as I could remember. I recall staring at stickers bearing the P125 call while inside buses and jeepneys way back during my college days. (more…)

There are circulating text rumors that President Arroyo will declare martial law. I received this forwarded text message twice this morning:

GMA will declare martial law on or before June 21. Larry Mendoza and Berroya to command SOT’s. 500 bushmaster automatic weapons for berroya’s hit squads have arrived. If the plan is exposed baka matakot si GMA. Ikalat na. The plan includes closing mass media and all cell phone. There is some resistance in the AFP. For sure, key personalities will be arrested.

(more…)

We now have the country’s most in-demand cell phone ring tone: the Hello Garci ring tone, which is said to be excerpts from the Gloriagate tape. Download your preferred format on the links below:

Here are Mp3 and wav files of the Hello Garci ring tone:

Server Mirror 1:
“Hello Garci” ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
“Hello Garci” ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

Server Mirror 2:
“Hello Garci” ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
“Hello Garci” ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

Server Mirror 3:
“Hello Garci” ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
“Hello Garci” ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

The files are now linked at the TXTPower website and are hosted courtesy of Yuga. (more…)