Eh-hum # 283

Two pieces of Pinoy news:

Good news for all bookworms!  PGMA ordered the Department of Finance to lift the taxes imposed on imported books and reading materials.

According to (Malacañang) Palace officials, the directive was prompted by "a torrent of criticism on the move of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), which is under the supervision of the finance department, to impose the duties."

We can now visit our friendly neighborhood bookshops for those hard-to-get titles without the fear of unnecessary overpricing.

***

I doubt if anyone in this country (and other Pinoys abroad) has not heard of the latest showbiz scandal to rock the nation: The Halili-Kho Sex(ploitation) Video.  Well, might as well join the bandwagon and share my thoughts on this brouhaha.

Well, I give credit to Katrina Halili for admitting, amidst tears, that she was indeed the unlucky lady getting screwed (no pun intended) by the not-so-good doctor, Hayden Kho.  Prior to that, It took a lot of guts for her to admit that she and Kho were lovers, while the latter was with Ms. Vicky Belo.  When this issue first surfaced, I knew that a number of snide and sexist remarks would be thrown at the starlet.  I am definitely not a fan, but the lady deserves justice, since she has been wronged.  

Nonetheless, let us not immediately condemn Kho to death.  As of now, I sense that he is indeed guilty of capturing his (s)excapades on video without the knowledge of the other party (and statutory rape as well with another sex video that leaked).  But distributing the video to pirates, somebody else could be liable for that.  It is possible that he made these videos for his personal use only.  But again, it is truly unacceptable that he recorded the whole thing without Katrina et. al. knowing it.  

I agree with the idea that what people do within the confines of their bedroom is their business. If they decided to share their, uh, "intimate moments" with the rest of the world and earn from it, then that's pornography.  I agree with Mr. Condrad De Quiros of the Inquirer, the recording isn't the issue, it's the distribution.  If the Halili-Kho video, among others, were not leaked, then there is no issue because it's a private affair.

Unfortunately, and expectedly, handling this issue has become a circus, with politicos left and right giving their professional opinion on the matter.  Well, am sure Sen. Bong Revilla really wants to help Katrina, but what I am hoping is some consistency on the part of our lawmakers. 

Why only now to mobilize and put a stop to cybercrimes?  I remembered Sen. Madrigal was involved in cases against cybersex dens a few years back, what ever happened to that? Moreover, am sure Katrina Halili is NOT the only victim of a similar crime; what about the others who are victims of more heinous sex-related crimes like rape?  Should our "honorable" senators be prioritizing those who do not have Katrina's resources to attain justice.   We should really stop treating issues as if they are happening for the first time when in fact they are NOT.  Also, stop the unnecessary drama and get on with it.

And for the cynical at heart (which I have the tendency to be), why is this all happening two years after the video was recorded?  Since I have to get back to work (hwehe), kindly place your theory in the space provided: