Pangasinan Express

Now that the court’s decided, the Inquirer and Newsbreak focus on the inside story on the goings-on among the Supremes leading up to their vote. The Inquirer claims the chief justice kept his cards close to his chest; Newsbreak asserts the Palace knew how he’d vote weeks in advance. Justice Ynares-Santiago was the other justice of interest.

The Palace tells her faithful villagers to keep their torches burning and pitchforks waving.

Plan A remains on the table.

Plan B: opposition, of course, claims victory before battle begins. The Manila Times and the Business Mirror detail the “Pangasinan Express” and it’s preparations to go full steam ahead.

Plan C is a go, Manila Standard-Today dutifuly reports.

In other news: Metro Manila faces a water shortage. The United States cancels plans to set up a testing center for nurses in the Philippines -but might change its mind on two conditions. The first: better peace and order. The second: settle the nursing test leak controversy once and for all. The sweetener: the US could set up a testing system.

Overseas, the Guardian reports that as America prepares for historic mid-term elections and the implementation of reforms to prevent the 2000 electoral controversy in Florida, efforts at poll automation and modernization in as many as 10 US states may be headed for disaster. The Nation of Thailand says it now has the inside story on the Thai coup.

In the punditocracy, the Inquirer editorial dissects the Supreme Court’s decision and says it drew a line in the sand; while the Business Mirror editorial says it’s time to move on.

Fr. Joaquin Bernas SJ suggests the legions of Singaw were sloppy and deceitful in their lawyering and Raul Pangalanan maintains there was outright fraud. Rene Saguisag says that when a case is carried, then it’s carried and so there was no close call at all. He coins a phrase I love: the Speaker “wants to be Prime Rib or something.” Tee hee!

Ting Tiongco remembers what martial law was like.

Overseas, Dahlia Lithwick explains why a recent New Jersey court decision on gay marriage isn’t a case of judicial activism. Michael Wright on what the Thai coup was all about.

In the blogosphere, Jove Francisco says he had to look up the meaning of sangfroid because of a comment I made on his blog entry for yesterday. He reports that there’s an ongoing debate over whether the President brushed off the bad news of a Supreme Court defeat, or whether she took it like a blow to the solar plexus. Some Palace officials are said to be in a state of shock -but the carnival continues and the fight goes on. Local officials are part of the President’s entourage to China (preplanned, surely, when victory was considered inevitable) and the President gets a couple of days off to eat dimsum and consult her bankers in Hong Kong.

Bloggers such as In a Jaded World continue looking at the Supreme Court decision, or reacting to it, such as From the Barrel of My Pen (a Fil-Am), Daily Musings and Philippine Politics 04 (who are both delighted), Bunker Chronicles (irritated over Lambino’s continued defiance).

A Nagueño in the Blogosphere points out Wikipedia’s made it to a Supreme Court decision.

And please don’t forget to keep tabs on The Explainer on ANC blog.

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