Defensor’s fears didn’t happen

By Alex P. Vidal

“Every time there’s an institutional issue like impeachment, there’s concern from the outside about what will happen.” — Michel Temer

SHORTLY after Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio declared her intention to run for president in 2028, Iloilo 3rd District Rep. Lorenz Rivera Defensor (National Unity Party) expressed fears that some members of the House of Representatives might hesitate to vote for or endorse the impeachment case against the country’s second-highest elected official.

He must’ve theorized that if some lawmakers have political ambitions in 2028 and beyond, supporting the impeachment would be a big risk, knowing that Mrs. Duterte-Carpio was a leading presidential wannabe at the moment.

But what happened was the opposite.

The House Committee on Justice voted 54–1 to declare the third and fourth Articles of Impeachment filed against the controversial 47-year-old vice president sufficient in form and in substance.

Defensor, 48, and two other Iloilo solons — Janette Loreto-Garin, 53 (Iloilo first district, Lakas-CMD), and Julienne Baronda, 47 (Iloilo City lone district, Lakas-CMD) — were among the 54 who voted in favor of the impeachment.

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Mrs. Duterte-Carpio is being impeached for:

• PHP 612 million malversation of public funds for allegedly misusing PHP 500 million while serving as vice president of the Philippines and PHP 112 million as secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd);
• PHP 2 billion unexplained wealth for allegedly failing to fully and truthfully disclose her assets, properties and net worth in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), amounting to PHP 2 billion while serving as vice president of the Philippines from 2022–2025;
• Corruption and bribery for alleged procurement irregularities while serving as secretary of DepEd and bribing DepEd officials;
• Assassination threats and sedition for allegedly contracting murder by publicly threatening to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Mrs. Duterte-Carpio is also accused of seditious activities such as political destabilization, subversion of political order and sedition.

The lone lawmaker who objected to the impeachment was Jesus “Bong” Suntay.

The Committee on Justice would now start its mini-trial and investigation of Mrs. Duterte-Carpio’s Articles of Impeachment in determining “probable cause.”

The Articles of Impeachment would next be sent to the plenary for a concurring one-third vote, or at least 106 votes, to impeach the vice president.

The impeachment will be turned over to the Senate “forthwith” for court trial and proceedings.

The Senate would need a two-thirds vote, or at least 16 votes, to impeach Mrs. Duterte-Carpio.

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I got this horrifying warning below from Shah Faisal Shah, author of From Hype to Truth, Crypto fundamentals book:

IF YOU’RE UNDER 30, DO NOT BUY A HOUSE RIGHT NOW. HERE’S WHY

Step 1: The US just started a WAR with Iran. Trump says it could last 5 WEEKS.

Step 2: Iran CLOSED the Strait of Hormuz. 20% of the world’s oil is now BLOCKED.

Step 3: Oil is surging past USD 85/barrel. Heading to USD 100+. Maybe USD 120.

Step 4: When oil goes up, EVERYTHING goes up. Gas. Food. Shipping. Construction materials. EVERYTHING.

Step 5: Inflation is COMING BACK. Bank of England rate cut odds already collapsed from 80% to 29% in ONE WEEK.

Step 6: If inflation returns, central banks CAN’T cut rates. They might even RAISE them.

Step 7: Higher rates = higher mortgage rates. 7%? 8%? Maybe higher.

Step 8: Higher mortgage rates = people CAN’T afford payments. Forced sellers FLOOD the market.

Step 9: USD 3.2 TRILLION has already been wiped from global stock markets in 4 days. People are LOSING their down payments in the market crash.

Step 10: South Korea’s stock market just crashed -8% and TRIGGERED A CIRCUIT BREAKER. Japan -6%. Dow -1,200 points.

Step 11: When stocks crash, layoffs follow. Tech. Finance. Real estate. Construction. ALL of them.

Step 12: Laid off people with 7% mortgages they can barely afford? They SELL. At ANY price.

Step 13: Housing inventory SURGES. Prices DROP. 20%? 30%? In some markets — 50%.

This is EXACTLY what happened in 2008.

Oil spike → inflation → rate hikes → stock crash → layoffs → housing crash.

THE SAME SEQUENCE IS PLAYING OUT RIGHT NOW. Step by step. In real time.

If you have cash, SIT ON IT. The biggest buying opportunity of your lifetime is 12–24 months away.

If you just signed a mortgage at the top? I’m sorry.

This isn’t fear. This is math.

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KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. The skin of our faces has a certain amount of color of its own, but the main part of the color of the face — at any rate, among people with light-colored skins — is the color of the blood shining through the skin. It is the heart that drives the blood through the skin of the face.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. There is a certain amount of salt in all our food, and one of the properties of salt is to draw water from the tissues toward the kidneys, where the waste liquids are filtered.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines. — Ed.)