A+++. Awesome Android Alcatel.

If you have read my posts on the Impeachment Trial of Chief Justice Corona, you would know that I have recordings of some critical parts of the proceedings.  I recorded the audio of some of those proceedings from live TV broadcasts through my awesome Android cellular phone.  I have uploaded them to mixcloud and embedded them in my posts.  If you haven't read those interesting posts or heard those audio recordings of historic events yet, the links below will take you there.   My favorite is Culpa and Dolus by the presiding officer Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Ping Lacson's "explosive" speech.  Anyway, here are the links:

Culpa and Dolus. Foretelling Queries of the Presiding Officer of the Impeachment Court

Liar! Liar! Liar! Hear the Explosive Speech of Senator Judge Ping Lacson.

Proclamation of the Verdict. After the Impeachment Trial, What's Next?

Joining the bandwagon of Android smartphones.

Technology is a wonderful thing.  Capacitive touch screen, large storage space, fast processor, useful apps, longer battery life - all of which became "off-the-package" standards for your regular smartphone which interestingly enough are "sought-after" features some few years back.

More than ever, there seems to be newer, better, smarter, more user-friendly, and more powerful phones released by manufacturers.  It became tasking for consumers to choose the right smartphone.  If you are just like me who already have a great working phone but wanted to join the bandwagon of the latest technology offering, specifically Android smartphones, then you'll probably be thinking of replacing your phone.  Well, I did, and it was quite a journey, but fun nonetheless.

Check out how I found Alcatel Blaze Glory after what seems to be an endless visit to the stores of Samsung and Sony Ericsson.  I spent countless hours scouring stores and kiosks in malls all over Metro Manila just to find that, uhhm, drumroll please, smartphone!   Every second was worth the effort.  I finally found the phone I was looking for.  I have now in my hands ALCATEL Blaze Glory 918.

Rehash...hush.  Shhhhh!  It didn’t make the cut.

One of my earliest posts is about this awesome smartphone of mine.  I thought of shaping it up a bit and submit it to a social bookmarking site with the hopes of having it featured in an on-line magazine of that website.  It was considered for posting and has already a template for the magazine.  Several days after, I received an email that they won’t post my article for reasons of “poor content”.  I say, WHAAAT?  Their definition of “poor content” is that it is "not unique enough".  Further, they said that there’s a lot of articles and blog posts of the same kind.  Apparently, a “software” reviewed my article.   And the “algorithm” of that software found that there’s too many matching words in my article with other posts in the entire blogosphere.  It’s SILLY!  So, I sent an email about this.  I told them that my article is UNIQUE since it recounted my very own experience.  Allegedly, out of the hundred millions of bloggers, I have exactly the same experience with others.  LOL.  That may be the case.  A probability.   But every word, every sentence, and the whole structure are originally mine.  I asked them that a real person review my article for reconsideration.  That was more than a week now.  So, I guess they stood by the result of their “automated analysis".  I guess, this is one of the prices I have to pay for the developments in technology - “impersonal judgment".

Happy with Motorola Q8.

... but wanted more

I am very happy with my old phone, the MOTOROLA Q8.  Yeah, I know.  The phone is already more than 3 years old and runs on Windows Mobile 5.  What's great about this phone however, is that its keypad is QWERTY where 3 years ago, such feature can only be found in top-of-the-line BlackBerry's and HTC's.  At a sale price of 12 thousand pesos (about 300 U.S. Dollars) in 2009, the MOTOROLA Q8 without WIFI is a steal.  LOL!


Aside from the usual SMS and call functions, I also use the MOTOROLA Q to store records of my daily expenses.  That's pretty much what I needed from a mobile phone.  I was contented and happy with it.  Then came this wave of cellphones and handheld devices (i.e., tablets) packed with awesome features running on a sleek operating system, and with unbelievably super low price tags to boot.  Wow!  I cannot keep myself from thinking of several reasons to justify the need to replace my "o-oh-by-now-would-be-deemed-Jurassic-super-sturdy-why-won't-you-die" working phone.  Now, I just can't contain myself.


My feet started to walk to the direction of the mall's section where gadgets are being sold.  Yes, my feet are independent from my head.  I just can't control them.  LOL.  I began comparing functionality and price.  Well, it's mostly prices and it's the main consideration.  A new phone after all isn't in my budget.

Oh hi, Sony Ericsson Xperia W8

... you look great. What's the catch?

As expected, with myself contradicting myself, and giving in to the "itch of the flesh", well, mostly from my fingers wanting to touch those "capacitive" touch screens, I bought a SONY ERICSSON XPERIA W8.  It's an ANDROID smartphone and a walkman. This combination, I like!  There's even a pair of speakers given out for free (that's gorgeous by the way and sounds fantastic) and a discount on the price.  I got the W8 for only 7,200 pesos (roughly 165 U.S. Dollars) from the Sony Ericsson retail center in Glorietta.  I thought it was a steal!  Alas, after just a little time playing with my new powerful and "soundtastic" smartphone, I got bored and went back using my Q8.  Woah!

Why?  Well, I got frustrated with the W8. The ANDROID version 2.2 (Froyo) is awesome but lacks a lot compared with the newer and yummier versions - Gingerbread, Honeycomb, and Ice Cream Sandwich.  Oh, they make me hungry.  My one source of frustration is with the W8's limited internal memory.  You can only obviously download a limited number of applications.  This constraint has been addressed by the later versions of Android where you can opt to place the downloaded application to the external SD memory card.  Sigh....

So my feet began wandering again, store after store, kiosk after kiosk, mall after mall.  To my utter surprise and disbelief, I have found ALCATEL BLAZE GLORY!  It was a glorious day, indeed!

Samsung Galaxy Y or Alcatel Blaze Glory

... let's compare.

I was considering Samsung Galaxy Y. At a price of about 6,000 pesos (135 U.S. Dollars), I would get an Android phone running Gingerbread 2.3.5 with 2 MP rear camera, a processor of 830 MHz, 180 MB ROM and a 290 MB user-available RAM, bluetooth, WI FI, and a 240-by-320-pixel 3-inch capacitive touch screen.  Looks and sounds perfect to me.  Well, yes, considering my budget.  LOL.

Almost everywhere I look, people seem to have been bitten by this KOREAN BUG, I mean Samsung bug.  Bwahahaha.  It's like when you say ANDROID smartphone, it's synonymous to Samsung.  Yeah, okay, I agree, not quite!  Having this feeling of still being not satisfied, well, the screen is okay but the size is, hmmm, I think a bit small for me... I began considering those locally manufactured mobile phones like Cherry Mobile or My Phone.  With the same price, I can get a phone with DUAL SIM that's dual stand-by.  But then again, I heard some people chattering, probably in the same predicament as I am, that the locally manufactured ones are not that sturdy...???  Maybe, some more time is needed for these manufacturers to mature... and besides I don't like the TV in the phone.  I don't know why. Maybe because it reminds me of knock-off cellphones sold at Divisoria.

So, I kept walking.  My feet are dragging me to explore some more.  Did I tell you that my feet are independent from my brain.  He-he-he.  And it's even psychic.  LOL!  At the end of the CyberGateway in Megamall, there's the ALCATEL kiosk.  Okay, ALCA-what?  Isn't that an old manufacturer of landline phone units?  Curious and intrigued, I went over and looked at their mobile phones.  To my amazement there it is... the GLORY hole. Sorry!  I mean Blaze Glory dual sim phone.  And it's on sale!  From the previous price of 7,999 pesos, it's now down to 5,999 pesos (135 U.S. Dollars).  Woah! It's the same price as the Samsung Galaxy Y.  I have to check its specs.

Okay, so the screen is a bit bigger than Samsung's.  It's a 320-by-480-pixel 3.2-inch capacitive multi-touch screen.  Great!  The rear camera is 3 MP.  Check! It even has a "panorama" shooting option. Check-check! It runs on 2.3.5 Gigerbread.  Check again! Oooooooh.  This phone's getting a lot of checks.  Soon it'll be a checkmate.  LOL!  CPU is 650 MHz. O-oh!  Lower than the Samsung's.  But the ROM is more than twice, 512 MB, so I guess that can compensate for the lower processor speed.  Ha-ha-ha.  I am seeing myself trying to justify the pending purchase. Must see more advantage here... Oh, I see that the battery has better amperage (don't know if I used this word properly).  Alcatel has Lithium-ion battery of 1300 mAh.  Samsung has 1200 mAh.  This means that Alcatel's will last longer, I suppose.  WI FI and bluetooth.  Well, those are pretty much standard.  Oh yeah, Alcatel is heavier.  It weighs around 120 grams while Samsung weighs around 98 grams.  This is actually good for me.  Alcatel feels like a phone and not like a toy.  What else?... what would decide my purchase?...  Then there it is.  It's DUAL SIM, DUAL STANDBY!  I must have this phone... NOW!

Finally, I'm in the bandwagon.

So, I bought ALCATEL BLAZE GLORY 918N and VERY HAPPY about it.  I was so ecstatic that I convinced my sister to buy one.  She wanted the white one (there's 2 colors to choose from, black and white) but opted for the black one.  The rubber surface of the phone makes it more appealing and of course serves its purpose of easier and more secure grip.  Haaaay!  I finally found the phone I was looking for.... I know because my feet are already tired. LOL!

P.S. I was told by the customer rep that Alcatel is a european brand.  Woah!  Makes it even better...

Culpa and Dolus. Foretelling Queries from the Presiding Officer of the Impeachment Court

Foretelling queries?

After a grueling 43 hearings stretched over a period of 5 months, the Impeachment Trial of Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona is now at its end.  On 29 May 2012, Tuesday, the Senate of the Philippines sitting as the Impeachment Court will render its landmark decision on the case.

The presiding officer of the Impeachment Court, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile asked the only questions after the defense and prosecution panels made their closing arguments.

I personally recorded with my cellular phone these questions of the presiding officer and the answers of the defense lead counsel former Associate Justice Serafin Cuevas from a TV broadcast.  I embedded the recoding in this blog post so that those who have missed it can listen to it.  I find it intriguing and a bit informative.

I transcribed the recording for a better understanding of what has been discussed. The transcript can be found below the embedded record player gadget.

After hearing some Roman Law terminologies asked by the presiding officer, I immediately googled them, and found the following definitions:

• culpa lata - intentional wrong, gross negligence
• culpa levis - slight negligence
• culpa levissimo - negligence arising from the slightest fault; slightest negligence
• culpa aquiliana - negligence must be proved by the injured party
• dolus - evil intent embracing both malice and fraud

The salient points asked by the presiding officer is connected to the disclosure of assets in relation to the Foreign Currency Deposits Acts (FCDA), and the probable culpable violation of the Constitution if the first sentence of Section 7 of Article11 of the Philippine Constitution is disobeyed.  It’s better to hear the recording.

The presiding officer said that he asked those questions to guide them in their decision.  Is this foretelling of Senate President Enrile's verdict?  We shall soon see.  Let me know what you  think.

The recording.

Query of Senate President Enrile to the Defense by Emohroemlab on Mixcloud

The transcript.

Note:  SPJPE stands for Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile,  DLCSC stands for Defense Lead Counsel Serafin Cuevas, and PHRRF stands for Prosecution’s House Representative Rodolfo Farinas.

SPJPE:     What injury or prejudice may arise if the depositor who is a public officer or employee own a foreign currency deposit would include that deposit or the amount represented by that deposit in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth?

DLCSC:     Well, I am not very sure your honor as to what the extent thereof in so far as damages is concerned.  But that is personal to the...

SPJPE:     No, but the question is what in your opinion would the injury to be prevented or prejudice to be avoided warrantying the depositor of a foreign currency deposit to be permitted not to include his foreign currency deposit in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth if he is a public officer or a public employee?…

DLCSC:     Well, the proba… may I answer now, your honor?

SPJPE:     Yes.

DLCSC:     The probability  of kidnapping, extortion, and so on, may come into the picture your honor, because especially with the present trend of criminality in the country today there is no assurance that one is imbued from any of these offenses, your honor.  That may be one…

SPJPE:     Was that contemplated in your opinion by the framers of Republic Act 6426 as well as its predecessor presidential decrees?

DLCSC:     If we go into the declaration of policy, your honor, declaration of policy is entirely different from the disastrous consequences or unwarranted circumstances that may occur thereafter your honor, because the policy behind it is to encourage.

SPJPE:     Alright. Related to this first question of mine, I will ask you… will a public officer or a public employee who maintain a foreign currency deposit incur the punitive penalty of Republic Act 6426 if he would reflect that deposit in his statement of assets and liabilities?

DLCSC:     I do not see, your honor that probability, but it could amount to a negotiated consent your honor as contradistinguished from voluntary permission on the part of the depositor, your honor.

SPJPE:     You see I asked this question because we are forgetting that the law allows the exposure of the foreign currency deposit by expressed provision of Republic Act 6426 if the depositor himself for do it.  There's no secrecy law in this country, monetary secrecy law that prohibits, or inhibits, or proscribes the depositor from revealing his own deposit.  What is prohibited is for third parties to reveal it. And that's why they're penalized.  But the depositor is not.

My next question is this.  The first sentence of Section 17 - Article 11 of the Constitution.  Do you consider that sentence as a mandatory  provision that requires to be obeyed by a public officer or public employee of the Republic of the Philippines?

DLCSC:     The way I recall, your honor, the provision… it is a general, a general statement…

SPJPE:     I will.. I will… I will… I will state it to you.  "A public officer or employee shall, upon assumption of office and as often thereafter as may be provided by law, submit a declaration under oath of his assets, liabilities, and net worth."  Do you consider that a command of the people or was it something that can be disregarded?

DLCSC:     I do not think it is  something that can be disregarded your honor.

SPJPE:     It must be obeyed.

DLCSC:     Correct your honor.  But when there are… when there are rights that arises from a different law your honor, I do not see any reason as to why it cannot be availed of by the… by in this particular instance the depositor your honor.  Why the law has granted that is beyond my comprehension your honor.  That is a legislative function.  The policy behind it may only be known to the legislators themselves.  I am not privileged neither can I divine or fathom the reason behind it, your honor. All I know…

SPJPE:     Alright.  That would be our function.  We are just asking if you have any notion about it.  

DLCSC:     Thank you, your honor.

SPJPE:     Alright.  Now, that my next question is… If you teach a command, a sovereign command…  [Austinian] concept of command, if it is a sovereign command, will disobedience of that command constitute a culpable violation of the Constitution?

DLCSC:     Well, I would not… I would not be in a position to do so, your honor, or to make a statement to that unless the actual true facts surrounding the circumstances are known to me.  Because that would be a matter of conjecture or a surmise on the part of my part.

SPJPE:     The Constitution speaks of culpable... culpable violation.  Now, I am sure all of us graduates of U.P. went through a study of Roman Law.

DLCSC:     Yes, your honor.

SPJPE:     Alright, what is "culpa" from where culpable was derived? 

DLCSC:     Meaning intentional, your honor.

SPJPE:     Huh?

DLCSC:     Intentional, your honor?

SPJPE:     No.

DLCSC:     No intent, your honor.

SPJPE:     Culpa.  What is culpa?  There are four types of culpa.  Culpa lata or magna, culpa levis, culpa levissima, culpa aquiliana.  Now, we go to elementary school book in Roman Law.  What is culpa?

DLCSC:     Well, I am not as of this moment, your honor I am not... I am not very well in a position to recall.  Maybe I was absent when it was discussed by my professor, your honor.

(Laughter…)

SPJPE:     Well, that's your bad luck.  And I think that this is material in the consideration of this provision of the Constitution.  What is the difference between culpa and dolus?

DLCSC:     Culpa if I recall…ah.. Dolus is intentional, [di ba?].  Dolus is intentional, your honor, if I recall correctly,   Culpa is negligence, something like that.  I am not very sure…

SPJPE:     Fault.  Reserving of fault. Reserving of blame.

DLCSC:     Yes, your honor.

SPJPE:     Now, disobedience to the provision of Section 17, first sentence, do you consider that as reserving of blame?

DLCSC:     If it is intentional, your honor, then definitely…

SPJPE:     No.  It does not call for any intent.  Where in that provision will you find intent?

DLCSC:     Well, I think this is the provision where a statement as may be required by law, your honor.

SPJPE:     Anyway, I'm asking this question for our guidance.. for our guidance as based on your opinion.  Both sides.  I would like to hear both sides about it.  What is the position of the prosecution?  Can you help us in defining what is culpa?

PHRRF:     Well, when it comes to the culpable violation of the Constitution, Mr. President, according to the records of the Constitutional Commission, "culpable violation of the Constitution is understood to mean willful and intentional violation of the Constitution and not violation committed unintentionally or involuntarily or in good faith or through an honest mistake of judgment and it implies deliberate intent, perhaps even a degree of perversity for it is not easy to imagine individuals in the category of these officials would go so far as  to defy knowingly what the constitution commands".  That is what the records of the Constitutional Commission defines or show what culpable violation is, Mr. President.

SPJPE:     Alright.  Thank you very much.  I have no more question.  I do not know about the other members of the court if they have other questions.

END.