Ever since we started the Boondock Awards [click here in case you forgot about it], we have been looking for the person who rightfully deserves to be our first Boo “You’ve Done/You’re Doing a Bad Thing” Awardee.
Picking our first Boon “You’re a Good Guy/Gal” Awardee was very easy but looking for a person to boo is more challenging. Maybe it means that people from the boondocks are more good than bad, ano?
Of course there are politicians who deserve to be booed but we don’t want to be always bashing politicians because they are people too and we might hurt their feelings. [Seriously. Wink wink.]
Anyway, we were tempted to give the first Boo Award to this woman who was arrested and charged with illegal recruitment (a terrible sin if you ask us because it preys on and destroys the dreams of other people) but we decided not to because we still don’t know if she is indeed guilty.
So we went like, “Ahh forget about that Boo Award.” But then this Baguio judge got himself suspended by the Supreme Court. After reading the stories written about him, we believe he deserves a Boo Award. So, ladies and gentlemen, we present to you our first ever Boo Awardee:
Who: Judge Fernando Vil Pamintuan of the Baguio RTC Branch 3
Why does he deserve the award: He was suspended for an indefinite period by the Supreme Court after he reversed the final and executory decision of a co-equal judge.
Does he really, really deserve the award: Yes. He had no business meddling with a decision which already became final. Also, none of the parties to the case (the complainant and the respondent) asked him to issue a decision and yet he came up with one. How weird is that?
Anyway, the decision which Judge Pamintuan reversed and for which he was suspended involved the “Golden Buddha” which was found in a cave in Baguio by Rogelio Roxas. The Golden Buddha case is weird and controversial in its own right and needs a whole blog entry.
For purposes of our Boo Award, it is sufficient to say that our awardee confirmed the existence of a golden Golden Buddha while the judge he reversed, Judge Antonio Reyes, ruled that there’s no such thing as a Golden Buddha because the statue is actually made of brass.
You can read reports about Judge Pamintuan’s suspension here and here.
RELATED POST: The Boondock Awards.
Let’s give the Boo Award to politicians because they deserve it. Take for instance, Congressman Dominguez of Mt. Province, who did not grant free tuition to MPSCPC students, who came from municipalities that did not support him in the just-concluded elections.
I think Desiree Caluza of PDI had a story on that. That for me deserves a Boo Award.
Hi Layad,
We will do that eventually. We’ve been criticizing Dominguez kasi (here, here,
and here. Eh baka magsawa mga readers 🙂