MANILA, Philippines--SEEING RED. IS THE NEO-ANGONO ARTISTS Collective, the muralists commissioned by the National Press Club, the artistic arm, so to speak, of the Narciso Antazo Aramil Command of the New People's Army?

Former National Press Club president and current secretary Louie Logarta thinks so, noting, with the thick brush of innuendo, that both groups bear the acronym NAAC. (The NPA command operates in Rizal province.)

Logarta's Red-baiting is anti-historical, given that some previous NPC leaders had joined the insurgency. Antonio Zumel was an NPC president before he went underground; Satur Ocampo's legendary escape from the NPC during the club's election in 1985 could not have been possible without the connivance of some NPC members.

The NPC used to be the living symbol of the freedom of expression; in its precincts, ideas had the run of the place. This was the tradition that made dining and drinking at the NPC lively and interesting; without it, what is the NPC except just another restaurant?

No wonder the NPC has become a ghost club--where even ghost writers refuse to tread! F. Zamora

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THE FEW, THE PROUD, THE NOT-UPDATED. Last week, the Philippine Marine Corps celebrated its 57th anniversary. Everyone got the word, except, apparently, the Marines' own website (philippinemarinecorps.mil.ph). It's stuck in the year 2005.

The site honors Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda as Marine commandant. Posted are his birthday message, his directives to the Corps, even his official photograph.

Miranda, however, has been detained at a high-security Army stockade in Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal for more than a year now. Together with 27 other Marine and Army Scout Ranger officers, he stands accused of conspiracy to overthrow the Arroyo administration in February last year.

Miranda's sudden relief as commandant on Feb. 26, 2006 resulted in a three-hour standoff led by his loyal commanders, including Col. Ariel Querubin. Since then, two other generals have occupied his post: Maj. Gen. Nelson Allaga and (currently) Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino.

Why is Miranda still the commandant online? Explains Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan, former Marines spokesperson, in a mix of English and Filipino: "It [the site] just hasn't been updated. It's actually due for a major web design revision and there's a need to update the articles posted therein." N. Dizon.

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LEADING MAN. It was something any seasoned leading man would do: Pick the best wardrobe to stand out in the crowd and on screen.

On the day he formally accepted pardon from Malacañang, convicted ex-President Joseph Estrada was first seen in news footage wearing a mint-green jacket. He was in this pastel number when he signed the pardon document in the presence of Interior Secretary Ronnie Puno and other witnesses at the so-called Maranao Village pavilion inside Estrada's gilded prison, his vacation estate in Tanay, Rizal. This was at around 3:30 p.m.

Two hours later, when the Sandiganbayan sheriff arrived in Tanay with Estrada's release papers, the newly freed prisoner had already changed to a bright red jacket. The former movie star would keep this eye-catching outfit on for the rest of the night, up to his big homecoming bash in San Juan.

The switch was anything but unplanned. Behind it was Estrada's three-decade mastery of showmanship on and off-screen.

According to a ranking administration official present during the whole affair, Estrada found his first jacket "too pale'' for the cameras. After a quick change to red, the official recalled, a visibly satisfied Estrada was heard saying: "Mas maganda effect nito sa TV. Dati tayong artista kaya alam natin 'yan [This will look better on TV. I was an actor once so I know these things.]"

Reached on the phone Thursday night, a chuckling Estrada confirmed this little vignette.

And while he had publicly thanked President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the pardon and expressed support for her anti-poverty programs, the opposition leader also hinted at a deeper symbolism behind his costume change that day: "I was on my way out [to freedom], so I was in fighting form again.'' V. Contreras

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NO PROBLEM, NO PRESSURE. Because many cases with telling political consequences reach the Supreme Court, it is always a possibility that parties to the cases may try to pressure the high court into ruling in their favor. Like other jurists before him, Chief Justice Reynato Puno isn't fazed by the prospect of going up against powerful people.

"They can always exert pressure but I know what to do," he said in a recent interview.

He is no stranger to deciding controversial cases.

One of the first cases he decided at the high court, he recalled, involved the sensational murder case of Claudio Teehankee Jr., the son of retired Chief Justice Claudio Teehankee. Puno affirmed the conviction of the younger Teehankee for killing two young people.

"Nobody would touch that case so they kept on unloading the case. It was a hot potato," he recalled.

Many years later, Puno penned the ruling that affirmed the legitimacy of President Macapagal-Arroyo's assumption of office after deposed President Joseph Estrada's "constructive resignation" in 2001.

Puno also struck down the oil deregulation law, frustrating the interests of a powerful oil cartel. His decision prompted Congress to pass another such law, but without the provisions he had nullified.

"These are big cases, controversial cases. You step on the toes of big people, big vested interests. So I guess I've grown comfortable with that," he said. A word to the wise. L. Salaverria

More Inquirer columns

Previous columns:
Puno and Razon, at the time of the blast – 10/27/07
Agnes D and General Kwan – 10/20/07
The return of the First Gentleman - 10/06/07
MJ in designer clothes; senators at each other’s throats - 09/29/07
Lean Alejandro's 'precious' secret – 09/22/07