(Editor’s note: One witness who lied to House probers avoided contempt because of Valentine's Day as noted by the author.)

YEARS from now, high school and college students all over RP won’t forget the months from October, 2008, to February, 2009, as the period of entertainment for millions of us who read newspapers, watch TV news, and listen to radio reports and comments about past events that date back to the first five months of 2004.

Empty bag

After four years of court battle over the fate of a former undersecretary and ranking Rotarian and the clue to the whereabouts of the tax money of R728 million, RP is left still holding an empty bag.

At least two who lied to the Senate probers were jailed for a while for contempt. One prosecutor, called Resado, is now facing perjury. The con men and women who bought mansions, a fleet of cars, etc., with investors’ money are still walking around free as a bird.

All synonyms of honesty

Contractors, identified by the World Bank as partakers in rigging of infrastructure projects, have been certified by DPWH as highly qualified, honest, efficient, and "generous" to the agency’s high officials.

One high official said, "If there’s contract rigging at DPWH, this is unproven gossip. The unadulterated truth is: DPWH officials, personnel are all honest and deal only with honest contractors. (The word honest, according to critics, means any of the following: Honest cut, kickback, gift, dollars for vacation in Europe, and all the synonyms or antonyms in a thick college thesaurus.)

No gift of prophecy

Defenders of SEC and BSP offer this comment: "Government bankers and regulators are not prophets and cannot predict where investors’ money would go from the moment of investment up to the time of total loss.

But one set of Central Bank high officials, in 1985, decided to padlock Banco Filipino and stopped it from saying, "Interes ngayon, Interes bukas, interes araw-araw," as the most popular ad on TV, radio, and the newspapers.

‘Grave abuse…’

The anxiety, anger, and hopelessness of thousands of depositors were cured by a 1991 ruling of the Supreme Court that declared: The closure was done arbitrarily and CB monetary board members "committed grave abuse of discretion."

BSP is now facing a damage suit filed by BF amounting to R18.8 billion.

Kinds of lying

Lying was punishable as contempt and sent Paule to jail. But lying before the House probers was viewed differently and Resado was meted out a reprimand or warning. And the justification? This being a "season of love" the motion to send Resado to jail was reconsidered.

Valentine cards in 1797

The first Valentine cards, called valentines, were handmade and oversized, while stores sold smaller and costly ones. In 1797, a British publisher issued "The Young Man’s Valentinè Writer" which contained scores of suggested sentimental verses for the young lover unable to compose his own.

Printers had already begun producing a limited number of cards with verses and sketches, called "mechanical valentines," and a reduction in postal rates in the mid-1800s ushered in the less personal but easier practice of mailing valentines.

Pure porn

But the burgeoning of obscene valentines caused most European nations to ban the practice of exchanging cards.

In Chicago in the 1880s the post office rejected some 25,000 cards on the ground that they were not fit to be carried through the US mail.

Giant industry

The first US publisher of valentines was printer and artist Esther Howland. Her elaborate lace cards of the 1870s cost from $5 to $10, with some selling for $35. Since that time, the valentine card business has flourished into a giant printing industry. (Comments are welcome at roming@pefianco.com)