Brazil Essay Research Paper Life in Brazil free essay sample

Brazil Essay, Research Paper Life in Brazil My name is Javier Silva ; I am 49 old ages of age, and have lived in Brazil all my life. I have been married to my married woman Margarita for 25 old ages. We have five kids. My male parent owned a really successful farm. He grew agricultural merchandises, and about twenty old ages ago started raising cowss. My male parent was fortunate plenty to be able to supply limited instruction for me. He passed off and handed down his concern to me. I have been running the farm now without his aid for 15 old ages. Over the old ages of my life, I have taken note of some important universe events that have affected my household and myself. Brazil has undergone major governmental restructuring, due to public and political agitation. Militia groups like the Guerrillas have been major provokers in our political instability. Political instability has caused my household injury in the yesteryear. We will write a custom essay sample on Brazil Essay Research Paper Life in Brazil or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It forced my state into economic debt and depression. The first adversity that caused my male parent to lose money was when the debt crisis reached its extremum. Structural accommodation plans ( S.A.P. s ) were put in topographic point to do certain first universe loaners got a return on their money. The loans were now restructured harmonizing to the drifting involvement rate in America. This proved to decline the debt because the U.S. had problem contending rising prices rates. This causes involvement rates to surge, and increased the entire debt owed by Brazil. This has taken advantage of the people in my state. Brazil was forced to cut hard currency flow to many public plans, such as instruction and health care. The cut in health care was a direct consequence in my male parent s decease. My male parent was ill with malignant neoplastic disease and wasn T able to afford western medical specialty that would hold saved his life. This made me raise a inquiry to my married woman. I asked her if what the first universe loaners had done wit h the S.A.P. s was menu and she responded by stating, This is hideous! This puts the lives of our people in their custodies ; what gives them the right to hold the power to take if the citizens of our state can populate or decease? This shattered the hope of holding a good public assistance system for those who are out of a occupation. The structural accommodation plans opened the doors to some major corporations. At first this didn T seem to impact us much, but as the old ages went on the companies started deluging the markets with agricultural merchandises. This caused the monetary value of my goods to drop. These companies provided many occupations, and caused rewards to lift. It was harder for us to acquire labourers to assist run our farm, which caused us to free about a silo s worth of agricultural merchandises because they were non harvested in clip. Many of the friends I grew up with took occupations that the first universe companies provided with their mills and farms. My friends praised the money because many of them have been unemployed for some clip. This led to a split in my town ; the husbandmans and the workers at the mills. Many of the husbandmans lost their farms, because they merely could non vie with large concerns, or afford to run their farms. To amplify the job a husbandman would hold further, They had a difficult clip acquiring occupations at the mills, because they bit by bit couldn t afford to run the farm. When they needed to acquire a occupation at one of these companies they were already filled by people, that had been out of work already. I saw some of my friends suffer the effects of poorness. One of my closest friends married woman and babe passed off, because she was unable to acquire an operation to take the babe. My friend said it was one of the worst minutes in his life. Brazil, unlike other 3rd universe states, has some of the most valuable resources in the universe. The rain forest has been a gold mine for the state. Estates of rain forest have been decimated because of the S.A.P. s and of the procedure of globalisation. The cutting down of the rain forests provided a batch of capital to Brazil. This helped alleviate some of the debt Brazil was in. The impact the extraction of Brazil s resources has impacted the universe more so than most states. The devastation of infinite estates of rain forest has straight resulted in an addition of nursery gases. This gas causes a phenomena known as planetary heating. I have spoting feelings about the effects this would hold on my farm. I read that Global heating increases the norm a nnual temperature globally. This would switch turning seasons doing it harder for my harvests to accommodate to the new temperature. It might besides started a draft which could do entire harvest failure. My household and I were hardly able to set to these new economic conditions, but due to the fiscal stableness my male parent was able to supply for us we were alright for the clip being. We lost money, but I could still feed my household. Feeding my household is ever my primary concern. The economic strain put many little merchandisers out of work and pushed them below the poorness line. I think that many little concern proprietors in the more developed portion of our state will endure. Since Brazil was forced to instate S.A.P. s, first universe companies continued set up an substructure that is the footing for globalisation in Brazil. The companies continued to construct mills, and hire workers for cheaper rewards. This caused the criterion of life in the metropoliss of Brazil to deteriorate. Overpopulation is combined with limited lodging, which sets the potency for a disease epidemic to distribute due to the pollution that taints the H2O. The other consequence from the overpopulation is raising population of people that live in the streets. It makes me experience secure because I have my ain house, and good clean H2O so my household stays healthy. My dream is to direct my kids to school so they can be educated, and no longer live on a farm. At the current rate we are hardly able to sell plenty from the crops and cowss at such a inexpensive monetary value to salvage more than five 100 U.S. dollars a twelvemonth. I fear for the dream I have for the hereafter of my household. Presently there is a meeting scheduled for Quebec City in Canada. The meeting contains delegates from all of the states in the Americas ( excepting Cuba ) . The issue of the meeting trades with the hereafter of free trade. The end is to drop about all trade barriers, opening markets that were antecedently unavailable for foreign investing. This opens the floodgate for globalisation. This will increase the ability of the first universe states to work Brazil. The companies are bit by bit taking up all the niches in the market. This would go on to ache my farm. Even now rainforest is burned to construct cattle spreads and farms that compete with better monetary values than me. This once more raises the point of planetary heating, and the impact it would hold on my household, with the devastation of my farm. It is difficult to see a bright hereafter for Brazil, and for that affair any other indebted 3rd universe state. First universe states need to be more sympathetic to Brazil and other 3rd universe states. They need to acknowledge they are striving Brazil instead than exciting its growing. It seems to me that Brazil is a host, for first universe hosts which I consider parasites which will continually utilize us. My household has endured many adversities. I blame strongly first universe loaners, and the S.A.P. s. first universe loaners imposed on Brazil. They are destroying traditional civilization in many little communities including my ain. First universe states look out for the benefit of themselves spread outing the spread of the rich and hapless. I think globalisation as a whole is a really deteriorating procedure. It is doing adversity for 1000000s of people. Millions of people that don t even have a say in what policies rule their lives. The solution lies in cutting out free trade, and enforcing regulative Torahs that help advance wealth among everyone alternatively of concentrating it the custodies of a little population. It is of import that the universe acknowledge the approaching event in Canada as a deteriorating procedure that takes topographic point in the universe. Stoping the enlargement of free trade to all of the America s is a measure towards contending free trade. To assist stabilise and develop Brazil, its debt demands to be wiped clean. Brazil needs this to be able to once more recover a sense of nationality for its people. The current deficiency of public plan financess is responsible for a demoralized morale around Brazil. I hope I will be able to prolong, if non spread out my farm for the Benefit of my household. I hope that the first universe recognizes the dull hereafter it has projected for many people in Brazil. Once this acknowledgment is made, merely so could the planetary economic system stimuate Brazil and assist it turn, alternatively of holding run by First universe loaners, and large concern. 314

Dell essays

Dell essays SWOT analysis of Dell Computers History: The company was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell, now the computer industry's longest-tenured chief executive officer, on a simple concept: that by selling personal computer systems directly to customers, Dell could best understand their needs, and provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those needs. Today, Dell is enhancing and broadening the fundamental competitive advantages of the direct model by increasingly applying the efficiencies of the Internet to its entire business. Company revenue for the last four quarters totaled $19.9 billion. Through the direct business model, Dell offers in-person relationships with corporate and institutional customers; telephone and Internet purchasing (the latter now exceeding $18 million per day); customized computer systems; phone and online technical support; and next-day, on-site product service. Dell arranges for system installation and management, guides customers through technology tra nsitions, and provides an extensive range of other services. The company designs and customizes products and services to the requirements of the organizations and individuals purchasing them, and sells an extensive selection of peripheral hardware and computing software. Nearly two-thirds of Dell's sales are to large corporations, government agencies and educational institutions. Dell also serves medium and small businesses and home-PC users. Dell's Unique Direct Model: Dell's award-winning customer service, industry-leading growth and consistently strong financial performance differentiate the company from competitors for the following reasons: Price for Performance With the industry's most efficient procurement, manufacturing and distribution process, Dell offers its customers powerful, richly configured systems at competitive prices. Customization Every Dell system is built to order. Customers get exactly what they want. Reliability, Service and Su...

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

International Business - Essay Example There is a say, â€Å"You can always buy in your own language but you must sell in your customer’s language† (Institute of Linguist Great Britian, 1995, p.187). This is true when we consider the aspect of Localized marketing strategy. Localization strategy thus demands a great deal of geographic surveys and international brand management which involves a considerably larger proportion of money. The international strategy runs over elaborate business literature by which it completes the process of decision making and execution of the trade between countries. This strategy is rather scientific as it institutes decision making characters such as market speculation, international trade agreements and other cooperative arrangements. The main theme of this strategy is driven by predictions about the outcomes of the trade. However, in this process, a better chance is enhanced with various examinations and experiments done on the subject at different levels based on the political, topographical and socio-economic conditions of the trading country. Many of the international business giants are successful only because of the effectiveness of international strategy. Apparently the most sophisticated one, transactional strategy is more beneficial to trade as it maintains a high degree of integrity and consistency of international business data. Transactional strategy is largely adopted by firms and corporatists managing international banking, insurance and stock broking. This strategy requires the involvement of computerized mechanism rather than human elements. Since the transactional strategy is more transparent than the other two, it is needless to say that it has to be protected with the strongest transaction support system available for the trade. Competitive advantage of a firm demands it to perform beyond the expected levels in order to compete with the market in a given period of time. Due to insufficient supply of factors of

The Weed by Amrita Pritam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Weed by Amrita Pritam - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the story unfolds through the point of view of an unnamed narrator, obviously a city-bred and educated female. The main theme of the story is the vulnerability of women who fall prey to the lure of men, symbolized through the metaphorical weed, and how males exploit the females for carnal pleasure and then discard them. Right from the first line of the story, the author hints at the way women are treated in rural India by her reference to the â€Å"new bride of the old servant,† which connotes to the fact that older men in the country practice polygamy and that they can have younger wives. The author also suggests that under the patriarchal system that exists in the country, any father can give away his daughter to any man without the consent of the girl. Pritam presents the girl as a â€Å"delight to both ear and eye† and owning a body that redeems her â€Å"dark complexion†. In contrast, the author portrays her husband, Prabhati, as â€Å"old, short and loose-jawed,† which indicates that the society disregards the traits of a woman and by belonging to the stronger sex, men are automatically qualified to claim any woman. Unfortunately, Angoori is not the single female, who meets with a similar fate in the rural Indian society and it appears that many suffer at men’s hands in the same way. She relates the story of her friend, who absconds with her paramour, who later deserts her, to the narrator. The author tries to emphasize the issue of male exploitation of the females by referring to various aspects of the rural Indian culture, which is her major theme for the story. She uses the metaphor of the â€Å"weed† to underline the fact that males use some or other material element to win over the female hearts. In the case of Angoori’s friend, the weed comes in the form of sweets and betel leaf and in the protagonist’s case, it takes the form of sweetened tea. The men in all cases e xploit the women and after enjoying the carnal pleasure desert them. The exploitation of women in the rural Indian culture, thus, is a theme that is recurrently emphasized in the story. Pritam also deploys the literary device of imagery and irony profusely in the story to underline the theme of exploitation of females by males in the rural Indian culture. The author’s deft use of imagery to attain this purpose becomes evident from the episode where she equates Angoori’s body to â€Å"rightly kneaded dough, a baker’s pride† and describes her â€Å"rippling muscles impregnated with the metallic resilience of a coiled spring†. By using such imagery, the author provides the readers with a vivid picture a youthful and energetic female. On the other hand, Pritam talks about her husband as a loose-jawed old man, a stark contrast to the resilient and beautiful Angoori, for whom a husband is one whose feet a girl begins to adore when she is five or six. By dwelling on the protagonist’s beliefs such as this, the author wants to emphasize that women in rural India tend to acquiesce to men and they find contentment in it.  

Psych Unit IV Article Review Essay Example for Free

Psych Unit IV Article Review Essay There are so many different theories out there that try to explain why we act the way we act. How do we explain evil or hateful behavior? I just finished reading the article ‘’Prison Violence: Does brutality come with a badge?’’, written by: Bruce Gross. This article talks about being a prison guard, and how some people act when they enter this career. Would you act differently if you went from the role of the prisoner to the role of the prison guard? There have been many reports of ‘’cruel and unusual’’ punishment that is being administered by prison guards to inmates in prisons. Not only are inmates reporting this abuse, but federal authorities are also recognizing there is a problem. In 2005, the commission on Safety and Abuse in Prisons said there were 16,000 allegations of sexual and physical assault that were reported. There are also reports of abuse happening in County jails as well as in prisons. ‘’Inmates have reported being choked, kicked, punched, and hit with objects by single or multiple guards’’, (Gross, 2008). If you look back at our history, it is full of ordinary people who commit terrible acts of violence. Some people have done studies and are trying to understand why people commit these ‘’evil crimes’’. Stanley Milgram is one of those people. He was a Yale University professor, who conducted an experiment in 1961. In this experiment there were ‘’teachers’’ and there were ‘’learners. The teachers were given the power to administer a shock to the learners if they answered a question wrong. It was surprising how much the ‘’teachers’’ in the experiment would shock the ‘’learners’’ and the amount of volts that they would use without protest. Another experiment that was done to test these violent behaviors was known as the Stanford Prison Experiment. In August of 1971, this experiment was started by psychology professor Philip Zimbardo. He put an ad in the paper and found volunteers to play role of ‘’prisoner’’ and the role of ‘’guard’’. He created a prison-like environment in the basement of the psychology building on the Stanford Campus. There was some definite brutality that started to show in the guards during this experiment. Some showed more than others. After only 6 days, the experiment was shut down. One third (1/3) of these ‘’guards’’ showed sadistic behavior. There was a similar study done that was called the BBC Prison Study. This study was also shut down early. ‘’Both of these prison studies demonstrated that under some circumstances, some individuals resist going-with-the flow of group associated brutality’’, (Gross, 2008). Sometimes an individual will behave differently if they know they’re being watched. In the SPE experiment, the participants knew they were being watched by ‘’supervisors’’, and on the BBC experiment, they knew they were being watched by an audience (including family and friends). These factors may have affected the way that either group acted throughout the experiment. I know I would act differently if I knew that my mother was watching me. Some people think it’s the environment that people are in that brings out violence. Well of course it is! If you treat someone like a caged animal, eventually they will start acting like one. If a guard is told to dehumanize a prisoner, then you will probably see violence out of the guards, as well as out of the prisoners. ‘’Violence and extreme behaviors by guards against inmates have many sources’’, (Gross, 2008). In the prison studies that were covered in this article, it didn’t surprise the experimenters that ‘’good people’’ were committing evil acts when they played the role of the guards. They were more surprised and shocked that more people didn’t stand up for what was right. Even if they didn’t agree with what was happening, they just kept their mouth shut, and went with the flow. At the end of the article, Gross says, ‘’Perhaps the adage is true, that real evil exists and flourishe s when good people do nothing’’.

Effective Communication Inside the Courtroom Essay -- Court Communicat

Effective Communication Inside the Courtroom Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God? This is a statement that is often heard inside the courtroom, one that all must swear to as they attempt to testify in a court of law. The constitution of the United States allows accused to be judged by a jury of their peers to determine their guilt or innocence (Abadinsky, 1995). In order for that to take place a trial must be conducted to allow the evidence to be presented. In order for that to happen the state must have its attorneys present the facts that have been discovered. It is the responsibility of the state attorney or prosecutor to convince the members of the jury that the events being presenting are true and that as members of society they should find the accused guilty and thus assess some type of penalty. At the same time it is the job of the defense attorneys to persuade the jury to find their client not guilty based on their story. In order for this to happen both the prosecution and the defiance must effectively communicate with the members of the jury and with other members of the court in an attempt to prevail. The proper communication techniques are very important in presenting ones case. Communication must take place between attorneys and clients, between opposite counsel and with the judge, but most importantly with the jury. Statement of the Problem Thus, the research question for this study is: How do attorneys effectively communicate inside the courtroom? Attorneys are defined as officers of the court authorized to appear before it as a representative of a party in a legal controversy. Communicate is defined as to impart knowledge, to make known, to d... ...s paper article: Lewis, N.A. (2001, September 9). Plans for web monitoring in courts dropped.The New York Times, 51,871, 34-35. 9. An Article in a scholarly journal with continuous pagination: Beitz, C. (2000). Rawls’s law of peoples. Ethics, 110, 669-696. 10. An article in a scholarly journal that paginates each issue separately: Durrell, D.D (2000). Durrell as a teacher. Journal of education, 182, 135- 158. 11. A film or video tape: Bureau of Justice (Producer) & Richardson, J.G. (Writer/Director). (1997). Bias in the courtroom. [microfilm]. United States National Center for State Courts. 12. An article off of the internet: Ramsey, G. (March 1999). Communication theories on trial: can the scales of justice be swayed by the application of communication theories? Communication & the law. Retrieved (September 17, 2001) from http:// ehostgvw9.epnet.com

A Life in the Day of Juan Ponce Enrile

A life in the day of Juan Ponce Enrile By Bibeth Orteza, Philippine Daily Inquirer 26 February 2012 Source: http://newsinfo. inquirer. net/151905/a-life-in-the-day-of-juan-ponce-enrile (Editor’s Note: The author set out to observe a day in the life of her husband’s uncle, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, as he presides over what is one of the most important trials in the country’s history—the impeachment of the Supreme Court Chief Justice. Graciously welcomed by her subject into his home and allowed to tag along to the trial, she came away with much more than just the details of a daily routine.The star of the moment obliged her with a sometimes tearful recollection of his life, enough material perhaps for a scriptwriter like the author and a director like her husband Carlitos Siguion-Reyna to turn into a riveting movie. ) 8:15 a. m. THE MAN of the house is still in his bedroom. Sally Moneda, his cook and personal assistant of 26 years, reminds his clos e-in aide, Julius Gumban, not to take away the newspaper as â€Å"he has not read Bernas [constitutionalist Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ, who writes an opinion column in the Inquirer–Ed]. The books under the stairs include the New King James Version of the Holy Bible (quick reference edition); â€Å"Spiritual Politics† by Gordon McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson; â€Å"His Excellency, George Washington† by Joseph J. Ellis; â€Å"1,000 Places to See Before You Die† by Patricia Schultz; and â€Å"The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World† by Joel Krieger. Also â€Å"Presidential Plunder, the Quest for the Marcos Hidden Wealth† and â€Å"Struggle and Hope,† both by Jovito R. Salonga, right next to five books written by Ferdinand E.Marcos during his martial law years. On the flyleaf of â€Å"The Marcos Years,† the former president had handwritten a dedication to the man who would remain his secretary of national defense until 1986 when a People’s Power revolt, aided and abetted by the latter, toppled his dictatorship. â€Å"Sept. 10, 1972, on the eve of my birthday To Johnny, who has contributed to the achievements of the Marcos years in a large way. † 8:25 a. m. Bing Rosales, sent to study reflexology for two years after showing aptitude for the therapy, leads her boss down the stairs. He’s good to us, so we pray that nothing bad happens to him,† she says. â€Å"Good morning, good morning! † exclaims Juan Ponce Enrile. First, his blood pressure is checked. It is normal at 126/60, from a high of 190/90 the previous afternoon. It shoots up every now and then so he has to take maintenance medication. He really should sleep early but just the other day, he didn’t hit the sack until 4 a. m. , he says. His bedtime varies, depending on the amount of reading he feels he has to do because, he says, he has to study and weigh things as well as he can. You see, I am not the court. Th e Senate is the court,† he says. â€Å"I sign the subpoenas, but I need the permission of the court. There is equal weight among the rights of the respondents, the policy of government, the impact of the decision on the public, on the business sector, on everybody. (If we) block disclosures on the basis of loyalties, the public will think we are covering up. People don’t really know the law as much as they do their doubts and their suspicions. 8:30 a. m. Breakfast is a sausage with a dab of mustard.Sometimes it’s a bowl of oatmeal, eaten with inihaw na pusit (dried squid), or rice with scrambled eggs and tuyo (dried fish). Some mornings it is pan de sal (roll) with cheese. Enrile is told this paper has referred to him and defense counsel Serafin Cuevas as the â€Å"superstars† of the ongoing trial. He shrugs, â€Å"I don’t know what that infers. † He likes to pore over his cases alone, he says, and tests the validity of the opinions of other s against his own study of all the issues involved. â€Å"I make my own trial brief,† he adds.In the years when he was practicing law, he says, he would first check a case for any violations against the Constitution, and then study the laws that could apply, given the facts, the pleading or the complaint. â€Å"I was fortunate to have met brilliant minds in and out of court,† he recalls, such as Vicente Francisco, Jose W. Diokno, Alberto Jamil, Rod Jalandoni, Claudio Teehankee, among others. At 88, he can still name his professors at the University of the Philippines College of Law where he received his law degree in 1953. Jose Espiritu for corporation law, Emiliano Navarro for criminal law, Enrique Fernando for constitutional law, Peping Campos for negotiable instruments law, Norberto Quisumbing for trial technique, Bienvenido Ambion for torts and damages, Mrs. Laurea—I forget her first name (it’s Norberta)—for contract law and family relations, J uan T. Santos, â€Å"who   made us memorize the Rules of Court from cover to cover, my goodness. † He asks Sally for coffee and continues, â€Å"My grades were good, but I didn’t become a bar topnotcher.I answered the exam questions both ways, and for that I got minuses. † Enrile placed 11th, with a rating of 91. 72 percent, in the 1954 bar examinations. If that’s not impressive enough, consider this: He got a perfect score in commercial law. An argument with professor Vicente Abad Santos caused him a â€Å"3† in civil law. â€Å"I didn’t know he was so sensitive. That was five units so bumaba ang average ko (that lowered my average grade),† recalls the man who would have graduated magna cum laude of the UP College of Law class of 1953 but had to settle for cum laude.When student and teacher met again, it was as secretary of the Department of Justice and head of the Board of Pardons and Parole, respectively. â€Å"I gave you a low grade even if you deserved a higher one because you so irritated me,† Enrile recollects Abad Santos telling him. â€Å"Never mind, I am now your boss,† he recalls answering. â€Å"We then became friends. † All his teachers, he says, were good to him, including the ones at Harvard University where, on full scholarship, he earned his Master of Laws with specialization in taxation and corporate reorganization. 9 a. m. I do not wish them to mark me absent at the legislative session,† he says, so he leaves home earlier than most people would expect since the impeachment trial doesn’t start until well after lunch. After taking some time to read the briefs and curriculum vitae of two ambassadors scheduled to pay him a courtesy visit this day, he breaks his silence. â€Å"I never expected to amount to anything. † For a caminero (laborer) like him who made 75 centavos a day smashing rocks on the road from 6 a. m. to 6 p. m. , to be able to get a good e ducation was nothing short of a miracle, he says. At the Harvard Law School, studies attered to him more than anything else. Again, Enrile is able to recall his graduate school professors: Paul Freund for constitutional law and conflict of laws (â€Å"one of the brightest professors ever at Harvard†), Milton Katz for international law (â€Å"he became the director of the Economic Cooperation Administration or the US Marshall Plan in Europe†), law school dean Erwin Griswold for basic courses in income taxation, Stanley Surrey for international taxation (â€Å"he became US Treasury assistant secretary†). â€Å"For corporate reorganization I had Ernest Brown. I could not understand a thing he was saying [in class],† recalls Enrile. My God, I did not know accounting at all! So I forthrightly admitted I had a problem following him. † The professor lent him two books and told him to come back only after he had read the books. â€Å"I did exactly that, an d only then did everything sink in,† Enrile says. â€Å"That was when I learned what corporate reorganization really entailed. † While at Harvard, the Ilocano scholar received a monthly allowance of $170. He managed to have $700 in savings by the end of his stay. â€Å"I didn’t go out much, except for few times with Paeng Salas, Ado Reyes and sometimes Beniting Legarda,† he says.At the time, too, his romance with a girl from Iloilo had just ended. â€Å"Her letters simply stopped,† he says. â€Å"I presumed she had found someone. I presumed wrong. I would find out she never married and that, shortly before she died, she wanted to see me. † He didn’t have to nurse a broken heart for long. While in Massachusetts he met a girl from Costa Rica and, shortly thereafter, marriage was being discussed. â€Å"Her condition was for us to live in her country, where her family had sizable land holdings,† recalls Enrile. â€Å"I said no. I h ad just met my father. He was as happy as I was to meet him.How could I agree to live in Costa Rica? † 9:20 a. m. Enrile swings by the legislative session in the same hall where he is to preside later and is marked â€Å"present. † Senate President Pro Tempore Jose â€Å"Jinggoy† Estrada is presiding over a group that includes Vicente Sotto III, Franklin Drilon, Gregorio Honasan, Ralph Recto, Joker Arroyo, Ramon Revilla Jr. , Antonio Trillanes IV, Manuel Villar, Manuel Lapid, Alan Peter and Pia Cayetano, Teofisto Guingona III, and Francis Escudero. Out of their robes the senators are easily recognizable. Senator-judge Juan Ponce Enrile as presiding officer at the Corona impeachment trial.INQUIRER file photo A short elevator ride takes Enrile to the Office of the Senate President, which has been his since the 14th Congress started in November 2008. He responds to morning salutations from employees not by merely nodding but by verbalizing a hearty â€Å"magandang umaga rin! † In his office, there is time for chitchat before the diplomat guests arrive. He knows exactly where he is in the conversation, so much so that one has to interrupt him and ask how he keeps his focus. He seems taken aback by the question, as if wondering why his focus is a concern. He answers nonetheless. Even before I sleep, I anticipate what is to come, what I’m to encounter. I make up my mind about certain decisions, the direction I’m going to take, and that’s it—unless someone can persuade me to the contrary. But I do not close my mind. I am not against hearing other positions. I need to be sure I am not making an error in judgment when I arrive at my present position. † 10:45 a. m. The diplomats arrive, and Enrile receives them in the conference room adjacent to his private quarters. After an hour, he returns with a brisk stride that says so much about his morning exercises and calisthenics. I sometimes dance, even by myself, while watching a dance DVD. I sweat and I get to stretch,† he says. â€Å"Every now and then I drop by the 365 Club at the Hotel Intercon. It’s no longer what it was in the days of Ka Doroy [then dean of newspapermen Teodoro Valencia–Ed. ] and Mesiong Yabut [former mayor of Makati–Ed. ], but I still have friends there. My sister Armida is also a member. † The relationship with Armida Siguion-Reyna has an interesting back story. The boy who was given his mother Petra’s family name, Furraganan, found out who his father was while he was getting ready to join the guerrillas in the last World War. Anakka iti ruar. Ponce ti nagan ti tatang mo. Maysa nga abogado. Awan ditoy, adda didiay Manila,† his mother had confessed to him in Ilocano. (You are my child out of wedlock. Ponce is your father’s name. He is a lawyer. He is not here, he is in Manila. ) From that day on, Juanito went by the nom-de-guerre Valentin Ponce, the first after his day of birth, which is Feb. 14, and the second, in honor of his father. Juanito had two older brothers Eduardo and Eligio, sons of his mother by her first husband Martin Paddayuman, who died early.He also has five younger siblings from his mother’s marriage to Macario Rapada of Ilocos Sur. They were Marciana, Melanio, Luisa, Juliana and Ireneo. The family tree gets more complicated. One day he was invited to the home of Vicente Alvarado, his father’s neighbor in Aparri. â€Å"There I was introduced, without any warning, to Nena, Teresing, Edeng, and Carmeling,† says Enrile. The girls, it turned out, were his father’s children by Rosario Martinez of Cagayan, along with a son named Mario, whose boat had been torpedoed by the Japanese on his way back to Manila to marry his girl.So there before him were four more Ponce-Enriles. Soon he would find out about Nancy, another half-sibling from their father’s liaison with Maria Balisi of Aparri. As far as h e knew then, he had seven half-siblings by his mother and six by his father, whom he had never met. 11:50 a. m. Executive Assistant Tala Maralit walks in with Majority Floor Leader Tito Sotto. Enrile waves the senator in and they huddle. Senator Trillanes comes in next, with a procedural question. It’s a short, quite cordial exchange. 12 noon The Senate President is not one to lunch alone.Four others join him for a Chinese meal of clear soup, steamed garoupa, steamed shrimps, crabs with black-bean sauce and bok choy sprinkled with garlic. He continues with his recollection. â€Å"So I had met some paternal siblings. † Late in August of 1945, Alvarado returned from Manila, with a message for Juanito. â€Å"My father wished to see me, and I was to go with him to Manila at once,† recalls Enrile. In the city, he was brought to a house in Sta. Mesa. After a week, he still had not heard from the father who he had been told wanted so badly to meet him.He would soon dis cover that one of his roommates, William Balisi, was a full brother of the same Nancy whom he met in Aparri. William was therefore also his half brother. William whispered to the young probinsyano that he had disappointed their father, which was why he was doing errands in that household, in addition to holding a day job at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. â€Å"Don’t be like me,† Enrile recalls William telling him. â€Å"You study hard. † William then informed his younger half-brother that there had been a misunderstanding of sorts and it didn’t look like the Sta.Mesa Ponce-Enriles were going to introduce Johnny to their father. Johnny would have to go see the old man on his own, but how? He hardly knew his way around town. â€Å"Listen carefully now, this is the way to Papa’s office,† William instructed him. From Sta. Mesa, all the way to Legarda, to Azcarraga (Recto Avenue), to R. Hidalgo, to Quezon Boulevard, Enrile found himse lf in Quiapo where he was struck with a baton by an American sentry. â€Å"I had no idea what jaywalking was,† he recalls. He then walked straight to Carriedo, crossed Avenida Rizal, passed the Ideal theater, walked towards the Sta.Cruz bridge, walked around Plaza Sta. Cruz, found Dasmarinas Street, turned left around the corner and went on until he reached Plaza Cervantes. â€Å"And there it was, the Edificio Soriano. I entered the building from Plaza Cervantes. I saw people standing in front of a door on the right side of the corridor. I stopped and watched. William told me to go to the seventh floor of the building. As I stood there, I noticed people rushing out of the door as it opened, and people outside rushing in before the door closed. It was my first time to see something like that. I was afraid I would not get out from there alive.No one had told the boy from Cagayan about the wonderful contraption called the elevator. On the wall facing the elevator door on the se venth floor were the words â€Å"Dewitt, Perkins, and Ponce-Enrile Law Offices. † Juanito approached Santiago Gampued, the telephone operator behind a desk in the lobby, and introduced himself. â€Å"I want to see attorney Alfonso Ponce Enrile. I am Juanito Furraganan. † He was made to write his name on a small piece of paper and told to wait. Gampued returned shortly and motioned him to a narrow hallway that ended in front of a polished wooden door on the northeast corner.Seated behind a large desk cluttered with piles of paper was a man Castilian in appearance—light complexion, bushy eyebrows, hair almost all white, thick eyeglasses over his high-bridged nose. The man stood up upon seeing him. â€Å"He was of medium built and as tall as I was,† recalls Enrile. â€Å"I’d have thought him urbane, if I knew the word then. And imposing. †Ã‚   Although his face was somewhat haggard and marked with lines, Enrile thought him good looking. â€Å" He walked towards me, I met him halfway,† recalls Enrile. â€Å"He stepped forward, raised his arms, put them around me, held me tightly and said, ‘I am sorry, my son. † 1:45 p. m. Gumban has walked in and out of the office twice, perhaps to remind his boss of the time. He sees what he sees and backs out. The Senate President is crying. He apologizes, but is unabashed. â€Å"I break down every time I recall the first time I met Papa. † In October of 1944, he says, he was being beaten up by the Kempetei almost every day, and had no way of knowing if he was going to live or die. â€Å"Now, September of 1945, I find myself being hugged by the father I had only much recently found out about, and he’s telling me I’m not going back to Sta. Mesa. I’m to ride with him to Malabon.He is driving a black, three-seater Chevrolet convertible sports car,† says Enrile. The car stopped in front of the steel gate of a large compound that held a tw o story semi-concrete house a few meters away. They get off. They are met by a handsome woman, two girls and two boys much younger than Johnny. (Raquel, the oldest girl, happened to be with their maternal grandparents in Pinaglabanan. ) â€Å"Papa goes†¦ Papa goes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He removes his glasses, wipes the tears off the lenses and, half-laughing, half-crying, says, â€Å"Papa said,   ‘Mama, Mida, Nene, Junior, Toti—this is Juanito.He is my son. From now on he will live with us. ’† Enrile was 21 when he was enrolled a high school junior at St. James Academy in Malabon. After his senior year, he had to take a validating examination for all high school subjects from first year to the first semester of third year as his academic records were incomplete. After high school, Juanito was accepted at Ateneo de Manila for his two-year pre-law studies, and graduated cum laude, despite having to work as an assistant librarian in his father’s office .By this time, so many shovels and picks away from his caminero days, he was getting paid P120 a month. The library proved to be most memorable for the advice that came from his father’s senior partner Clyde A. Dewitt, a former Thomasite: â€Å"If you aspire to be a trial lawyer, master the rules of evidence. Gain the habit of knowing thoroughly the facts of every case you handle. Study the case from the viewpoint of the other side as much as you study your side. Learn the technique of cross-examination by heart.You acquire that skill, not from reading books, but from actual practice in the courtroom. To be a corporation lawyer, you must have a thorough knowledge of corporation law, a familiarity with business practices and a working knowledge of accounting. † Before Enrile entered the UP College of Law, his father instructed Mariano Carbonell, a senior lawyer in the same office, to file a petition to judicially change his surname. 2:14 p. m. The Presiding Officer, Sen ate President Juan Ponce Enrile, calls the Impeachment Trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato C. Corona to order.