Fatima: Exactly a hundred years ago

I was supposed to write only about the 100th anniversary of the last apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary before Lucia, Jacinta, and Francesco at the Cova di Ira in Fatima, Portugal, because today is a historic occasion for Catholics worldwide. But last night, we heard of the earth-shattering news in this country with the sudden resignation of Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista who wrote a letter of resignation to his co-employees and to Pres. Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte.

Then a bigger breaking news happened when during their Plenary Session the House of Representatives voted to override the decision of the House Committee on Justice that earlier junked Bautista’s impeachment complaint and voted 137-75 to impeach the Comelec Chairman. What we gathered in the news was that Andy Bautista was asked to resign immediately by no less than Speaker Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday, but the Comelec Chairman issued his resignation letter for Dec. 31, 2017.

So finally the Filipino people know that Andy Baustista resigned because he had been warned that the House Committee on Justice that earlier rejected his impeachment complaint would be overruled in a Plenary Session in the Halls of Congress. Kudos to Rep. Gwen F. Garcia (whose birthday was yesterday) who led the charge to impeach the Comelec Chairman with her fellow members of the House, representatives Harry Roque of Kabayan and Robert Barbers of Surigao del Norte. They have fully restored my trust and confidence in this Congress.

Now it is up to Bautista to revise his earlier resignation from Dec. 31, 2017 to take effect immediately so he can avoid an embarrassing impeachment trial that the whole nation witnessed during the impeachment trial of the late Supreme Court chief justice Renato Corona. The ball is now in Bautista’s court.