A walking smoke bomb
ANY NEWS subject who likes to hide cannot abide Raissa Robles: she’s a walking smoke bomb.
And she has never been so challenged, she herself admits, as during the impeachment trial of the chief justice, Renato Corona. In fact, even now that Corona has already been judged guilty and consequently booted out of the Supreme Court as well as barred from holding public office, the challenge has not ended for Robles: she remains under attack from an enemy mostly disguised or shrouded, or, at any rate hidden, although an enemy unable all the same to conceal being Corona partisans.
Where Robles shoots with facts and reasoned readings of them, her enemy snipes back by calling her names and throwing accusations with no basis in fact—accusations in fact too wild-sounding to be credible. For instance, she has been called shoplifter and plagiarist, two names easy enough to make stick if deserved: Show the piece of furniture lifted (yes, the supposed crime scene was that kind of shop) and the writings appropriated (incidentally too, Corona’s Supreme Court has tried to whitewash the case of a plagiarist member, but the stain just won’t come off—in fact the plagiarist is likely the next impeached).
What Robles has found herself caught in is something that doubtless comes with her territory as a journalist. But given the orchestrated, almost fanatical support for Corona to match her own doggedness and effectiveness, the territory has in this case become unusually hostile.
“It’s clear the attacks weren’t based on any reality or truth or facts, (but) just a reaction to my stories—stories revealing embarrassing details about Corona’s transactions,” says Robles, whose blog, started in July last year, got its most number of visits—about 30,000 daily—during Corona’s trial, begun in January. March brought 400,000 hits, one-fifth of the two million for all of its eleven-month existence. That should rank it easily among the most popular Philippine sites of its kind.
And why shouldn’t it? It has turned up some of the most explosive revelations about Corona, among others: a penthouse acquired at a ridiculous discount; two pieces of property—one in the United States, the other at The Fort, a new high-end development in Taguig City—bought within 22 days of each other in the name of a daughter of doubtful means; huge borrowings from his wife’s family’s apparently dead corporation; questions over the use of funds lent by the World Bank to the Supreme Court; rulings by his court on cases akin to his own, constituting a precedent tending to lock him in his own guilt.
Bound by its own rules, the legalistic impeachment court took limited note of all this, if at all, but not the sovereign court of public opinion, which lapped it all up either straight from Robles’s blog or from the traditional media themselves that picked it up, followed it up, and turned up further information on their own. Public pressure thus built up and came down on the impeachment court through polls pronouncing Corona guilty even before it itself could do so—the court vote (20 to 3) more or less reflects the popular sentiment.
Robles’s revelations remain posted, accessible, on her blog. The impeachment court may be done with its business with Corona, but he remains news, and Robles’s business. Pictures and documents reinforce her postings, materials that may make for more graphic and solid journalism, but cannot be accommodated in the time-bound broadcast networks and space-bound newspapers, notes Robles, one never intimidated by the stiffest challenge to her work.
Indeed, she is one of the few genuine journalists populating cyberspace—few, that is, relative to the hordes of impostors who have set up shop there. Under her belt are 25 years of serious, highly competent practice. Both she and husband Alan worked for newspapers I edited, and I haven’t stopped following them, proudly.
Alan is himself a blogger, although he does it at a more leisurely pace, which, being a satirist, he can well afford. He and Raissa write for the foreign press on the side, but their preoccupation is Raissa’s blog—he is her resident editor.
Early enough, she says, “Alan warned me to expect vile attacks on my character once my blog got attention. So I’m not surprised, but it’s a new experience. Some attacks I find annoying, others amusing…. Alan had also told me to remove my pictures—certain ones—from my blog, and I saw why: they started photo-shopping some of them to make me look like ‘the little lady’.”
That was to suit the rumor that she was the Aquino administration’s “little lady” operative who had leaked Corona’s secret bank accounts to his impeachers. Easily proving the lie, she has all but killed it. But she seems just too good at what she does to be left alone.
Just this week, the week of Corona’s conviction for betraying the public trust, her Facebook account was shut down, stopping her free-running conversations with her audiences, friendly and not so friendly, and limiting their airing in her not as easily managed blogsite. Her investigation has revealed an orchestration of complaints alleging she was “abusing” Facebook, presumably meaning, using it as a weapon against her enemy.
One only has to do a quick survey of exchanges on Facebook to find the allegation incredible, not unlike the tales Corona told at his trial. Apparently Facebook sentries are either patsies or partisans, not unlike certain judges in his trial.
At any rate, Facebook or no Facebook, Raissa Robles can smoke-bomb them all.
She definitely has the credibility many so-called journalists could only lust for. Write on, Raissa!Â
raissa and alan are a curse – to gloria and the wheelchair gang
Wow, her FB account shut down by FB? What an anomaly! Can this be done?
I have read her reports from time to time, and I have agreed with ALL that I have read. In fact, I almost always make comments. I believe that she deserves to be congratulated for her tenacity and guts.
We’re behind you 100%, Raissa and Alan. Â Keep on digging. Â And we shall spread your gospel.
very well said!!!!
keep on writing Raissa – for truth & country!
FOR GREATER AWARENESS OF THE ISSUES AT HAND!
Who cares what they say about you as long as you do not stop reporting the truth and you continue to do it as exciting as you do, that’s all that matters.
YOU ARE THE BEST AND NO ONE CAN PUT Â DOWN A GOOD JOURNALIST LIKE YOU
I opened the Facebook and search for your name : Raissa Robles. Show one from Batangas. Is that correct?
According to Angara, Corona should now be left alone, not further investigated and if need be prosecuted for ill-gotten wealth.
I think the government agencies in charge of going after government employees like Corona  who have so much money, way beyond their government salaries, should continue to investigate and if need be prosecute these people, in order to bring out the truth either way, namely, that for example the man Corona was really guilty of ill-gotten wealth, or has always been innocent.
thanks to raissa and everybody who strive for justice and the truth. Â Let this be a start to cleaning up our nation!
The facebook people who shut down Raissa’s FB page are morons. Raissa is the most credible journalist/blogger I’ve ever known.