The leaky halls of justice. The Supreme Court is known as a cloistered institution, but it is not without its leaks, apparently, and other government offices are not shy about exposing this reality.

On Tuesday afternoon, reporters waiting for the official announcement of the high court?s ruling on Romulo Neri?s petition concerning his claim of executive privilege in the national broadband network (NBN) case were amused to hear a report on the ABS-CBN News Channel that Malacañang had already declared it was pleased with the decision, which was apparently in favor of Neri. At around the same time, another reporter received a long text message bearing Sen. Francis Pangilinan?s reaction to the ruling, which was apparently unfavorable to the Senate.

In fact, as everyone knows by now, the Supreme Court did stop the Senate from arresting Neri and from forcing him to answer three questions regarding President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s involvement in the controversial $329-million NBN deal with China?s ZTE Corp.

That Tuesday afternoon, however, those toiling on the justice beat could only marvel at the fact that comments on the ruling were already circulating, when the Supreme Court?s spokesperson had yet to officially announce the ruling. The press conference by spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez finally took place about 30 minutes later. And the copy of the actual decision was promulgated only in the early evening! L. Salaverria

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NBN? No comment, please. All the political noise sparked by the NBN controversy has certainly made officials wary of issuing statements on the project.

After a local news item, citing the National Telecommunications Commission?s updated Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) for 2008 to 2010, reported that the telecom regulator planned to pursue the controversial project, the Inquirer asked NTC officials for comment. In previous interviews, they had said that the regulator was not involved in the project, so the newspaper sought clarification.

Mindful of NTC Commissioner Ruel Canobas? prior request to be text-messaged rather than called on his cellular phone, the Inquirer sent a message each to the commissioner and to his assistant before lunch one fine day. They did not respond. Calls to either of them went unanswered. Later reached through a cellular call, the commissioner?s assistant said he had not received any message regarding the issue and surmised that neither had the commissioner. He asked for the query to be resent.

After another long wait and another call to the assistant, the Inquirer was told that a department head of the NTC was prepared to clarify the matter in a person-to-person interview. The interview, however, would have to be scheduled for another day because it was already late in the afternoon. The assistant also discouraged a phone interview before that afternoon?s press deadline, arguing that the discussion would use up a lot of time and ?load.?

The Inquirer then called the commissioner, who confirmed that he had received the re-sent text message seeking clarification on the NBN item. Asked to comment, he declined and said, ?Controversial kasi ang tanong mo eh.? [?Because your questions are controversial?] R. Olchondra

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Jimmy Lai, superstar. This writer bumped into controversial publisher Jimmy Lai at the lobby of a Bangkok hotel the other month; he looked for all the world like just another tourist (albeit one wearing his trademark suspenders).

I complimented him on his provocative talk earlier that day, and he gave polite thanks. He seemed, unusually enough, abashed?although it may have simply been a dislike of small talk.

His remarks before Asia-Pacific journalists certainly could not be described as small talk; they amounted to a defense, though an idiosyncratic one, of sensational journalism.

The founder of Giordano publishes newspapers in Hong Kong and in Taiwan that are criticized for their sensational coverage of the news. But ?we are not selling news per se,? Lai had told the forum. ?We?re selling the resonance that people can relate to in their lives.? And again: ?The newspaper is a sentimental and emotional product. The story behind the news ... is more important to the people.? And yet again: ?Sensationalism? It?s about stories, it?s about tears.?

The ?sensationalism,? the ?story behind the news,? starts with his dramatic choice of brand name: Apple Daily. ?If Eve did not bite the apple, the world would not need a newspaper.?

At the hotel lobby, the publishing magnate?s interest perked up when told about the Manila premiere of ?The Call of the Entrepreneur,? the Acton Media documentary which featured him in a very moving, indeed tear-stained, segment. That?s good to know, he said, and his eyes turned wistful. J. Nery

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Leapfrogging, new version. Even as administration officials talk up the imminent merger between President Arroyo?s two political parties, members of both Lakas-CMD and the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kapi) continue to resist the idea. Some even poke fun at the proposed union.

It is not known which party will survive the merger, but one Lakas-CMD member said the new group may retain both party names. He good-naturedly proposed that a merged Lakas-CMD and Kampi be called Pa-La-Ka, short for Partido Lakas-Kampi. It might work wonders for name-recall, he said.

It may also have a ready-made slogan reminiscent of the Lakas-CMD founders? progressive and forward-sounding catchphrases from the 1990s, such as Philippines 2000 and the like. ?Leaping forward,? he said, as his hand makes a gesture like a leaping frog. N. Bordadora