Lie to me

Many may not know, or have even heard of the TV series "Lie To Me". A supposed expert on body language, non-verbal communication and "micro-expressions" wherein the very minute actions or nuances of a person can actually reveal whether a person is lying, or telling the truth. Some actions or expressions happen so fast, where the only way to see them is to slow down video of the person, if available, and catch these micro-expressions. The show has since been cancelled, but it did stir up a lot of interest in the so-called science behind the theme of the series, much like what CSI did to forensic investigation.

Janet Lim Napoles is currently, or finally at the Senate. After months of deliberation as to whether she would be allowed to appear before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, Nov. 7 has become the date to watch out for. There is also a super typhoon on its way to the country, with a possible strength of a Category 5, or Signal No. 4 in our grading system, for those who are more interested or concerned about that. Honestly, even I don't know what to concern myself more with.

I am not an expert on human emotion, let's be clear about that. But after watching Napoles at the Senate, one by one denying the testimonies of the whistleblowers, I really felt that she was under extreme stress, as compared to coolness of the whistleblowers when they were giving their juicy statements. While it was obviously a session of "they said, she said" I did notice how Napoles' head was twitching, shaking even, her brow extremely furrowed, her eyes squinting, sometimes almost to tears. I leave it up to you as to what those mean, but they were just too obvious to ignore.

I really wish there was an expert on hand to give his observations on the events at the Senate today. It would be very interesting to hear someone like Dr. Cal Lightman, if there ever was a such a person, to say what he thought of the actions of everyone. I would like to hear a more scientific explanation as to what I noticed on Napoles and the whistleblowers today. Although the whole concept of micro-expressions is not technically admissible in court, noting the fact that there are no definite actions that would show or prove deception from one individual to another, it would still be an interesting lecture to listen to.

Enter Sec. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who may have single-handedly formed the impression of millions of Filipinos today with regards to Janet Napoles. Definitely by design, she has probably extracted more from Napoles than what many expected others to do. It would be interesting to see what will further transpire at the Senate today.

Aside from the super typhoon, of course.