Lead the way

Lead the way - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos.

The editorial today of the Phil. Daily Inquirer (click link above) shows that truth is the only power that can defeat darkness and evil in governance. Rule of law dies in a milieu infested with corruption. Bad governance kills the justice system. This is what we Filipinos have learned from the infamous 9-year rule of ex-Pres. Gloria Arroyo. To her, I say, good riddance. We now have a new hope.

‘We can dream again’ - Noynoy.

‘We can dream again’ - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

The state of the nation (SONA) address of Pres. Noynoy Aquino gives us hope. He stressed the following points in re: governance, justice, and accountability, as reported in Philippine media. Read the link to the Philippine Daily Inquirer above.


1. “If the answer to justice is accountability, the answer to the dearth in funds is a new and creative approach to our long-standing problems,” he said, according to an official English translation of the SONA. “I am heartened because many have already expressed renewed interest and confidence in the Philippines.”

2. He vowed to open peace talks with the National Democratic Front, Communist Party of the Philippines and its military wing, the New People’s Army, and said he was open to an immediate ceasefire. “It is difficult to begin discussions in earnest if the smell of gun powder still hangs in the air. I call on everyone concerned not to waste a good opportunity to rally behind our common aspiration for peace,” Mr. Aquino said. “Our foundation for growth is peace. We will continue to be shackled by poverty if the crossfire persists.”

3. He also said that he was hopeful that peace talks could resume with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the main separatist force in Mindanao.

4. “Creating jobs is foremost on our agenda, and the creation of jobs will come from the growth of our industries,” he said. This will come, he added, if processes are streamlined to make them predictable, reliable and efficient for those who want to invest, the President said. “We make sure that the build-operate-transfer projects will undergo quick and efficient processes. With the help of all government agencies concerned and the people, a process that used to take as short as a year and as long as a decade will now take six months,” Mr. Aquino said. He also promised to expand the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) coverage and implement the national household targeting system that would identify the families that most urgently need assistance. He said that an estimated P9 billion was needed to provide the needs of 5 million destitute Filipinos.

5. To put a stop to the wasteful use of funds, the government would eradicate “wrong projects” and adopt a “zero-based” approach to crafting the national budget, the President said. “What used to be the norm was every year, the budget merely gets reenacted without plugging the holes,” he said. “Next month we will be submitting a budget that accurately identifies the problem and gives much attention on the right solution.”


Note: I shall await the issuance of the promised executive order that will create a truth commission to investigate the anomalies and crimes of the repulsive 9-year old regime of ex-Pres. Gloria Arroyo, who conveniently absented herself during the SONA event yesterday and went to Hongkong with her controversial husband Mike Arroyo allegedly to see a Chinese doctor. Her first major act as a congressperson was to intentionally absent herself from the joint SONA session of congress which formally opens the new congress.

Executive-Judiciary relation: critical collaboration.

The Sona and the Supreme Court - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos


In his recent column (click link), former Chief Justice Art Panganiban made the following commentaries re: newly elected Pres. Noynoy Aquino's relationship with Chief Justice Renato Corona during the former's 6-year term of office which will end in June 2016:

1. Critical collaboration. I do not have the space to comment on all the problems facing P-Noy. Instead, I will carefully observe how he will define his relationship with the Supreme Court. His initial encounter with the Court was chilly. Dismayed by the its decision allowing outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to appoint the new chief justice, he broke tradition and invited the decision’s forceful dissenter, instead of the new chief, to induct him. I think this is symbolic of his desire for transparency, accountability, gravitas and ethics from the justices.

2. Nonetheless, I am sure he realizes that the Court is a co-equal and co-independent branch of government. Hence, I think he will not maintain an unduly hostile stance, lest the Court be tempted to use its vast powers and stymie his plans, especially his judicial reforms. Neither should the relationship degenerate to coziness, lest the Court becomes subservient (as the “Arroyo Court” was perceived to be), always ready to obey executive whims and to defend presidential excesses, even if it means reversing age-old jurisprudence and inventing monstrous judicial fiats.

3. Ideally, the relationship should evolve to what the late Jaime Cardinal Sin called “critical collaboration,” collaborative in executive initiatives to reform society but critical in safeguarding the supremacy of the Constitution.

4. P-Noy can take refuge in the settled doctrine that in case of doubt, the courts are duty-bound to uphold executive actions, arising from the presumption of good faith and regularity in the performance of official duties. Only when there is grave—repeat, grave—abuse of discretion can the Supreme Court reverse or modify executive actions and programs.

5. So too, justices are answerable to history. Published in books and electronic libraries, their decisions are scrutinized minutely and eternally by lawyers and non-lawyers alike. Recently, they discovered that investigative journalists, like Marites Vitug, and civic groups, like Bantay Katarungan, have become bolder in exposing perceived judicial misconduct.

6. However, the real test of the justices will come when they face cases involving former President Arroyo and her family. For instance, will they, like the Commission on Elections, bend entrenched jurisprudence to indulge the party-list ambition of Mikey Arroyo? How will they dispel public perception of their alleged personal loyalty to the former first family?

A widow's search for justice

A few years ago, after attending a national summit on extrajudicial killings sponsored by the Philippine Supreme Court, I received a request from a friend to render assistance for the early resolution of the murder of Pepe Macagne, a militant peasant organizer in Northern Luzon.

Pepe’s death was one of the hundreds of unsolved murders committed under the blood-stained Oplan Bantay Laya of the heartless Armed Forces of the Philippines, which was notorious for being the private army of the shameless ex-Philippine Pres. Gloria Arroyo whose 9-year despotic rule was as equally horrendous and violent as the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’.

Pepe’s poor widow, Dom-an Florence Macagne, to this day continues to search for justice.

Below is a recent article she wrote in memory of her beloved husband.


I AM SORRY : An Open Letter from a Widow on Senseless Killings

To my fellow widows, I am sorry. I do not know if this message will bring you solace at this point time. Yet, it is my hope that someday it could help heal the deep wounds of war and violence we share in common as we live on. I am a widow like you.

To my gentleman friend soldier who informed me of another tragedy , I am sorry for the loss of lives of your comrades in the battlefield of this gory senseless war that I continue to abhor.
To the mothers, to the fathers, to the friends, to the brothers and sisters of the noble people whose blood were spilled over our greed and war torn motherland, I am sorry.

To the equally fiery warriors who staged the ambush near the mighty Chico River in the Mountain Province, Northern Philippines last July 9, 2010 and those who intend to do so, I am sorry. Nobody wins in bloody wars. I deeply lament that these killings continue.

To the children who witness, experience and ask endless questions about the senselessness of wars and all the violence around you, I am sorry. May you someday realize the answers.

I know that there are no words enough to express all the pain and sadness that the tragic deaths of our loved ones has brought upon us. Not so long ago, I too buried the bullet riddled body of my husband who died of 22-gunshot wounds from the weapon of death of a merciless assassin.
Pepe, my comprehensive friend, husband and father of my children was a peaceful loving gentle person who wrote his thoughts and spoke his opinions being critical to those who cause and are indifferent to the suffering of the common people. He lived up to what he preached, a simple happy life together with his family and befriended people from all walks of life not for self-aggrandizement but with an admirable selflessness and sense of service.

Yet, in 2005, at the height of the Oplan Bantay Laya military campaign and a time when democratic civil governance was once again at its lowest ebb in the country, he was labeled a terrorist, an enemy of the State and placed in a dreadful ‘list for order of battle’ . He was extra-judicially executed. Police investigation identified Philippine Army Captain Joel Castro as the assassin. Castro pleaded not guilty and was subsequently promoted in rank, the witness backed off out of fear and the case did not see trial.

With equal indignation over the senseless killings of kindred people like Pepe, I too join the voices of those who feel aggrieved over the deaths of the soldiers who were caught amidst the insanity of warmongering campaigns leading to endless tragedies and loss of lives, shattered hopes and dreams.

Yet, I am equally sad that the sentiments over such tragedy is being played up and exploited to justify the equally disturbing intensified presence of battle-ready military men amidst the peaceful communities of Mountain Province and elsewhere in the Cordillera. That at the same time that the military are active, mining companies as well as corporate commercial tourism are also staking their quests to exploit and extract resources over our ancestral lands further compromising the remaining watershed in Northern Luzon and fuelling restiveness and discord amongst our people.

I also find viciously scheming the continued drumbeating of the name of a cultural creative who is now labeled and broadcasted as a terrorist leader. Artus Talastas, as I and Pepe have known him is a softspoken compassionate artist with unwavering commitment for the protection and assertion of sovereignty not only of his homeland in Mountain Province but the wider Cordillera and the country as a whole. He grew up with a loving grandfather, a WW II veteran as both his parents died while he was a child. His father and art mentor was the first architect graduate from the Cordillera who then served as hospital administrator.
Artus is no stranger with the indigenous peoples struggle to keep the historic Chico River flowing. He is mindful of collective efforts of the community and wide network of advocates to keep aggressive corporate mining, megadams and other exploitative projects out of the region. He also wept as civilian peacepact holders, youth leaders, healers, farmer leaders, development workers who stood up against such menace were demonized, killed, disappeared, tortured and imprisoned in the banner of government anti-terrorism and anti-insurgency campaigns.

The last time I had a chance to talk with Artus, I learned he sought refuge in the mountains when he was placed under military surveillance after a peoples peaceful assembly in Baguio City against the Philippine Mining Act of 1995. I could still remember how media attention was focused on him holding a burning garland of flowers offered by then Pres. Fidel V. Ramos as a sign of goodwill yet symbolically rejected because the issue was a life and death concern for the indigenous peoples asserting self-determination.

Artus also narrated how he heard voluntary stories of the soldiers who bombed and burned forests and ricefields even at the height of drought in the early part of 2010 while food security and climate change are pressing issues of the times.

I tried to explore his opinions about the peace process and how those who have joined the rebels think of reintegration to civilian life. ‘Yes, the peace process should go on. Many would like to rejoin civilian life safely without having to go through the process of surrendering to the military, he responded pensively.’ This allowed me to catch a silver line of hope, elusive as the holy grail of peace it may be.

Now, while I sing lullabies and tell stories to children amidst these challenging times, I pray... may they someday run along to soar with eagles, swim in flowing rivers and bathe in cascading waterfalls, dance with the dragonflies along the rice fields and fill the air with their laughters. For then, the great Spirit of the warriors soldiers or rebels together and many other young men and women as well as elders that now blend with this mighty river shall chant in joyful chorus.
Let it be my sacred tribute to these noble souls to see these children grow up to their dreams of happiness and peace, bearing the wisdom of their roots, weaving a life of courage, integrity and dignity wherever they may be... just as I was nurtured by my great mentors of life.

It is not easy, yet I maintain a nonviolence and a nonvindictive stance as I also continue to be critical of militaristic so-called peace campaigns while I continue to pursue restorative justice and accountability along the peace and healing process.
Lastly, I continue to play my bamboo nose flute to serenade war weary souls as well as love hungry beings to walk along the path of truth, peace and healing amidst the turbulence.

Indeed, it is worth all the gold in the world to give a chance for that peace that we attain when we set aside our own hurts, our own grievances for a moment… for the sake of knowledge and understanding… for love, life and liberty we so covet.

As we breath kasiyana… kasiyana… let us rise up from where we fall, embrace the path of light, glow and grow with a golden heart… forever…

*kasiyana is indigenous Kankana-ey word in Northern Luzon Philippines that when invoked in times of pain and turmoil invokes a three fold process of healing a) recognizing the woundedness b) evoking hope c) undertaking humane loving action to ensure healing and growth.

Dom-an Florence Macagne. Kasiyana Peace and Healing Initiatives . kasiyanaphi@yahoo.com. Sagada, Mountain Province, Philippines . July 21, 2010

How traditional politics destroys the partylist system for the poor.

Gall - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos.

When traditional politicians poison the partylist system intended by the constitution to protect the poor and the oppressed, democracy suffers and the rule of law weakened. Read the link. See how the Philippine media deplores the gall of the Arroyo dynasty.

Philippine Supreme Court, a plagiarist?

Supreme theft - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

What must the Philippine Bar do when the Philippine Supreme Court plagiarizes? Keep quiet? read the link (Philippine Daily Inquirer editorial).

Philippine anti-money laundering law weakened?

In his recent column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, retired Philippine Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban expressed his concern about the apparent weakening of the anti-money laundering law of the Philippines and the fact that a recent ruling of the Philippine Supreme Court seemed to have abetted such weakening.

He stated that the Supreme Court (Second Division) in Republic vs. Eugenio (Feb. 14, 2008), speaking through Justice Dante O. Tinga (now retired), held that that Section 11 of the law “allows AMLC to inquire into bank accounts without having to obtain a judicial order in cases where there is probable cause that the deposits or investments are related to kidnapping for ransom, certain violations of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, hijacking and other violations under RA 6235, destructive arson and murder.”

He added that the Court held that for other criminal activities including graft, it held that Section 11 does not allow a bank inquiry order to be issued ex parte even by courts. Although Section 10 explicitly authorizes an ex parte application for and issuance of freeze orders good for 20 days, Section 11 omits any reference to ex parte applications for and grant of bank inquiry orders.

The Court noted that the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations for the amended Amla, jointly crafted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Insurance Commission and the Securities & Exchange Commission, likewise do not speak of ex parte applications for bank inquiries.

He added that the Court had ruled that courts must first notify the account holders and conduct a hearing on the application, during which the latter may interpose their objections. It conceded that the inquiry orders may have become harder to obtain due to the mandated notice and hearing, but opined that there would be no adverse effect on the integrity of the bank records, which will remain in the bank’s possession and control. With due respect, I think the Court defanged the bank inquiry tool because the depositor, once alerted, will not only resist the government’s inquiry, but will surely empty the account too.

Read his column below.


With Due Respect
Restore Amla’s fangs
By Artemio V. Panganiban

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:39:00 07/10/2010

MANILA, Philippines—One sure way of catching big-time grafters is by tracing their loot, and then inquiring into and/or freezing their ill-gotten bank deposits. To achieve this goal, Congress approved the Anti-Money Laundering Act (Amla).

Unfortunately, the Supreme Court recently defanged the law partially by requiring that, before issuing bank inquiry orders, courts must first notify the depositors.

This is equivalent to telling a thief to hide his loot lest the police discover and seize it.

A little background. Enacted in 2001 as Republic Act 9160 and amended in 2003 by RA 9194, Amla defines money laundering as “a crime whereby the proceeds of an unlawful activity (as defined in the law) are transacted, thereby making them appear to have originated from legitimate sources.” To laypersons, this simply means that ill-gotten cash is deposited and transacted in the banks.

Money laundering is punished in many countries. A few days ago, a Paris court convicted former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega of this crime for using French banks to deposit and deal with “kickbacks from drug traffickers.”

To enable the government to discover and effectively halt money laundering, RA 9160, as amended, provides certain provisional remedies; namely, “freeze orders” and “bank inquiry orders” on bank deposits and investments of suspects.

The Amla came into play after the Supreme Court, in Agan vs. Piatco (May 5, 2003), nullified the concession agreement awarded to the Philippine International Airport Terminal Corp. (Piatco) for the construction of Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

To trace and confiscate alleged bribes given to government officials who entered into the nullified transaction, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) utilized the aforesaid bank inquiry tool. Specifically, the lower courts granted AMLC’s ex parte application for authority to examine several bank accounts of four individuals, including a former Cabinet member.

Soon enough, one of the four and the wife of another (whose joint conjugal account was being looked into) discovered the bank inquiries and questioned the lower courts’ order, arguing that courts must give prior notice to the account holder who must be given the opportunity to oppose the application. Specifically, the wife argued that ex parte grants violated her constitutional rights to privacy and due process.

High court defangs Amla. The case reached the Supreme Court (Second Division) in Republic vs Eugenio (Feb. 14, 2008). The high court, speaking through Justice Dante O. Tinga (now retired), conceded that Section 11 of Amla “allows AMLC to inquire into bank accounts without having to obtain a judicial order in cases where there is probable cause that the deposits or investments are related to kidnapping for ransom, certain violations of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, hijacking and other violations under RA 6235, destructive arson and murder.”

But for other criminal activities including graft, it held that Section 11 does not allow a bank inquiry order to be issued ex parte even by courts. Although Section 10 explicitly authorizes an ex parte application for and issuance of freeze orders good for 20 days, Section 11 omits any reference to ex parte applications for and grant of bank inquiry orders.

The Supreme Court noted that the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations for the amended Amla, jointly crafted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Insurance Commission and the Securities & Exchange Commission, likewise do not speak of ex parte applications for bank inquiries.

Thus, the Court ruled that courts must first notify the account holders and conduct a hearing on the application, during which the latter may interpose their objections. It conceded that the inquiry orders may have become harder to obtain due to the mandated notice and hearing, but opined that there would be no adverse effect on the integrity of the bank records, which will remain in the bank’s possession and control. With due respect, I think the Court defanged the bank inquiry tool because the depositor, once alerted, will not only resist the government’s inquiry, but will surely empty the account too.

Strengthen Amla further. It further held that Section 11 impels right-to-privacy considerations specifically applicable to bank accounts, which considerations have statutory basis, namely, RA 1405 (the Bank Secrecy Act of 1955). The Court stressed that, notwithstanding that Amla has added exceptions to the Bank Secrecy Act, the absolute confidentiality of bank deposits remains a basic state policy in this country.

Thus, the Court frowned on inquiries into bank deposits, unless Congress enacts a law to change the state policy. The depositors’ right to privacy prompted the Court to grant the wife’s petition to bar inquiries into the joint accounts she held with her husband. So, in order to frustrate bank inquiry orders, one needs only to utilize a joint account. Hmmm.

To succeed in its vaunted anti-corruption campaign, the Aquino administration must move quickly to restore the fangs of Amla, first by petitioning the Supreme Court, via a proper case, to allow ex parte bank inquiries or, at the very least, to reverse its ruling exempting joint conjugal accounts from Amla’s coverage; and second, by asking Congress to amend Amla further by expressly allowing ex parte inquiries in the same way that it authorized freeze orders to be so obtained, and to modify the state bank secrecy policy vis-à-vis ill-gotten wealth.

* * *

Comments are welcome at chiefjusticepanganiban@hotmail.com


See:
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20100710-280326/Restore-Amlas-fangs

Pork barrel is glorified "tong"

Congressional pork barrel is glorified “tong”, the pejorative Filipino term for dirty and corrupt money -- money that is better allotted for the delivery of basic services to the hungry, ignorant and sick Filipinos but is instead robbed by elitist crocodiles in the Philippine Congress.

The three branches of the Philippine Government substantially have the same pork barrel rackets, denominated in different high-sounding and technocratic but nonetheless dishonest and fraudulent concepts.

Read a related editorial of the independent Philippine Daily Inquirer hereinbelow for reference.


Editorial
Path of least resistance

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:45:00 07/17/2010

PRESIDENT AQUINO has made the already very difficult task of stopping graft and corruption in government even tougher with his decision to allow lawmakers to keep their pork barrel. All the safeguards the administration has announced are unlikely to stop senators and congressmen from greasing their grasping hands with substantial cuts from the pork. The least he could have done was to cut the pork to a smaller size, but Mr. Aquino has rejected the idea.

Quezon Representative Lorenzo Tañada III, a key figure in the administration’s Liberal Party, proposed that this year’s allocation for the congressional pork barrel, estimated at about P22.3 billion, be reduced by at least one-third to help shrink the largest ever budget deficit which is projected to reach P340 billion. “We have to sacrifice. We have to lead by example,” he said.

Apparently few, if any, among his colleagues were in the mood for making sacrifices, least of all the congressmen vying for the speakership. Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, who has been tapped by the Lakas-Kampi-CMD coalition to bid for the speakership, dismissed Tañada’s proposal as “flawed, cosmetic, counterproductive and anti-poor,” adding that it would “reduce countrywide development.” Quezon City Representative Feliciano Belmonte, the LP candidate for speaker, said his party was “definitely not for reducing” the pork barrel “at this stage of the game.” He said the LP would instead push for “more transparency and openness” in the use of such funds.

And what is the “stage of the game” right now? Obviously, the administration party, which now counts 75 members, needs all the support it can get, first, to capture control of the House of Representatives, and then, to ensure the passage of the legislative agenda of the new administration. In other words, it is politics as usual.

At a different level, most lawmakers at this stage are certainly looking for ways to recover the millions they spent to win their seats in one of the most expensive elections the country has ever witnessed. And the pork barrel is one very handy and easy way to get back what they invested plus interest. With the going rate for SOP (kickback, in plain language) now at 30 percent, a congressman can expect a windfall from his P70-million annual pork barrel allocation, which doesn’t include yet the insertions in the budget.

How can an administration dedicated to stamping out graft and corruption justify keeping such a notorious source of dirty money as the pork barrel? True, the administration has to yield to pragmatism if it wants the cooperation of Congress, but how can it reconcile its defense of the pork barrel with its pledge of clean government? The pork barrel is right up there with kotong(extortion by policemen) among the most visible sources of corruption. The President vowed that there would be no more kotong under his administration. Why can’t he make the same pledge with regard to the pork barrel?

Instead of abolishing it outright, Mr. Aquino said he would keep the pork barrel system as a “concept.” This would require developing a “perfect system” of identifying the needs of each district and addressing them “at the most judicious time.” But until the new system is developed, he said, the pork barrel would be reformed according to a new “menu” that will limit its use to a few items that are “visible” and can be shown to be “judicious use of funds.”

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the projects to be funded by the pork barrel, including their specifications and even the materials used, will be publicly disclosed so that the people would know where the lawmakers are “putting the money and if the projects are worth the declared expenses.” “If there is irresponsibility, the contractors will not be paid in full,” he said.

Will these measures be enough to stop wasteful expenditure of government funds and shut off the tap of corruption flowing from the pork barrel? Maybe not. To cite just one problem, who will audit the projects, or more precisely, who will audit the auditors who have become part of the chain of corruption?

In choosing the path of least resistance with regard to the pork barrel, the administration could lose its way in its war against corruption.

See:
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/editorial/view/20100717-281686/Path-of-least-resistance

Philippine chief justice on media blitz?

My sense of decency and delicadeza rejects the idea of a judge or justice (more so, a chief justice) going on a media blitz to improve his public or professional image or to promote his personal agenda.

Recent news reports show that Philippine Chief Justice Renato Corona is again on a media blitz, this time blasting “some sectors” that he said were unfairly criticizing the Supreme Court.

In May, Corona went on an unprecedented charm offensive, going to TV and radio stations and granting interviews to defend his last-minute appointment by outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

This week he voiced his feelings against journalists during a meeting of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) screening candidates for the vacant post of associate justice in his court, which President Benigno Aquino III has to fill up by Aug. 17.

Corona, ex-officio chair of the JBC, asked Court of Appeals Associate Justice Remedios Salazar-Fernando how she would handle “pressure from public opinion.”

“Being in the Supreme Court is not a bed of roses because when you know what is right and you do it, you don’t always get fair treatment, especially from the media. You will be crucified in the media even if in your heart of hearts, you did what is right,” Corona lamented. “I say this because I’m telling you, there are certain sectors from the media who will not praise you for anything you do. There are certain sectors in the media whose business is just to attack and look for mistakes of the court or its magistrates.” Corona did not say who the culprits were. (
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100722-282449/Corona-hurting-over-attacks-on-SC-by-some-sectors-of-media).


‘Strike a balance’
“Under the Code of Ethics, you should not be influenced by public opinion,” Fernando replied. “If I may share my experience when I was in the LTFRB (Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board). We were involved in setting fares and had to deal with public opinion because they affect operators and riding public,” she said. “You just have to strike a balance. For as long as you know you are right, you shouldn’t be affected by public opinion.” (id.).

News reports state that after he was appointed Chief Justice on May 17, Corona granted unprecedented sit-down interviews in several TV and radio networks to defend his appointment and to extend a conciliatory message to Mr. Aquino who had opposed his midnight appointment.

Arroyo appointed Corona, her former chief of staff, despite the ban against midnight appointments after the Supreme Court ruled that the ban did not apply to the high court.

See:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100722-282449/Corona-hurting-over-attacks-on-SC-by-some-sectors-of-media

Philippine partylist system prostituted

Right-thinking Filipinos know in their hearts that the constitutionally-mandated Philippine partylist system has been abused, weakened, poisoned and prostituted.

And who are the culprits?

The elitist and power-hungry traditional politicians (tradpol) themselves whose sole goal in life as a ruling class is to control the power levers in the country.

Read a related news item below involving a son of ex-Pres. Gloria Arroyo.

Mikey Arroyo, a former congressman whose turf was taken over by her mother upon his behest in order to cloth her mother with a semblance of dignity and power at the end of her notorious 9-year tenure on June 30, 2010, is now the congressional representative of a party list of security guards in the Philippines. Only in the Philippines!

This is the zenith of political comedy and fraud in the country.

And the Commission on Election (Comelec) has helped perpetrate the fraud by allowing Mikey to sit in Congress to represent the security guards.

Militant Filipinos have filed a petition in the Supreme Court to question the Comelec decision.

As everybody knows, the Supreme Court is notoriously known as the Arroyo Court, from top to bottom. All its members were appointees of Gloria Arroyo.

The current chief justice, Hon. Renato Corona was the chief of staff of Arroyo in the senate. He served a presidential legal counsel and spokesman in the Palace. His midnight appointment one month before the May 10, 2010 presidential election was a scandal.

The public and the press berated Arroyo and Corona for the appointment.

Nothing has happened about it.

In fact, the Arroyo Supreme Court has ruled with finality that the midnight appointment of its own chief justice was valid and constitutional, thus, reversing a 50-yeard-old jurisprudential doctrine on the matter.

And that was the end of it.

Even the incumbent Pres. Noynoy Aquino could not do anything about it. For that is the state of the constitutional system in the Philippines (doctrine of separation of powers).



High court asked to stop Arroyo son from sitting in Congress
By Tetch Torres

INQUIRER.net
First Posted 11:15:00 07/22/2010


MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) Akbayan party-list Representative Walden Bello and former Akbayan representative Loretta Ann Rosales asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to stop Juan Migual Arroyo from taking his seat as member of Congress.
In an urgent motion for early resolution, the two asked the high court to also cancel the registration of Arroyo’s Ang Galing Pinoy Partylist (AG).

The petition is a follow up to their May 7 petition for a temporary restraining order which argued that Arroyo is not a marginalized member of Philippine society.

Petitioners argued that Arroyo and his group failed to comply with Comelec Resolution 8807 requiring party-list candidates to show evidence that they truly belong to the marginalized and underrepresented sector/s, the sectoral party, organization, political party, or coalition they seek to represent.

The same resolution requires the submission of the following pieces of evidence: track record of the party list showing active participation of the nominee(s) in the undertakings of the group in the advancement of the marginalized sector they represent; proofs that the nominee(s) truly adheres to the advocacies of the party list group; certification that the nominee(s) is/are a bona fide member of the party list group for at least 90 days; and in case of a party-list group, seeking representation of the marginalized and underrepresented sectors is not only an advocate of the party-list group but is also a member of the underrepresented sector.

However, petitioners said, as of 6 April 2010, the party-list group has not complied and to this date the Commission on Elections has not replied to their queries.
“If this Honorable Court fails to act with dispatch in the case at bar, it will result in the unfortunate situation wherein an individual becomes a member of the House of Representatives, despite not having complied with the Rules of Procedure of the Comelec,” petitioners said.

The party-list system was intended for the marginalized.

See:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100722-282496/High-court-asked-to-stop-Arroyo-son-from-sitting-in-Congress

Fil-Am is California lady chief justice

Filipinos are proud to know from news reports that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger this named a Filipino-American woman, Tani Cantil-Sakauye, as his choice for chief justice of the California Supreme Court.

Per the Governor, Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye has a distinguished history of public service and understands that the role of a justice is not to create law, but to independently and fairly interpret and administer the law.

He added that the Justice was “a living example of the American Dream and when she is confirmed by the voters in November, Judge Cantil-Sakauye will become California’s first Filipina chief justice, adding to our High Court’s already rich diversity.”

News reports state that since 2005, Cantil-Sakauye, of Sacramento, has served as an associate justice for the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento. Previously, she was a superior court judge for the Sacramento County Superior Court from 1997 to 2004 and a municipal court judge for the Sacramento County Municipal Court from 1990 to 1997.

Cantil-Sakauye, 50, worked for the Office of Governor Deukmejian as a deputy
legislative secretary from 1989 to 1990 and as a deputy legal affairs secretary from 1988 to 1989. She was a deputy district attorney for the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office from 1984 to 1988.

Cantil-Sakauye is a member of the California Judicial Council, and is vice chairperson of the Rules and Projects Committee and Judicial Recruitment and Retention Working Group. She is a member of the Commission on Impartial Courts, chairperson of the Judicial Branch Financial Accountability and Efficiency Advisory Committee, and president of the Anthony M. Kennedy Inn of Court.

Cantil-Sakauye earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Davis. Cantil-Sakauye is a Republican.

The vacancy will be created by the retirement of Chief Justice Ronald M. George on 2 January 2011. The compensation for this position is $238,010, news reports state.
The governor’s nomination for chief justice must be submitted to the State Bar’s Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. Once confirmed by the commission, the nominee will appear on the November 2nd ballot for voter approval.

See:
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20100722-282486/Fil-Am-named-chief-justice-of-California-high-court

Ombudsman, a disgrace to the republic.

I am glad to know that opponents of much-maligned Philippine Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez (a loyalist of the equally much-maligned and ex-Philippine Pres. Gloria Arroyo) have formally sought her ouster when they filed an impeachment complaint at the House of Representatives the other day.



The complaint was lodged by former Akbayan partylist Representative Risa Hontiveros, retired military general Danilo Lim, and Felipe and Evelyn Pestano. They charged Gutierrez with betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constituion.



The complainants cited seven grounds for the impeachment of Gutierrez:

* The dismal and unconscionably low conviction rates achieved by the Office of the Ombudsman from 2008 onward, which indicates a criminal level of incompetence amounting to grave dereliction of duty;

* The unreasonable failure to take prompt and immediate action of the complaints filed against various public officials, including former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo with regard to the national broadband network deal with the Chinese firm ZTE Corporation;

* The delay in conducting and concluding its investigation into the wrongful death of ensign Philip Andrew Pestano aboard a Navy Vessel 15 years ago;

* The decision of the Ombudsman upholding the legality and arrest and involuntary detention of Hontiveros in a rally in 2006;

* The failure to investigate the possible wrongdoing and impropriety of the P1-million dinner for the presidential party at the Le Cirque restaurant in New York;

* The repeated failure to take prompt action on a wide variety of cases involving official abuse and corruption; and,

* The refusal to grant ready access to public records such as the Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth of public officials.



The complaint will be endorsed by Akbayan Representatives Walden Bello and Kaka Bag-ao, according to Hontiveros. She said complainants are also rallying the support of congressmen from the Liberal Party, an affiliate of Akbayan, to endorse the complaint.

See

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100722-282536/Impeach-case-vs-Ombudsman-filed

Part II: No Transcript of Evidence Supporting Commital

In our last segment the preliminary inquiry judge specifically adjourned the proceedings in order to permit the Crown to adduce evidence linking Wilton Smith to the murder. Unfortunately, no one will ever be able to scrutenize the evidence which was said to have been presented at Wilton Smith's preliminary inquiry and which resulted in him being commmitted to stand trial on a charge of first degree murder in the Superior Court of Ontario. This is so because the Ministry of the Attorney General for Ontario either destroyed these documents pursuant to its "retention policy" or they lost them. Their position is somewhat ambiguous to me.


The Ministry Retention Policy:

When Wilton Smith retained me to look into the propriety of his conviction I naturally set out to review the evidence adduced at the preliminary inquiry and then move on from there. I could not believe the responses I received when I trieed to recover the transcripts and begin my work.

Ministry of the Attorney General's
letter dated February 28,
2008:

..."please be advised that all of the dates you requested are past the retention schedule set out by the Ministry of the Attorney General. Therefore, transcripts of the dates you requested cannot be produced in this matter."

Yours very truly,


Lynette McHale
Acting Supervisor


Follow up to Mr. Paul Lindsay,
Assistant Deputy Attorney General:

"I woudl be pleased if you would be good enough to provide me with an answer to the following questions:

1. What is the Retention Schedule which is referred to above by your agent ?

2. May I please have a copy of the said Retention Policy ?

3. What is the existing law in Ontario with respect to retaining or preserving transcripts on first degree murder cases or homicide cases generally ?

4. May I have a copy of that policy ?"


Ministry of the Attorney
General's letter dated March 4, 2009:

"Staff in the Toronto Region have now confirmed that tapes of Mr. Smith's preliminary inquiry are available if a transcript is still required. In order to obtain a transcript, please contact Aldo Bruno, Manager of Court Operations, 44 Yonge Street, College Park Building, 2nd Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 2H4....If you still require information about our retention schedules, please let me know."

Yours very truly,


Diana Hunt
Director, Criminal/POA Policy and Programs Branch


Further response on behalf
of the Honourable
Christopher Bentley dated April 9, 2009:

"The Attorney General has requested that I respond to you on his behalf. Please be advised that your request requires further investigation. I have commenced this investigation and will be providing you with a detailed response in the near future.

Thank you again for writing.

Sincerely,


Lou Bartucci, A/Director Court Operations


Ministry of the Attorney General
expresses regret for lack of transcripts:

By way of letter dated June 30, 2009 Mr. Lou Bartucci concluded his investigation into the availability of the preliminary inquiry transcripts - in particular - the portion said to contain the evidence linking Wilton Smith to the crime. The following is what he wrote:

.."please be advised that the Ministry of the Attorney General has been unsuccessful in our attempts at locating the requested transcripts. Please be assured that staff at all levels of the courts have searched thoroughly in order to locate the transcript, as have staff in the Crown law Office but unfortunately a copy of the trancript or tape could not be found. I understand the importance of having the necessary transcripts in order to proceed with your matter adn I do appologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cuase."

Sincerly,

Lou Bartucci, A/Director, Court Operations


Commentary:

It is troubling to me that the requested transcripts are unavailable. It is even more troubling that I have yet to be provided with a clear answer as to their unavailability. To this day, no one from the Ministry of the Attorney General has provided me with a copy of their so called Retention Policy or provided an answer to the very simple questions I posed to Mr. Linday. I remain receptive to answers to these questions.

Note: This piece is written for the sole purpose of encouraging publice discourse on a matter of public importance. I encourage anyone with information regarding this Retention Policy to contact me without delay.

On Vacation for 2 weeks

Even blustering, blithering, bloggers need vacations. I'm signing off for about two weeks. Thanks for putting up with me, participaitng and contributing. Keep up the good work! Take care!
Prof. Ray Kessler

More on the Danziger Bridge incident in New Orleans

One of the most egregious examples of police misconduct in recent years continues to play out aganst New Orleans PD. The latest at LINK

ACLU finally coming around on 2nd Amend.?

One of the most egregious acts of public hypocrisy by a national organization supposedly dedicated to civil rights has been the ACLU's failure to support the individual rights approach to the Second Amendment. For many years they supported a collective rights approach which was rejected by the Supreme Court in D.C. v. Heller. Perhaps the ACLU is eventually going to become a TRUE civil liberties organization some day. LINK

Judge strikes down federal Defense of Marriage Act

A District Court judge struck down parts of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Many conservatives sacrificed federalism (which they claim to value) to pass this law to try to protect the traditional heterosexual definition of marriage. IMHO the DOMA was beyond the powers granted to the federal government and these matters were reserved to the states under the 10th Amendment. LINK Where is it all going to end? There's a good chance it will end with the Supreme Court holding that Equal Protection requires that legal marriage be made equally available to both gays and straights. For a start, see Justice O'Connor's concurring opinion in Lawrence v. Texas. Although O'Connor says her opinion has nothing to do with gay marriage, her logic clearly does. LINK

BART police to get more oversight after suspect killed by officer.

In response the the recent killing of Oscar Grant by BART Officer Johannes Mehserle, the state of California took new steps to increase civilian oversight over BART police. LINK

Oakland/ BART police killing Part Deux?

Just when you hoped things might quiet down in Oakland, another tragic incident involving BART officers. LINK

Murderous Mexican Madness Marches On

18 murdered at Mexican party. In addition to the current chaos, what will Mexico be like when the next generation, who grew up in the midst of a bloody narco-war where many seem to place little value on human life, takes over. LINK

Good summary of last Supreme Court term's decisions

For a short and readable summary of the Supreme Court's decisions from the just-ended term, see the ACLU's. LINK Although the ACLU leans heavily to the left, their summary is almost always fairly bias free.

Brain Drain Taxation as Development Policy

My colleague Yariv Brauner has a forthcoming article titled Brain Drain Taxation as Development Policy.

ABSTRACT: This article examines the potential use of taxation to generate development funds in connection with the immigration of skilled immigrants from developing into developed countries, known as the "brain drain," if designed according to the principles of the new development agenda. It explains that a tax on the brain drain that has been discussed for several decades, yet considered impossible to administer, may be administratively and legally implementable within the framework of the current international tax regime. It argues that designing such a tax according to the principles of the new development agenda, tying together the collection and use of the revenue functions, is essential for the tax to be justifiable and effective. The article proceeds to set the parameters for its design.

The BART shooting tragedy: drawing the handgun rather than the Taser

Article by an officer involved in the criminal case of BART officer Johannes Mehserle. He lists a surprisingly large number of other cases where the officer made the same claim. LINK
Mehserle faces a sentence anywhere from probation to 14 years in prison for his involuntary manslaughter conviction in this case.

New DNA technique, familial matching, nabs accused serial killer

A relatively new DNA matching technique, "familial DNA," helped catch an accused serial killer.
If this technique proves valid and reliable, it could result in even more of the guilty being punished and more of the innocent being cleared. LINK

California to Legalize Marjuana?

Legalizing marijuana is a hot topic in California. It's on an upcoming voter inititiative and has been called a "civil rights issue" by the CA NAACP. LINK
Just in time, there is a new Rand Corp. study on legalizing marijuana in CA. Unfortunately, as the report notes, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions about the effects of legalizaiiton. LINK
Finally, even if legalizied in CA, federal law which bans pot, generally prevails over state laws.
A few years ago, the Supreme Court found that federal law too precedence over CA's medical marijuana law. LINK

Provocative Article on Race and Gun Control

Strong stuff, but there is some truth in there!
LINK

Riots Follow Mehserle Verdict in BART killing

Former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a Black teen. Mehserle claimed he thought he had drawn his Taser and fired it instead of his handgun. Mehserle was initially charged with first-degree murder, but the judge threw out that charge because of insufficient evidence of "premeditation." The jury passed on the more serious charge of second-degree murder. Demonstrations were reported in many cities, but rioting was reported thus far only in Oakland. Many think the verdict was a "compromise." Mehserle faces 2-4 years in prison for the offense, but the jury found an enhancement for a "gun crime" which increases the possible imprisonment from 5-14 years.
LINK

Feds sue Arizona over state immigration enforcement law

The Obama administration has sued the state of Arizona over the state's new law regarding questioning suspects in lawful contact with police (e.g. Terry stop) about possible illegal immigration. As is usual with culture wars issues, emotion trumps reason and facts, and there is lots of heat being generated--but little light. The law is, at least in part, an emotional reaction to frustration caused the inability or unwillingness of the feds to control illegal immigration. Laws based on emotional reactions are often, but not always, unwise. The way I, and others interpret the law, is that there must already be a lawful reason for the officer- citizen contact before the inquiry about citizenship is made. The inquiry about citizenship can then only be made on reasonable suspicion. The way I read existing 4th Amendment and Equal Protection law, ethnicity alone can never justify police intervention. The law does not authorize anything that some state officers in AZ and elsewhere have been doing lawfully for years. The Fourth Amendment and Equal Protection clause and numerous anti-discrimination and anti-profiling laws are available, at least on paper, to prevent abuses. Is it a good policy? Will there be widespread abuse? Who knows! Given that the law has yet to be enforced and that this is an on-its-face challenge based on supremacy clause arguments (which seem dubious in this case since the law assists the feds) it appears to me to be more grandstanding by the Obama administration. See the text of the law at the first link and commentary thereon at the second link LINK
LINK

Great editorial on the McDonald Dissenters.

I don't always agree with conservative columnist Jacob Sullum, but he hit the the nail on the head with this critique of the dissenters in the Second Amendment incorporation (McDonald) case. Constitutional law makes strange bedfellows. It's usually the conservatives who make these arguments in civil rights cases. However, when ideologue liberals don't like the results in a civil rights case, they pull the arguments they have long dismissed out of their result-oriented tools bag. The same tool bag used by the conservative ideologues on the Court.
LINK

Study on Career-Ending Misconduct of Police in NYC

There are lots of interesting and provocative reports of research funded by the U.S. Government that never get any publicity. The U.S. Dept. of Justice Funded this study entitled "Bad Cops: A Study of Career Ending Misconduct Among New York City Police Officers." Relative to the bad publicity, there are surprisingly few NYPD officers whose careers are ended because of brutality and abuse. The authors suggest that NYPD effectively controls and disciplines its officers and thus the low rate of dismissals. Others might disagree. One of the authors is James J. Fyfe--a well-respected criminal justice authority on the police. LINK

African Land Grabbing: Whose Interests Are Served?

A new piece by Brookings Director of the Africa Growth Initiative Ernest Aryeetey discusses transnational land acquisitions in Africa.

New Study on less than lethal weapons, esp. Taser

The Weapons and Equipment Research Institute of Florida Gulf Coast University is the author of
"Less Lethal Weapon Effectiveness, Use of Force, and Suspect and Officer Injuries: A Five-Year Analysis."(Report to NIJ, 2008). The report is generally positive about Tasers. LINK
law and justice foundation,law and justice symbol,law justice and morality,law or justice 1988,relationship between law and justice,difference between law and justice,law and justice careers,law and justice essay law and justice foundation,law and justice symbol,law justice and morality,law or justice 1988,relationship between law and justice,difference between law and justice,law and justice careers,law and justice essay