An Alternative Choice for President

(Babble On for the Sunstar Davao, Feb. 20, 2009)

Who do we  vote for in the next Presidential elections?  Well, in case you didn’t know, next year is another opportunity for us to choose our President. 2010 is a Presidential election year. These things only happen once every 6 years.

And what makes this one special is that for the first time in a long while, it is a wide open field. Well, sort of.

We know that the current ruling parties, Lakas CMD and the President’s own KAMPI have to field candidates for the top job. The question of course is whether they can do it together via an alliance, or will they do it separately, if unification deals don’t actually push through.

Another question when it comes to the ruling parties, if they unite for the elections, is who should be their candidate for top dog?

I am sure there is a long list of people who want to take that slot, but I think that, of those people in that possible list, nearly none of them will be a winnable candidate (think of a guy obsessed with the color pink, a city mayor, and a former tv newscaster).

Then there’s the Opposition. I am sure they see opportunity knocking on the door, in the same way that the Democrats saw opportunity when George W. Bush’s term was ending.

The Democrats knew that the American people were largely fed up with a Republican administration, and that it was the best time for a Democrat to come to power. And so you had the Barack Obama phenomenon.

Some members of the Opposition have already begun to jump on that same Obama bandwagon, trumpeting that they are the best candidate for hope (think of the city mayor whose city is arguably the financial center of the country).

Even the deposed President Erap has somewhat thrown his hat into the fray, with rumors of his running as a candidate in 2010 buzzing all over the political field.

Some lawyers have even circulated their legal theory that he can still run for President, despite contrary opinions from other legal experts and the clear wording in the Constitution, which states that a President cannot run for election.

A number of  senators are also interested in the job, I hear.

A former lady newscaster is still considering running, despite the bad taste the vice-presidential election left in her mouth. Mr. Palengke is raring to go, and continue the family legacy of Presidential leadership. All he needs to do now is get a wife, who could possibly be the next First Lady. A major newscaster is supposed to be interested in that wife position.

Then there is the smart and very eloquent young senator named Chiz. Some say he may be too young for the job, although he would make an interesting alternative candidate. In my opinion though, his youth may make him a viable candidate for Vice-President, rather than President.

Even the sitting Chief Justice has been named as a possible candidate for President. I strongly do not believe he should run, since it would mean leaving the Chief Justice seat up for grabs and open to the appointing power of the current President. But if Puno does run for president, I would vote for him in a heartbeat. I still hope he doesn’t run though.

But since the field for the Presidency in 2010 seems so wide open, have we Dabawenyos ever thought about this interesting option? Mayor Duterte is finishing up his third term. He can no longer run as Mayor in the next election. And from what I hear, he has no taste for a legislative seat. Being a man of action, he has always preferred being in an executive position like Mayor.

So why not run for President, Mayor Rody?

Think about it. He’s got a great background of success, is nearly as famous as most Senators  (I once saw several Senators walk up to him and say hi while he was in Manila) and has a tough take-no-prisoners style which would serve him well in the rough and tumble field of national politics.

Sure he is a long shot, but imagine what he could do if he were President. It would be like having a disciplinarian like former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew in charge of the Philippines.

I don’t know about you, but I would love for our country to be like Singapore.

Think about it.

A Look at Bush’s Legacy

(Babble On Column for  The Sunstar Davao, Friday, January 23, 2009)

People will remember this week as a historical one. This week, a black man, President Barack Obama, became President of the United States.

However, I will remember this week, not so much for Obama’s ascendancy, but for George W. Bush’s descent into infamy, and his long painful ride into the sunset.

So for now, let’s forget about Obama for a minute, and look at George W. Bush.

Former President George W. Bush (and I am sure many will rejoice at being able to call him FORMER president), started out his term in the White House riddled with controversy.

He won a bitterly contested election that required hordes of lawyers from both the Democrat and Republican parties to argue endlessly over the legalities of counting chads.

Winning this election, and coming to power in such a manner, was already a foretelling of the future. In the same way that Bush came into office, hounded by controversy and ridicule, he leaves in basically the same way.

What happened in his two terms as President is a sad tale at how high, and how low, a President and his country can go.

From becoming a leader of a powerful nation with the backing of the civilized world, ready to face the challenges of terrorism after 9-11, the United States and Bush became a financially weakened state, with little to no international support or credibility. The United States became a hollow shell of what it once was, and what it could have been.

Unloved, unpopular and leaving a horrible legacy of debt (the U.S. financial crisis), death (the Iraq War) and disaster (Hurricane Katrina) Bush left office with the largest disapproval rating since Nixon resigned.

It is a wonder he wasn’t forced to do the same, considering how many international and domestic laws his secretive administration may have broken. The next few months will be very interesting for the many disclosures that will come out, now that that Obama’s more open administration is in power.

I feel sad about Bush. He is a Christian man, very devout in his faith, and with a strong sense that God had put him in power for a reason – to save the world from terrorism. He failed in that task.

Terrorism is as rampant in the world as it was when 9-11 happened. If only that was the only place where he failed. But he failed his country, and the world, financially as well. The world economic downturn took place during his term.

There are debates as to whether he could have prevented it. Nevertheless, it happened during his watch. And as Truman says, the buck stops here.

Ironically enough, Bush has taken to comparing himself with Harry Truman, a Democrat who was an unpopular president during his time, but was redeemed by history and is now widely considered one of the best Presidents the United States ever had.

But Bush is nowhere near being a Truman. Specifically because Truman never blatantly violated human rights, which is something Bush’s administration did with impunity, and is clearly his worst legacy.

This legacy of torture is embodied in Guantanamo Bay. A place where Bush made torture and violation of human rights an everyday practice. This is patently against international law.

But he did it anyway, using loose legal reasoning by a young legal scholar named John Yoo, as his basis for torture, among others.

Whether or not Bush will suffer the consequences for his actions and decisions remains to be seen. But he will forever have to face the shame of being a failure as President. And that is a punishment which will follow him the rest of his life, and in the history of the world.

In any event, Bush is gone. Obama is here. And the world may be all the better for it.

Trying To Oust A Chief Justice

If the rumors I have been hearing are true, there is a scramble to oust the current Chief Justice via the unpromulgated Limkaichong case. The only way to oust a Justice of the Supreme Court, even a Chief Justice, is by impeachment, and I honestly don’t see any ground in this case.

Presuming then that there is indeed no real ground for impeachment, what would be the point about the loud rumors of impeaching a Chief Justice? I can see no other reason except to attack the reputation of a reputable Chief Justice, one who is widely considered as the best constitutionalist in the Court today and a champion of human rights who shepherded the creation of the Rules on the Writ of Amparo and Habeas Data.

Chief Justice Puno has a strong reputation in legal circles as an intelligent and learned legal scholar, whose opinions on Constitutional and even political issues are greatly respected.

So why sully his reputation? Perhaps the people working in the shadows are hoping the Chief will resign on his own and clear the path for the President to have a grand sweep of the Court? But from what I know of the Chief’s character, he is unlikely to do that. Instead, he will stay true to his duty to the law and the Court, and stay in his position as the Chief Justice.

Do the people behind this move really think impeachment will succeed though? Impeachment has never succeeded yet in this country or under this current Constitution. The closest we came to impeachment was the impeachment trial of Erap Estrada, which ultimately led to his political downfall over the unopened envelope issue (although he got pardoned after his conviction in the Sandiganbayan anyway).

It is deeply suspicious that it is usually the more respected Chief Justices who get slapped with impeachment proceedings. Chief Justice Davide once got shot with an impeachment case. It didn’t even come close to succeeding, since the public furor over that scuttled the case. Now another Chief Justice is being targeted over what I can only presume to be political reasons. But I am betting that this rumored attempt to impeach the Chief Justice will not succeed either. It will get no support, not politically nor publicly.

Remember, this is the Chief Justice who fought extrajudicial killings with the Rules on Amparo and Habeas Data. Civil Society will fight to defend him, and even the media is likely to side with the Chief.

When will politics keep their hands off the Court? When will our government institutions start to respect each other? When will the time come that a good man, a Chief Justice, will not be attacked (or impeached) without good reason?

I don’t know if that will happen in my lifetime.

I know one thing though, this purported move to oust the Chief Justice will not succeed. I know it, and I think the people who are vainly trying to take him down know it too. The most they can do is try to tarnish his reputation and legacy.

Well good luck with that Sirs and Madames. Because I am betting that even this will not succeed.

(Cross-posted with Filipino Voices. Column piece for the Sunstar Davao)

Where’s Our Obama?

(Babble On column for Sunstar Davao, Friday Nov. 7, 2008)

Obama won, and the whole world couldn’t be happier.

I am a supporter of Obama too, even if I couldn’t vote for him. I hoped and prayed he would win, in order to help change America and the world.

But watching him give his victory speech, listening to him evoke feelings of hope, change and possibility, I am suddenly melancholic. I can’t help but feel just a little bit sad.

Sad because America has now shifted political directions for the better, while Philippine politics remains the same.

Sad because America is evolving, while the Philippines is not.

Sad because a Black man, a minority, and from all indications NOT a rich man, can become President of the United States; while minorities in the Philippines and people who are NOT rich, cannot become President.

Sad because America has a leader they can be proud of, while we, for the time being, do not.

Sad because America’s elections is bloodless with no deaths or guns or goons, while our own elections involves goons, guns, gold, vote-buying and fertilizer scams.

Sad because America now has hope, while we remain hopeless.

Not only am I sad, but I am also envious. One man is galvanizing America for the better. Here in the Philippines, we have no such man. Or at least, not yet. Where’s that man? Where’s our change? Where’s our hope? Where’s our Obama?

I guess we’ll find out in 2010.

Obama DOES Have Negative Ads

In my column for Oct. 31, 2008, I said that Obama was principled because he does not run negative ads. However, according to the Chicago Tribune, it would seem I was mistaken.

Since the start, the Wisconsin Advertising Project at the University of Wisconsin at Madison reports that 73 percent of the ads McCain has aired and 61 percent of Obama’s have been negative.

A reader of my column, who calls himself Father Martin, also emailed me about my statement on negative ads, saying the following, among other things:

I read the article and found it to be okay until I got to the part “(he has, so far, refused to run a negative campaign against McCain.)” If that be the case then why do the CNN and independent monitors of the campaigns surveys of negative ads show the Obama camp has aired more negative ads than McCain’s camp. Of course the Obama camp has aired far more ads positive and negative due to Obama having more funds. They both have degenerated into negative ads. For you to say that Obama has not is totally false.

The Nielsen Wire website also says roughly the same thing:

Despite finger-pointing from both sides, Barack Obama and John McCain’s presidential campaigns have run almost the same number of negative local campaign ads, Nielsen Monitor-Plus reported Thursday.

From June 3, when the primaries ended, through Sept. 7, the most recent reporting period, the McCain campaign ran 76,192 negative ads against Obama. During the same time period, the Obama campaign placed 75,246 negative commercials against McCain.

And finally, Katherine, in a comment on the Brazen Careerist website on my article on Barack Obama, said this:

I have to agree with Amir in that you can’t count your chickens before they hatch. Although I think it’s unfortunate that race may be the biggest variable on election day, there is a definite chance that either more people will vote in support of Obama than the polls show or the exact opposite will happen. And many of the national polls are tightening as well, although the exact differences vary depending on the poll. The reality is that no one will know who our next president is until November 5.

Also, every campaign in recent years has engaged in negative campaign tactics and despite his principles you mentioned earlier, Obama’s campaign is no different. As a percentage of total ads, Obama’s campaign has aired 12% less than McCain’s , but in comparable terms, he’s only aired approximately 1,000 negative campaign ads less than McCain, which is minimal when you consider the sheer number of ads both campaigns run. Regardless of who’s getting your vote on Tuesday, it’s important to recognize that negative campaign tactics are a political reality these days (not to say they’re effective), and neither campaign has better principles than the other in this case.

In the end, I made a BIG mistake, and all I can say is I’m sorry. No excuses. I apologize for that error, and would like to assure my readers I will be more careful in the future.

But in any event, it seems that currently Obama has been on the receiving end of more negative ads than McCain. But both parties do engage in it, which is sadly, a political reality.

President Barack Obama

Babble On for the Sunstar Davao, Friday, October 31, 2008

We are at the dawn of a new era.

Although the U.S. Presidential election and its campaign season is not yet over, it is clear to any person that America will soon have its first Black President, Barack Obama.

Nevertheless, against all odds, John McCain still believes he can pull off an upset.

Unfortunately for him, history is not on his side. Few American presidential candidates have ever come back from a large deficit in the polls to win an election. (He is said to be trailing anywhere from 5-10 percentage points as of this writing.) Al Gore came close in the highly contested 2000 election against George W. Bush, but in the end he still lost that one and he became the man who SHOULD have been America’s President.

Perhaps McCain is thinking he can emulate Ronald Reagan who beat Jimmy Carter and became President despite trailing in nearly double-digit percentage points in the Gallup polls prior to the Election proper. But Reagan’s comeback can be traced to his clear victory in the debate with Carter, where Reagan told off Carter with the question “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”

This debate victory was fresh in the minds of voters when they went to the polls. McCain will have no such luck when voting begins, as the three debates he had with Obama were inconclusive draws with no clear victor.

Many now consider the race all but over, even some quarters of the Republican party, which is McCain’s own party, believe it’s over. It would take a major miracle for McCain to pull off a win, which is too bad for him.

McCain, who is 71 years old, is unlikely to be able to run for the Presidency again. This is his last race for the presidency, and it is probably the closest he can ever get to the White House.

So it will soon be President Barack Obama. And the world may well be better for it.

Frankly, it may be time for our Filipino leaders in the government to pick up copies of Obama’s book “The Audacity of Hope,” in order to get a better idea of how he thinks and of his stand on specific issues. I’ve gone through it myself, and though I disagree with some of his opinions in the book (his stand on abortion is one example), he is clearly an intelligent person who has given great thought to the issues of the day, carefully considering the angles involved before making a decision.

This would be in stark contrast to the current U.S. President, who is said to make decisions based on his personal beliefs, looks at the world in black and white, and does not always weigh all the pros and cons before making a choice.

I, for one, am excited at the possibility of a Black President, who is not only smart (he was a graduate of Harvard Law School and a member of its law review), but also principled (he has, so far, refused to run a negative attack campaign against McCain), and a careful decision-maker, who will engage the world rather than bully it as Bush did.

History is about to happen. And although we can’t help make it happen (Filipinos obviously cannot vote in the U.S. Presidential Election), we at least get ring-side seats.

Support Our Own

Babble On for the Sunstar Davao, Friday, Oct. 17. 2008

At a time of worldwide economic turmoil, when even our vaunted OFWs are unable to help our economy with their remittances, it is time for the Filipino people to seriously consider supporting our own. Our own industries, our own products, and even our own country.

Our people have always preferred foreign things. If we could afford it, we would buy Armani instead of Bench, Havaianas instead of Banana Peel, Minute Maid instead of Zesto, Maxim magazine instead of Manual magazine, Starbucks instead of Bo’s coffee club or Brew Crew.

Our choice of food also reflects this mindset. Filipino food is considered simple cooking and no one would go eat at an classy Filipino restaurant like Sentro or Abe, when they could eat instead at Friday’s or Italiani’s, or at fancy and expensive hotels which are owned by foreign conglomerates.

And when money is an issue we Filipinos buy the cheapest product out there instead, which is never the Filipino product, but the Chinese one. Most of the popular commodities which Filipinos purchase now like milk or luncheon meat is from China and is the preferred choice not only because it is foreign but also because it is dirt-cheap.

Even in our choice of travel destinations Filipinos prefer foreign over local. Filipinos often choose to travel abroad and go to exotic locales like Paris or Britain. And yet most of us have not fully explored our own country.

The Filipino loves the foreign over the local.

Some people call this mindset the colonial mentality. I just call it short-sighted thinking. The more we support or love foreign things, the more we buy foreign goods. The more foreign goods we buy, the more Filipino money goes out of our country. The more money that goes out of our country, the less money there is to run our economy.

Yes this is a fairly simplistic characterization, but we must remember that sometimes it is the simple idea that makes the difference. It is sometimes the simple idea that people can grasp. And to clearly spell it out, the simple idea is this: the more money goes out of the Philippines, the less money there is in the Philippines.

It is that simple, and that clear.

Despite this simple idea, our colonial mentality spurs us to keep buying or supporting foreign goods. I say enough. Let’s support our own.

There are countless top-notch Filipino products and places out there. You like nice clothes? Buy Bench or Folded & Hung. You like hamburgers? Eat at Jollibee or Burger Machine. You into beaches? Go to Antulang Beach Resort in Dumaguete or Boracay Island or Pearl Farm.

Let me repeat. It is a simple idea. If we support our own, we put more money into our own economy. With more money in our economy, it is less likely that the Philippines will drown under the tidal wave of economic pain that is engulfing the world.

There is a Chinese saying, “Don’t let fertile water flow into other’s fields.”

Let the Filipino water flow into Filipino fields. Let’s support our own.

***

I was on an early flight to Manila from Davao a few weeks back and was checked in very quickly and efficiently by Mr. Butch Casimiro, a ground manager for Philippine Airlines in the Davao International Airport.

He has a tip for passengers on popular, and consequently very full flights. When you purchase your tickets you can already pre-book your seats on the plane. This way, you are assured of a seat on the plane no matter what.

I hope Mr. Casimiro’s tip can be of help to travelers on very busy flights.

Singapore Lawyer Runs off to the Philippines

Singapore Lawyer Runs off to the Philippines

A Singaporean lawyer, Zulkifli Amin who has been missing since November 2007, ran off to the Philippines to escape possible criminal charges. Here’s the kicker – he billed the plane ticket to his law firm.

So he not only got away, he charged someone else to do so too. Talk about adding insult to injury.

According to the Strait Times, Zulkifli is under investigation for $6 million Singaporean dollars that went missing. A lawyer for seven years, Zulkifli is a partner in the Sadique, Marican and ZM Amin law firm. He was in charge of the conveyance and real estate department.

According to K.C. Vijayan, the Law Correspondent of the Strait Times, the runaway lawyer may have taken on “more work than he could handle.” Some of the transactions incurred financial penalties for delays. A number of these penalties were quite severe and allegedly caused Zulkifli to dip into other accounts he handled in order to pay off the surcharges.

This is illegal, and when other penalties started adding up, the whole thing “may
have snowballed,” according to the Times.

The interesting thing about this news report is Zulkifli’s choice of country. I am surprised Zulkifli picked the Philippines. Our country is not exactly the kind of place one would pick as a safe haven for criminals (unless you count the alleged training grounds for terrorists in the South, but even then Mr. Zulkifli isn’t exactly a terrorist).

Granted, the borders of the Philippines are porous; getting in and out of the country has never been particularly hard, and there are a number of Filipino fugitives who remain hidden to this day, such as COMELEC officer Lintang Bedol.

But I would have thought Zulkifli would have run off to some place like the Cayman Islands, or to Switzerland to escape the law, as traditionally seen in movies and novels.

As of this writing, I don’t know if the Singaporean government has contacted the Philippine one to investigate or apprehend Zulkifli. I do hope the Philippines does catch him though, if he is still in the country.

Otherwise, this rogue lawyer may not only give lawyers a bad name, he may also wind up giving our country a new reputation: as a hideout for criminals.

And no Filipino wants that. Ever.

Predictions for 2008

Predictions for 2008

(Babble On column for the Sunstar Davao, Friday Dec. 28, 2007)

It’s the end of the year and it’s time for writers and columnists to write about what they think will happen next year in 2008. Here are my bold predictions:

1.) More Political Storms Will Rock the Philippines – Every year there is always some big political event which rocks the nation’s stability. This year it was the Trillanes takeover of the Peninsula, the ZTE brouhaha and accusations of electoral fraud during the elections, among others. In the previous years we had wire-tapping scandals, grave charges of corruption and a lot more. I don’t believe the next year will be any exception. Heck we’ve gotten so used to political scandals in our country, it already feels like a normal event. Which is sort of sad, actually. But that’s Philippine politics for you.

2.) The Philippine Stock Market Will Go Up. – After a very turbulent year for the market, I believe that next year, it will shoot up. I know the market remains volatile and I may sound too optimistic, but stock brokers seem to agree with my upbeat prediction.

Analysts from the Abacus Securities Corporation believe that the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index will rise to 5,000 by the second half of 2008, if not sooner (as of this writing, the index is hovering around the 3,500-3,600 mark).

Stockbrokers aren’t the only ones upbeat about the market. Big time companies Cebu Pacific and Pepsi-Cola Philippines plan to list in the market come 2008. The message is clear: it’s time to invest in the stock market. We just have to be careful about it, of course.

A Guess At What Some Prominent Filipinos Want for Christmas

A Guess at What Some Prominent Filipinos Want for Christmas

(Babble On, for the Sunstar Davao, Friday Dec. 21, 2007)

It’s that time of the year when people are accustomed to getting Christmas presents from their loved ones.

The thing is though, we always think of what we want for Christmas, or perhaps what our family and close friends want to get on Christmas day. Yet we seem to forget about what politicians and prominent Filipinos could possibly want as Christmas presents. It probably never even enters our minds.

But it’s something to ponder. What do you think personalities like Trillanes, Pres. Arroyo, Erap Estrada, Jose de Venecia and others want as gifts, all wrapped up and ready for them under the Christmas tree?

Here are a couple of wild guesses.

Senator Trillanes – this one’s easy to figure out. He’ll want a pardon for Christmas. Or at the very least, a get out of jail free card. Anything, so he can finally fulfill his mandate as Senator. Unfortunately, since the Senator has been somewhat naughty this year (remember the Peninsula?) it’s unlikely Santa Claus will give him that pardon.

Trllanes Says Sorry

Trillanes Says Sorry

(Babble On for the Sunstar Davao, Dec. 14, 2007)

Like every other Filipino out there, I’m fairly forgiving.

In fact, Filipinos have seemingly developed a reputation for forgiveness. How else can we explain the pardon for former President Erap Estrada and the return to political and social prominence of the Marcos clan?

But even I would draw the line at Senator Trillanes’ apology in the court room of Judge Oscar Pimentel last Tuesday.

According to the Philippine Star, Trillanes and his companions, in a letter to Pimentel, said that: “It was never the intention of (the) accused to cause a commotion, much less a walkout,” and that they “meant no disrespect for the court.”

No disrespect? They walk out of the courtroom in what was clearly a pre-planned event, took over a hotel and called for the people to rise against the government, and they’re saying they “meant no disrespect” and didn’t mean to “cause a commotion?”

A lot of people would disagree, especially the Peninsula hotel’s staff and personnel.

I Was Wrong: How Trillanes DIDN’T Affect The Economy

Hmm….

I was pleasantly surprised today. In a post written shortly after the Makati Standoff, I predicted that Trillanes would make our upswinging economy go down, and make our stock market and peso fall. Turns out I was wrong.

Though Trillanes did affect the international perspective of our country, it didn’t slow our economy down. Thank goodness for that. Based on Monday’s stock market performance, everything seemed to be going up up up. Investors are upbeat, and the peso strong. Even the Peninsula is upbeat after last week’s Makati standoff. We’re back, they announced today as that grand hotel reopened.

Perhaps people were impressed at how quickly the government handled the crisis, with no fatalities and little to no extra damage, save for a damaged hotel and a controversial incident where a number of journalists were hauled off to a faraway camp.

But even with those as negatives, government is already making amends to the Press, with no less than the President telling government units not to rile the media. In fact, that controversy with the Media may have a positive effect as well, because now government and the Media are meeting to discuss “rules of engagement” in order to avoid a repeat of that incident.

For the first time in what seems like a long time, things seem to be looking up for the Philippines. Despite everything, we remain strong and hopeful and bullish on the future.

I have never been so glad to be as wrong as I am now.

We still have to make sure to keep Trillanes and company away from five-star hotels though.

An Angry Media: The Arrest of the Peninsula Journalists

An Angry Media: The Arrest of the Peninsula Journalists

A Quick Word on the Arrest of the Makati Standoff Journalists.

If there’s one thing the government may soon be sorry about, it is this: the arrest of the journalists who were in the Peninsula during the Makati Standoff.

That arrest twisted what was an otherwise triumphant moment for the administration into another foolish defeat. The story of the day was no longer just Senator Trillanes’ takeover and subsequent surrender at the Peninsula hotel. It soon focused on the “abuse” of the government and its supposed attack on the freedom of the press.

According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Maria Ressa, the head of the network’s Current Affairs department, said in an official statement that, “We in ABS-CBN News strongly condemn the illegal arrests of our reporters and our colleagues in the media and decry the atrocious treatment [they were] subjected to in the hands of the police.”

Looks like the victory party for the administration is short-lived. The government may now have to contend with an increasingly hostile and pissed-off press.

ABS-CBN is even mulling the filing of charges against the PNP for their treatment of their journalists.

According to a report, the National Press Club also condemned the PNP’s actions. “The police simply went overboard. There was no reason for the arrests to begin with. And there was absolutely no reason to handcuff or tie the hands of journalists with plastic. They were treated like they themselves were suspects in a crime,” the NPC said in a report from the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The story is now shifting and changing. It has twisted into something the government didn’t want and didn’t need, and most of all, the government could have avoided, if they had simply acted with a little more discretion. Instead they went overboard. They may soon reap what they have sown at the Peninsula.

The Media is mad. And it looks like they aren’t going to take this sitting down.

Trillanes Takes Over The Peninsula

Trillanes Takes Over the Peninsula

Here we go again.

The right honorable Senator Trillanes is showing us how much he respects the rule of law in our country by walking out of the courtroom where his case was being heard by Judge Oscar Pimentel. He is now holed up in the Peninsula Hotel over in Makati.

Pundits are calling this another coup attempt, like the Oakwood Mutiny fiasco a few years ago. Which, by the way, was led and masterminded by the SAME guy. Good old Trillanes. Except back then, he didn’t have the Senator tag on him yet.

I respect our leaders. The people voted for him and made him Senator. I disagreed greatly with him being voted into power because I believed that he had no qualifications to be Senator, aside from being a would-be coup leader. But he won, and that was that.

So far his performance as Senator has been less than exemplary though. Since being voted into power, he has used his position to call for countless hearings against the government, virtually blamed the administration for the explosion at Glorietta as part of some sort of conspiracy (where he cited confidential sources which, to date, he has refused to name), and now he has tried another coup attempt of sorts.

Explosion in Congress

Explosion in Congress

(Babble On for the Sunstar Davao, November 16, 2007)

It is said that April is the cruelest month. For the victims of the latest explosion in our country, November may be the cruelest month instead. Cruelty rained down in Congress on Tuesday night, just as the session ended and congressmen and their staffers were leaving. A bomb exploded at the South Lobby of the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.

The devastation was swift and unexpected. It killed Basilan Representative Wahab Akbar and the driver of Gabriella Representative Luzviminda Calolot-Ilagan, who was herself injured (Rep. Ilagan is an Ateneo de Davao University graduate and former faculty member of its Humanities Division). Several others were also wounded, left dazed, bloodied and walking around in shock. They never knew what hit them.

Explosion at Congress

Explosion at Congress

(Initial Blog Post)

Details are sketchy but our country has now had another explosion. That’s 2 explosions in little less than a month. Anymore explosions and the Philippines may invite comparisons with Pakistan or even Iraq, where explosions happen almost everyday.

This explosion, which seems to have been caused by a bomb, happened in the Batasang Pambansa Complex. It killed Basilan Representative Wahab Akbar and the driver of Gabriella Representative Luz Ilagan and wounded several others.

In this particular case, all indications seem to point to it being a bomb, unlike the Glorietta Explosion, which to date, remains controversial. No less than House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. claims that the explosion was a bomb. The Speaker reportedly told a radio station that “There is a bomb that exploded in the South Wing of the Batasan Complex.”

Let’s pray that no more explosions occur. I, for one, have had enough of those to last me a lifetime. Sadly however, I believe this may not be the last explosion I will see in my own lifetime, nor will it be the last you will see in our country.

Keep Praying.

Mortality

Mortality

(Babble On, for the Sunstar Davao, Nov. 2, 2007)

All Saints’ day and All Souls’ day never fails to make me think about my own mortality. A visit to the cemetery to see the tombstone of my father, Franklin Chiew Lee, who was killed in an incident in the outskirts of the city twenty years ago, is a stark reminder of how death will someday come for us all.

I still remember when I heard my father was dead. I was barely 8 years old, and it was already late that night. I remember watching television and my mother coming in to tell the kids father was gone. In theory, I should have understood the finality of that statement.

The Estrada Pardon

The Estrada Pardon

It’s official. President Arroyo will pardon former President Estrada. Estrada, who had been convicted by the Sandiganbayan barely a month ago, will soon be a free man with no criminal liabilities attaching to him.

Pardon and executive clemency is a power granted to the President by virtue of the Constitution. She has the discretion to grant it to whomever she believes deserves this form of legal mercy.

The use of such power in a high-profile case is not without precedent. It has happened before in the United States, when President Gerald Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon after he resigned due to the Watergate scandal. So in a sense, President Arroyo’s actions not only has legal basis, but also historical antecedents as well.

But if we are to look at history, the use of the pardoning power involves controversy rather than mercy. Whatever semblance of merciful anticipation is lost in the overwhelming din of scandal. President Clinton’s last act in office was pardoning Mark Rich, a man largely considered a crook. President Ford’s first “great” act as President was pardoning Nixon, and his presidential career never recovered. He was soon hounded by accusations that he had sold out the American people, that he had made a deal with Nixon in order to become the next president (Ford was Nixon’s then vice-president and next in line). In the next presidential elections where Ford sought his own mandate to lead, he was overwhelmingly trounced by Jimmy Carter.

Arroyo’s pardon will probably have that same negative effect. Even at this early stage there is already opposition to the pardon from various sectors of society. Former President Ramos even believes that pardon may lead to Arroyo’s downfall.

Although the pardon may be needed in order for the Filipino people to move on, I do believe that granting the pardon so soon is a slap in the face of our criminal justice system. The Sandiganbayan and Special Prosecutor Villa-Ignacio spent around 2 years convicting Estrada. And in little less than a month, that conviction is thrown to the winds? The President should have waited, if only out of respect to the law and to the concept of justice.

These are now the questions on everyone’s minds: is the pardon the tipping point for the Arroyo Presidency? Are we seeing a shift in power and the resurgence of the Estrada political factions? Is there a new political alliance in the works? Or is this just the kindness of a merciful President?

In politics, we have just seen that literally anything is possible. For now we must bow to the executive discretion of the President, and wait for what that pardon could herald.

So whether that pardon be good or bad for the country, remains to be seen.

Some Explosive Points from Glorietta 2

Some Explosive Points From Glorietta 2

(Babble On for the Sunstar Davao, Oct. 26, 2007)

The explosion last week at Glorietta 2 is an indication of the current state of affairs of the Philippines. A few “explosive” points about the way things are in our country have come to the forefront because of it.

1. We don’t trust the President – a number of columnists, politicians and even much of the public blamed our very own President for the explosion. They say that Malacanang palace caused the incident to keep the public’s interest away from the many political controversies hounding the government (i.e. pay-outs to local government executives, broadband deals with China, corruption, etc.).

Eulogy for Felix Chiew

Eulogy for Felix Chiew

(Babble On, for the Sunstar Davao, Oct. 19, 2007)

On Oct. 9, 2007, my granduncle Felix Chiew passed away. In honor of his life, I am publishing here the beautiful eulogy given by Dr. Bernard Chiew. God Bless Uncle Felix. We miss you.

Eulogy for Papa

I. Intro
We are all gathered here today to honor Papa Felix. Some of you here might not have known Papa or only known a certain aspect of his life. As a way of honoring him, let me introduce you to the father we knew and loved.

II.
Papa or Apa to the rest of the family is the eldest in a family of 9 children. He was born in Davao City in 1927 to a tailor and a housewife. They lived in San Pedro Street where my grandfather had his tailoring shop. He studied at the Davao City High School. After he finished high school at the Davao City High School, he helped his father out in the tailoring shop. It would be eight years later before he would go to college in Mindanao Colleges, the present University of Mindanao, where he took B.S. Commerce, major in accounting.

Life was not easy and he had to work as a teacher assistant and an athlete scholar just to be able to finish college. But graduate he did. For this he was greatly indebted to the late, Dean Florencio Facundo, who took Papa under his wings. After graduation, he taught accounting at U.M. He eventually went to settle in Gensan for greener pastures in 1966. He started his own business by putting up a grocery store. He managed it for a little over 20 years until be finally retired.

Blog Action Day: A Quick Look at International Environmental Law

Blog Action Day: A Quick Look at International Environmental Law

It is not a coincidence that many of the world’s leaders now worry about the environment. For years, scientists have been trying to tell the world that the environment is in danger. Few have listened. But that has, thankfully, begun to change. You have celebrities like Al Gore promoting his movie “An Inconvenient Truth,” and Leo Dicaprio with his “11th Hour.” You have hybrid cars that attempt to do less damage to the environment. You have groups trying to help save the environment such as Greenpeace, World Wildlife Federation, to name a few.

Even the law has taken notice of the pains of the environment. There has been great interest in environmental laws and the necessary systems to enforce them, both in the international realm and in domestic jurisdictions.

A Treaty with Darth Vader: The Revenge of the President

A Treaty with Darth Vader: The Revenge of the President

(Babble On, published on May 20, 2005)

In an attempt to lift dwindling approval ratings, the Philippine Supreme President Glory MakiStarwars Ayoko signed a treaty that entered the Philippines into a strategic alliance with the Intergalactic Empire. Lord Darth Vader, personal representative of Emperor Palpatine, signed for the Empire.

In a ceremony in Manila City, the President and Vader, despite the large height difference, shook hands in a historic agreement dubbed “The Revenge of the President.” The treaty would allow the Empire to recruit Filipinos into the Stormtrooper Legions, in exchange for large amounts of money which will go into the treasury of the Philippine Government. Another stipulation in the treaty would allow the Philippines to call on the Empire to aid them in times of rebellion or invasion.

The Red Ribbon Committee

The Red Ribbon Committee

Note: Originally entitled “Senate Cites Wrong Cabinet Member in Contempt.”

(Babble On, Published on Sept. 23, 2005)

The Senate’s newly revamped and renamed Red Ribbon Committee, after being stymied in their attempt during a hearing to get answers from an unhelpful Cabinet official surnamed Gonzales, cited him for contempt.

Senator Dyoker Ayoko, who is the Chairman of the Red Ribbon Committee and was responsible for the Committee’s name change in honor of a famous Filipino bakery, distributed yummy chocolate cakes and ordered the Committee’s Sergeant-at-arms to give out coffee. The Senator then ordered the Sergeant-at-arms to take the Cabinet official into custody.

“We cite him in contempt,” said the Senator. “Oh and pass me some of that Black Forest cake.”