Statement of the Ateneo Law School Student Council re: CJ Appointment Controversy

The Ateneo Law School Student Council calls on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to exercise prudence, restraint, and statesmanship in deferring the appointment of the next chief justice of the Supreme Court to the duly elected President in the coming May 10, 2010 elections.

The impending retirement of Chief Justice Renato Puno on 17 May 2010 has been shrouded with much issue and controversy, centering on the power of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to appoint the next head of the Judiciary. The issue has centered on two conflicting provisions of the 1987 Constitution, one which prohibits the President from making appointments to positions 60 days before the succeeding elections, the so-called “midnight appointments” prohibition, and another which calls on the President to fill in any vacancy in the position of chief justice within 90 days from its occurrence. Various individuals and groups have called on the president not to make the appointment, while the Palace has said that the President will choose the next chief justice to fulfill her constitutional mandate.

The Constitution, in clear and unequivocal terms prohibits any appointments to be made by the President during the 90 day period before the end of her term. Although the President is mandated to fill in any vacancy in the judiciary 90 days from its occurrence, this power and duty is limited by the above constitutional provision. The proscription on “midnight appointments” should be read and harmonized with the duty of the president to fill in vacancies as a qualification on the mandate to make such an appointment. The clear intent of the framers of our constitution is to shield the appointing power of the president from patronage politics and the use of the government for self-interest. Provisions in the Constitution should be read in harmony with each other, and one provision cannot be separated from any other.

We thus call on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to exercise prudence, restraint, and statesmanship by not appointing the next chief justice and allowing the next president elect to make the said decision. The rule of law must be upheld and respected; no one is above the law and the Constitution, not even the President. Our institutions, especially the judiciary, must be insulated from partisan politics. At a time when the Philippines lacks moral leadership and ascendancy, at a point when the integrity of our institutions are being challenged, and at an age when the rule of law faces challenges amidst a sea of injustice, the President must show the people and the world that she is a President bent on protecting and promoting our democracy and our democratic institutions.

An Environmental Convert Story

Here's a story which would hopefully inspire people out there who think that nothing should be done to help our environment (or perhaps are to lazy to actually do anything).

A year ago, I picked up an idea from one of my professors on how to have your own compost pit at home. It's really simple: all you need is a pail, a balde, some soil (depends on how much biodegradable waste you have), and perhaps a small shovel. Put some soil in the, enough to cover the bottom. Then throw in your waste; place them in such a way as to cover the soil. After this, sprinkle some soil over the waste. Repeat the process until the pail is full. At this point, it would be advisable to have a second pail as your next compost pit. Eventually, you will be using the soil (with the decomposted waste) as the soil you will use to cover your new waste.

Now, to the story of the convert. Before, I was the only one at home who put my biodegradable watse into the compost pit. About 2 weeks ago, I convinced my mother, and eventualy my entire household, to place any biodergadable waste into the compost pit. And as it turns out, they were impressed with the results. The amount of grabage we throw has been significantly reduced, and my mother has noticed it. Now, we not only recycle our plastics and papers, we even compost our own waste. The soil that will be produced by the pit can be used to beef up other plants, or can be used as healthy soil for new plants.

Now, I hope this will inspire the lazy and the skeptical to do your part to save the environment.

Weather, weather lang...

I finally found time (after months and months of hopelessly trying to write) to update my blog. This entry will deal with my thoughts on a host of topics and ideas, current events and subjects.

Election 2010

It seems like the race for the presidency will be a multi-candidate race, with the opposition having multiple candidates with the likes of Erap, Villar, Noynoy, Bro. Eddie, and possibly Jamby and Chiz. We may once again see the opposition vote being split by the multiple candidates, which would then give an advantage to the admiistration candidate, who will mostly have Teodoro as its standard bearer. Of course, we have Bayani Fernando and Jun Ebdane from the admin who also want to jump into the fray, and this can also disrupt the admin machinery. I think the opposition should unite under 1 candidate to improve its chances against the Lakas-Kampi machinery. Although surveys point to opposition candidates in the lead, the nationwide scope of the admin party could eventually deliver in May 2010.

Registration Ends on Oct 31

Registration for new voters ended last Oct 31, with long lines and angry crowds being shown on the news. The angry registrants were blaming the COMELEC for the slow and long process. However, I think the COMELEC is not to blame. Registration has been going on for months, with numerous infomercials and ads informing the public about the registration and its impending end. Those people should have gone to register early if they didn't want to wait in long lines under the sun. COMELEC has done its part; we as citizens should be more responsible and have registerd early.

Prize freeze on Oil

Oil companies and transport groups have called on Malacanan to lift EO 839, which imposed a price freeze on oil products. They have threatened strikes and supply shortages. They're just worried about losing their billions in profits. Malacanan should keep the price freeze until the areas badly affected by the recent calamities have fully recovered.

More to follow..(hopefully soon)

Buti Pa Sa UK...May Hiya Ang Mga Politiko!

Buti pa sa UK, may hiya ang mga politiko, at may PAKI ang mga tao.

It came out recently in the news that members of Britain's parliament were found to have used public funds for personal expenses. Some MPs used it to renovate houses or farms, some used it to pay for mortgage payments, while others were found to have used tax payer's money to pay for sex videos in a hotel. The news came out a few months ago, but the fall out is only being felt now. Ministers and MPs are apologizing, some have even offered to resign. A recent poll even showed that 72% of Britons want polls to be held now as a sign of outrage and disgusts over the scandal. PM Gordon Brown even made apublci apology on behalf of his Labor Partymates.

Buti pa sa kanila, ganyan ang nangyayari. Dito sa atin sa Pilipinas, wala kang makikitang ganyan. Yumayaman ang politoko sa hindi mapaliwanag na paraan, pero ang tao walang ginagawa o walang sinasabi. Ni hindi nga nahihiya na ipakita ng politiko namayaman siya! Dito sa atin, wala kang makikitang politikong hihingi ng tawad dahil nagkamali siya sa paggamit ng pera ng bayan: siya pa nga ang unang magagalit pag hindi siya nabigyan ng kanyang mahiwagang pork barrel. Buti pa sa UK, galit ang mga tao sa mga walang-hiyang politiko...pero dito sa atin, marahil galit nga ang marami, ngunit wala naman silang gustong gawin kasi iniisip nila wala namang mangyayari.

Sana maging halimbawa para sa atin ang ginagawa ng mga taga-Inglatera. Sana mamulat din tayo, sana mainis at magalit din tayo sa mga pagnanakaw, panloloko, at panlilinlang na ginagawa ng ilang kawani sa gobyerno. Hindi namang kailangan punta sa kalye at mag rally. Ipaalam lang natin sa kanila na galit tayo, at ipaalam natin sa kanila na hindi tayo nakakalimot, dahil sa susunod na eleksyon, mas magiging matalino na tayo sa pagpili ng ating mga politiko. Hindi na tayo magpapaloko sa mga walang-hiyang magnanakaw na kunyari lang naman ang pagnanais niyang maglingkod.

Automating the Philippine Elections: Kaya Ba?

It recently came out in the news that 1 bidder in COMELEC's attempt to automate the 2010 elections was deemed eligible, but wa snot yet declared the winning bidder. Other bidders have been disqualified, some are asking for reconsideration, while others are still trying to bid. While all this is happening, the question in some people's mind is: can we really have automated elections in a year's time? Or more importantly: can we have automated elections in 2010, that are clean, honest, orderly, transparent, and credible?

The COMELEC would like to have a fully automated system using the PCOS (Precinct Count Optical Scan) system. We would have 80,000 machines nationwide where in people will have their ballots scanned, and after the voting, results will automatically be transmitted to the municipal and city canvassing centers. Although this system seems all good and problem free, critics and skeptics have aired some concern. First, there is not enough time to actually ensure that all the needed preparations are done properly before 2010. Second, there is still doubt as to the capacity of COMELEC to handle a fully automated system. Its own automated elections advisory council, in a report, expessed doubts as to COMELEC's capacity, based n the existing technological capacity and infrastructure of the commission. There is another sector, a group of local IT experts, who are advocating that the COMELEC adopt an open election system given the time constraints and the capacity of the commission. This system still involves the usual manual voting process that we're all used to. The only new thing is that the transmission of the results will be automated. Less money needed, fewer new things to teach people, but you still have a faster electoral process, and you lessen the possibility of whole sale cheating at the canvassing level.

I personally would prefer a fully automated system - it's about time we had one in our country! But I also believe that we shouldn't force to fully automate if our COMELEC and the entire country is not prepared. What is needed now is for us to be vigilant and to guard the whole bidding and procurement process. More on this to come.