Second of three- part investigative report on the state of the Armed Forces of the Philippines by Yvonne Chua and Luz Rimban.
As he prepared to leave the Department of National Defense last November, then Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz asked concerned citizens to closely guard the P10-billion fund that will be released for the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ latest modernization plan called the Capability Upgrade Program….
The fate of the contract lies with Ms Arroyo, concurrently the defense secretary. As head of the procuring agency, her approval is needed for the contract to move.
If irregularities and corruption are prevalent in AFP, and up to this time, the only officer known to had been prosecuted and convicted of corruption was one Garcia and it took a foreign country to catch this son-of-a gun, then what would deter the rest of the Garcias to refrain themselves dipping their hands into the kitty??
Having lack of expertise in procurement, as we all knew, the military are trained to do combat duties and be good at that. What should have been done; there should be a procuring body of experts and consultants that are knowledgeable of details and military logistics and armaments to do the procurement for the military that won’t involved the military personnel themselves. And Materials should be field tested in real life test before being bought in quantities.
But the bottom line, once the sanamagans among the corrupts are punished and punished seriously, there will be corruptions and frauds, because you and I knew since that it is the only sure fire way to the life of Wealth and High Society in our kind of society.
The idea that sovereignty can only be endangered by “external” aggressors is a convenient falsehood for those who refuse to see that the internal aggressors are the real reason for the inability of the people to determine their own fate and advanced among the ranks of nations.
I challenge anyone to defend it on principle, logic and morality.
That the government must first solve the root causes before we should insist that the NPA lay down its arms and join the rest of us in democratic processes such as elections is truly a poisonous and despicable doctrine. It is a paralyzing injection of anaesthesia by the propaganda and education arms of the revolutionaries delivered primarily to intellectuals and pundits but also to the general public, whilst they attempt a regime change to totalitarianism.
It is the hypnotic suggestion that we do nothing but protest until the government cleans up its act while any means employed by rebels and insurgents are justified to get to that noble end.
Point, Ellen, is what’s the use of this kind of expose if nothing will be done about it. Over here, when a journalist do this kind of sensational report, other jorunalists pick it up and becomes the topic for morning, afternoon and evening talk shows until some heads are chopped off!
But no so in the Philippines, eh! And though the only ones gnashing their teeth on this one are the bloggers here, nothing can seem effective enough to remove the main culprit in this kind of scam.
The Great Switik is still there for a purpose, kind of give the Filipinos more lessons to learn before they cannot bear it anymore! Let’s face it. Even after 60 years of so-called “independence” even just on a piece of document granted by the US, Filipinos in general have not understood the principle of a government OF, FOR and BY the people, and they have allowed a bunch of crooks to run thecountry like hell.
If we believe the hush-hush talks about how the Garci tapes for example were “discovered,” or the refusal of the US president to grant the ever-beaver Great Switik a tit-for-tat longer than 10 minutes, we know for a fact that the US is not 100 percent happy with and about this midget calling herself president of the Philippine Banana Republic.
Even now, I doubt if they have been sold out by her recent show of loyalty to the US that must have raised eyebrows in China. This cuddling of the Switik by the US Embassy presently is simply a matter of expediency, especially with a Philippine justice secretary acting stupid and negligent, and questioning the legal capability of his own country to indict a horny US soldier, with or without a VFA. If that is not being stupid, what is?
Next time they overhaul the Philippine government, they should also make sure that the AFP is left to just soldiering, and leave the police work to a police not connected with the military. That way, anomalies like this in the AFP can be freely investigated. No more cuddling by the some Switik for favor done to her.
The Erap movie must have been banned because there was the pa-cute-cute scene of the Great Switik thanking those soldiers she promoted to the highest positions in the army, navy and air force for helping her oust Estrada.
No, there’s no camera trick. It isn’t Nora Aunor. It is the Great Switik herself!
PATALSIKIN NA, NOW NA! ALIS DIYAN, BUGAW NA ASTA PROSTITUTA PA!
ystakei
For the first time I support every word of your comment above.
I just thought of sharing this message I received from Senator Pimentel last December. Marami siguro sa inyo ang nakatanggap din ng ganitong mensahe mula sa mahal nating senador. To those who did not, I’m sharing this with you:
From: Aquilino Pimentel Jr. [mailto:nenepimentel@pldtdsl.net]
Sent: Sunday, December 24, 2006 7:37 AM
Subject:
Bing and I wish you, our friend, a Christmas full of love, prosperity and peace. And for our people, freedom, justice and good governance.
In the last days of our session before the Christmas break, Johnny Enrile and I debated the anti terror bill.
I had 59 amendments most of which he accepted. Meaning that they would now be a part of the bill that would be submitted for approval by the Senate anytime after we resume the sessions in January.
Of the amendments that I introduced, the following would probably be the most significant:
1. reducing the arrest and detention of suspects of terrorism without judicial warrant from the original 15 days in the bill (reduced to 5 days by Senators Santiago and Drilon) to not more than 3 days (by me). I argued that this was the most number of days that a person could be arrested and detained without warrants by the constitution.
2. granting wrongfully persons detained persons P50,000 in liquidated damages for every day of detention. A far cry than that which the Oregon resident received from the US ($1.2 million for two weeks of wrongful detention)but as they say here at home, better than nothing). I had actually proposed P1m/day.
3. removing probable grounds the basis of arresting persons suspected or charged with terrorism and changing the basis to the phrase probable cause that has a legal meaning that has been in use in our criminal justice system for arguably at least a century.
I had lots more but they would probably be more understandable if I sent you with your approval the entire package of amendments with the arguments supporting them in another email.
For the moment, I am still of the opinion that the bill is arguably the most terrifying piece of legislation ever presented to Congress for its dire implications on the lives, liberty and property of our people – far more viciously hurtful, indeed, than the charter change proposals.
Today, the eve of Christmas, may I just reiterate my family’s prayers that you and yours will enjoy God’s blessings now and forevermore.
Fraternally,
Nene Pimentel
The fate of the contract lies with Ms Arroyo, her approval is needed for the contract to move.
With so many sectors calling her a cheat, immoral, liar, thief, why is ahe allowed to hold such a position, is it because the people who prop her up also have some gain.
Our relationship with America is not primarily political or military. It is personal. It is not theoretical or ideological. I think once a person grasps this as reality, certain formulae and doctrine will forever sound silly and contrived. I aver that 99.9995% of the Filipinos experience the relationship as I have described, while a tiny minority thinks about it more intellectually.
The relationship being discussed here is between the Americans and the Filipinos, the statement that 99.9995% of the Filipinos experience the relationship as I have described, while a tiny minority thinks about it more intellectually. This leaves me to wonder what percentage is given to Americans who thinks about it ‘intellecually’, more or less and if so why.
GodSaveDConstitution, for some it is more personal than others. The point is not to let such personal relationships lead to divided loyalties as well as get in the way of rational thinking. If we do this, the relationship will turn out to be healthier in the end.
But you are prepared to give the filipino a percentage, my question is what percentage is being given to the American.
Yes, I also wished to be clarified on what personal is. Not political and military but personal? All go hand in hand. Personal din ang ugnayan ng pulitika at militar. Maybe what Gosavesdconstitution meant was the US and the Philippines have a strong personal relationship beyond the benefits politics and military could provide. But I regret to say that it’s a one-sided one. Call it personal if you wish but it’s one sided. Ang pananaw ko po ay laging may kapalit ang mga tulong ng Amerika. Kung sa bagay, give and take lang. Iyan siguro ang ibig sabihin ng personal. Kaya pala personal na nakialam ang US sa paglipat ni Smith ano?
It would be a full time job and numerous very honest guards to keep an eye on the P10 Billion Fund for the AFP. Do we know any honest AFP personnel that can be trusted with such amount of money? Did I say trust, wow! The law of probability and the going trend in the government funds that at least 70% more or less of the amount dedicated to the program or any projects are subject to dissapear without any trace of what happen to the funds and the other 30% believer it or not will be used most likely in one of the AFP wild parties as we seen before in this blog.
Why Avelino Cruz is giving the citizens a fore-warning about the P10 billion anyway? What an ordinary citizen can do to watch such big amount of money when there is no check and balance of where the money is being spent. Supposing, Miguel and Gloria the Rapist decided to take some of that money to German bank(s), so what. And who will dare prosecute the two illegal couple anyway. Why should the citizens waste their time, when those in power won’t do their job. Does Avelino know something that the people should know, why not just bring it to open and let it all hang out. But, Avelino Cruz decided to be cute! May be someone should check all his bank deposits and his strong boxes, just for the heck of it.
Toney
Your right but under-estimated 70% going into pockets (smile) and you should have ended with One Million warm bodies will change it.
This is just like trusting a fox to guard the chicken house. Gloria the Rapist wearing two hats? Secretary of Defense and illegitimate head. Amazing! What this Philippines coming to, to trust the dwarf well known rapist of the constitution with such amount. So, how many new thorougbred horses the P10 billion can buy for the Junior Don? How many abroad bank trips can Senior Mickey Mouse would need to hide the P10 billion? Lets not forget Iggy the fox, he wants also to get a piece of the action. So, the Generals that won’t be out done, they going to want their fair share of the P10 billion, they want payment for protection provided like the godfather, they ain’t dummy. The comelec will not be left out surely, since the May election is fast coming, they going to make certain all Gloria the Rapist boys will be on the winning side and money is a must to buy million votes. My rough calculation, P10 billion might not be enough, AFP might request for more than the amount, at least 25% for contigencies, just in case, for unknown expenses. Happen all the time. Might as well say goodbye now to the P10 billion to save us the heart burn later on. Hard to imagine, putting the P10 billion on Gloria the Rapist sweatie palms and sticky fingers. Gosh!
The first time this talk about billions for military upgrade was the day after Esperon was pelted with mud and rotten eggs at Dilliman. One would think it was gluerias modus operandi of giving bananas in order to mollify assperon.
10 billion bananas is not really that much more compared to six billion spare parts for the modernization of the military during FVR’s watch, which vanished like magic. It has been done before, it can be done again.
wwnl:
I think the One Million Warm Bodies could surely use the P10 billion to support their causes, in such a bad way. If I’ve it such amount and won’t miss it, I’ll surely, gladly part with it, pay the One Million Warm Bodies to park themselves at the gates of Malacanang. They all will be paid, including food three times a day, ’till the job is done and the illegal occupants are all in prison, every single one of them. Won’t that just be dandy?
This mob in the administration now talk in Billions not millions anymore whilst the poorest of the poor are only just surviving from day to day.
1 billion fund? 10% kay gloria. 10% sa DBM. 10% DND. 10% kay asoperon. 10% sa AFP comptroller. 10% sa major service commanders. sa command staff. division commanders. unit commanders. may matitira pa ba?
ooops, 10 billion pala. wala akong kaparte d’yan, ha?
I still dont quite understand what made our relationship to the US as personal..Does this apply to all walks of life in general?? Will the common tao have the same personal relationship as compared to some public official,who might describe the relation as diplomatic? Not all Filipinos have reached the point of being intellectual,much so is true about the americans.I know one american whose relationship was sexual,he is now the subject of a tug of war and soon to snap into Smithereens.
If we only can tap in to some of Gloria the Rapist hidden wealth abroad we can probably feed the entire 40% percent of the population that are considered poor by Philippines standard for the next five years and some. But no such luck! Gloria the Rapist is smarter than most of us, especially those in power to go after Gloria the Rapist. Hypothetically, if by any chance Gloria the Rapist and the family will be evicted from Malacanang like the Marcoses, and if the Philippines will go after their stolen wealth that they stole and from bribes under the seal of the President, perhaps it will take another 20 years or more or never to recover those stolen wealth, if we’ve to use the Marcoses template in recovering stolen wealth. That’s Philippines for you!
cvj,
I could no more divide my loyalty to America and the Philippines than I could divide the love I have for my mother and my father.
Loyalty, like love, is NOT a zero sum game. At least not among the homo sapiens.
There are virtues greater than nationalism that both Americans and Filipinos are personally united by. And always will be. No matter what happens to the governments and constitutions of both nations.
We are tied by the non-abrogatable strings of genetics and history, of design and accident, of all the skeins that make life worth living.
It is a pure illusion to think that the common ground between these two countries is smaller than the gulf that divides them. Our long-term permanent interests as people must never be sacrificed to the short term needs of political or ideological passion.
We are HUMAN BEINGS before, during and long after we are Pinoys or Kanos! Lose sight of that and you become something less!
apoy,
Has Daniel Smith lost the presumption of innocence, to your knowledge?
Ellen,
Please permit me to conduct a simple survey of the Thread. These questions may easily be answered by a Yes or a No.
Has Daniel Smith already lost the presumption of innocence after Judge Pozon’s Ruling on 4 December 2006?
Has the the Philippine Judiciary found him guilty of rape beyond a reasonable doubt?
(No need to answer. But if you honestly believe the answer is NO to both questions, it would explain a lot of the comments you have probably made in the last few posts).
Sorry, actually meant to say:
(No need to answer. But if you honestly believe the answer is Yes to both questions, it would explain a lot of the comments you have probably made in the last few posts).
GodSaveDConstitution, i agree that there is much common ground to build on but just like any pair of sovereign countries, there are situations when the interests of the Philippines and the United States do not coincide. At those times, we are all called upon to make a choice. Two hundred thirty years ago, your countrymen who were tied by even stronger non-abrogatable strings of genetics and history, chose nonetheless to abrogate their links with the British Empire and forge their own destiny. What you see happening here is something similar.
As for your question, the answer is yes to both. The decision of the lower court, if it is to mean anything, has to count for something. The trial is a process that aims to either change the status of the accused from innocent to guilty, or otherwise reaffirm the existing status of the accused as innocent. If after pronouncing guilt, the status of Smith remains innocent, then what was the point of the trial? The appeals process can, of course, reverse or reaffirm the judge’s ruling. At this stage, when the appeals court makes a decision to reverse, then the guilty status of the accused gets anulled. Without such reversal, the lower court’s decision stands. At the very least, you can say that Smith today is provisionally guilty which is not the same as saying that he is innocent.
GSDC
In my own honest opinion,Smith has not lost his presumption of innocence..However,presumption is not a proof or can even prove his innocence..He can be incarcerated all his life even if he is innocent..He might walk free even if he is guilty..Or Judge Pozon might have made a grave error..We are only human,born to make mistakes.. If that is hard for you to take ,that might explain the comments you made on the previous posts.
cvj,
Sorry but the answer to both questions is NO. The point of trial at first instance is really whether the accused will continue to be detained, but he has not been found by the Philippine Judiciary to be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt yet, nor has he lost the presumption of innocence. It is like when the House passes a Bill, it is not yet a Law because the Senate must concur with it! Without the concurrence of the CA and the SC as separate “Houses” of the Judiciary, the verdict of Pozon has not overthrown Smith’s right to be presumed innocent!
Look up 42 SCRA 59 People vs. Dramayo where it is clearly explained.
But truly, if you thought he has lost the presumption of innocence, those who have been speaking as if he had may be accused of Rash Judgment and are as guilty as the House Majority that tried to do con-ass unilaterally.
Vic,
“Having lack of expertise in procurement, as we all knew, the military are trained to do combat duties and be good at that. What should have been done; there should be a procuring body of experts and consultants that are knowledgeable of details and military logistics and armaments to do the procurement for the military that won’t involved the military personnel themselves. And Materials should be field tested in real life test before being bought in quantities.”
What you suggested has been done since 1992!
The AFP modernization law was passed on that premise.
HUNDREDS of officers were EDUCATED in procurement; the AFP modernization plans were a result of THOUSANDS & THOUSANDS of days and weeks of constant educating of people on all AFP and major service command (A5, G, N5, etc) levels including the AFP Modernization Board that kept on being upgraded.
The problem is the rampant practice of NEGOTIATED deals – from bidding to NEGOTIATED deals based on so-called “advantages” for govt. COMPLETE, UTTER HOGWASH!
Angie Reyes negotiated a deal with a favored supplier from the UK in 2003 and where did that land the AFP? 30% MORE EXPENSIVE than if they he had approved the bidding.
Angie Reyes, Narcing Abaya were crooks but the Gloria-Esperon TANDEM will be EVEN BIGGER CROOKS!
Vic,
AFP Procurment manuals abound! Same people who wrote them and finetuned them are now with the DND!
Just ask Vice-Adm Ariston de los Reyes who is Usec DND today!
He can recite the contents of those manuals but the bottom line is these manuals are USELESS because your ordinary general will want a cut and is prepared to sell the AFP procurement rules down the drain to get THAT CUT!
Ellen,
The Filipino people should examine, disect, analyze every bit of expenditure by the AFP for their modernization.
The bulk of the money that Gloria will use to cheat during the May elections WILL COME no doubt from the proceeeds of the cuts she and her minions will make from the AFP modernization funds!
Not only the AFP will be short changed but the Filipino voters as well (taxpayers too, UGH!).
France will hold the International Bourget Air Show, the biggest and most reputable defence show in the world this summer – I can see that brokers, agents, influence peddlers will be scrambling to finance the trips of generals, politicians and their spouses.
Then, there will be the Farnborough Defence Show in England – same deal.
The trips to these shows will not be for learning but will be used to treat AFP officials, DND officials and politicians (and their spouses) to the joys of travelling.
Useless, absolutely useless AFP-DND escapades…
Unless the AFP is overhauled & rid of the graft & corruption, it will remain as useless as the junk weapons they have. It will remain, however, as a political “party” useful for power-hungry leaders, like GLORIA.
What is pitiful are the idealists in the AFP. How can a country be so brazen as to even rape its own military ? Leave it to a GLORIA, I guess.
Chabeli,
Matter of fact, the AFP has some very good equipment in its arsenal – not quite junk but the biggest problem facing the AFP to ensure that the enquipment remain in good condition is their UTTER LACK of maintenance culture.
Most of the equipment that they pruchase end up in the scrapyard because they have no notion that in order to keep them functioning, there has to be a serious maintenance culture.
The AFP practice is to CANNIBALIZE. Those radio coms that the AFP procured under Narcing Abaya should be good enough but our AFP must be educated in maintenance.
You see thousands of gadgets rotting in the warehouses months after they’ve been purchased because besides the absence of serious inventory, AFP leadership DON’T care once they’v procured stuff. They simply go on procuring because that’s where serious money is.
If this LACK or TOTAL ABSENCE OF MAINTENANCE culture continues, not even the entire Philippine budget will suffice to modernize the AFP.
Kaya pala concurrent si Glue as Sec of DND, siempre malaki ang magiging parte niya dahil yung para sa Sec, sa kanya rin. Ganyan talaga sa government. Tawag nga eh, SOP, alam na ng mga suppliers iyan, kaya ang gagawin nila mag-ooverprice, meaning built-in duon sa presyo ang para SOP, or kaya below standard ang idedeliver, or no delivery at all, lalabas na ghost delivery. Checks should be made by the Auditor from COA, but most often, kasama sila sa SOP, so kung baga ang COA ay bling-bling lang ng gobyerno. SOP in govt transactions has been a part of govt silent policy ever since.
Ellen,
Btw, ONE OF THE MOST HONEST generals the AFP ever had (not a dime from AFP corruption to his name) is Vice-Adm Ariston de los Reyes (Rtd) who’s now Usec at DND.
He is also one of the most seriously knowledgeable people in terms of AFP modernization and quite well-versed in defence items comparissons on all levels. But he is a lone voice.
Vice-Adm Mayuga is a helpless case. He not only doesn’t know anything (though intellectually, he might say he does and I will dispute that anytime), he is ALSO CORRUPT. And he’s now with DND.
The other fellow who has first class brain when it comes to defence equipment on ALL LEVELS, even army and navy is former 4-star General Benjie Defensor. However, I have serious misgivings with regards his honesty.
In the Army, it is a pity that General Cris Balaoing (Rtd) has no real say anymore because he can provide good input in terms of Phil Army procurement. He’s well versed but problem is he’s always been a better fighting general. On the whole, he’s always been an honest fellow.
The other guy who is quite knowledgeable in procurement of good stuff and who still in active service is Navy Captain Zyril Carlos (he should be getting his star soon if he still doesn’t have it and as such can join the AFP modernization board.) He was educated in AFP modernization way back in 1992 when he was still a Navy lieutenant.
Oh yeah, Joey Reyes, PAF ain’t bad. He is well versed too with what the Air Force truly needs. Serious brain power there but, as in all things being equal, there is a big question mark after his name when it comes to honesty.
I don’t trust any of the squids in Esperon’s entourage. Esperon himself, besides playing bodyguard to Gloria has no procurement credentials to speak of. Outside of the radio com he uses, I doubt very much if he can even beat a Msgt when it comes to Army guns, 155mm, 105 or 80 mm. That guy is seriously flawed on all levels. Maybe, Garci got to him first.
GodSaveDConstitution, using your line of argument, even Judge Pozon is guilty of making a rash judgement. Unfortunately i don’t have access to the entire text of 42 SCRA 59 People vs. Dramayo, only to excerpts. From what i have read, i don’t see how it would support your conclusion. If you can point me to a complete online copy, then i can read further to validate your assertion. For my part, i can point you to Filipino lawyers who have asserted that the presumption of innocence has already been extinguished by the lower court’s conviction.
You cannot argue on the basis of a loose analogy between the Philippine judiciary’s process of appeal and the process of making laws in a bicameral legislature. A law , a judicial verdict and even the presumption of innocence are different animals and are governed by their independent rules (even though at points they appear analogous with each other). Then there is always the counter-analogy where the Supreme Court is called upon to rule on the constitutionality of an existing law. The law remains valid until the Supreme Court rules that it is unconstitutional. A law does not come into existence only upon a favorable ruling by the Supreme Court.
CVJ,
I oblige…
Here is a case that cites People vs. Dramayo from which I quote the doctrine :
“Only if the judge below and the appellate tribunal could arrive at a conclusion that the crime had been committed precisely by the person on trial under such an exacting test should the sentence be one of conviction. It is thus required that every circumstance favoring his innocence be duly taken into account. The proof against him must survive the test of reason; the strongest suspicion must not be permitted to sway judgment. The conscience must be satisfied that on the defendant could be laid the responsibility for the offense charged; that not only did he perpetrate the act but that it amounted to a crime. What is required then is moral certainty.”
Both the trial judge and appelate courts had to concur and the Court itself had to cast the third and final vote.
In effect, a unanimous vote of three Courts: the RTC, the CA and the SC are needed to overthrow the presumption of innocence.
Pozon is not guilty of rash judgment. He has merely cast the first of up to three votes to convict Smith.
Unless and until the other two votes contain the same moral certainty of his guilt, he will be acquitted.
He has not YET lost the presumption of innocence.
CVJ–
There is nothing loose about my analogy. A law is the product of the legislative process just as much as a verdict is the product of a judicial proceeding. How a bill becomes a law, is entirely analogous to how an accusation becomes a verdict. A law is an Act of the Congress (the entire Congress), just as much as a Verdict is an Act of the Judiciary (the entire Judiciary).
Of course the analogy is not exact, but just as no bill becomes a law without the unanimous concurrence of both Houses of the Congress, likewise, and by complete parity of reasoning, no verdict of guilt is final and executory without the unanimous concurrence of RTC, CA and SC.
Loose analogy? How would you make it tighter?
CVJ–In fact, every judicial decision becomes a part of the Law of the land!
I can’t seem to post an href in the comment thread right now. but google for “people v. dramayo” you’ll find lots of cases that cite this historic decision penned by the great J. Enrique Fernando. Here is the disposative portion though…
“Only if the judge below and the appellate tribunal could arrive at a conclusion that the crime had been committed precisely by the person on trial under such an exacting test should the sentence be one of conviction. It is thus required that every circumstance favoring his innocence be duly taken into account. The proof against him must survive the test of reason; the strongest suspicion must not be permitted to sway judgment. The conscience must be satisfied that on the defendant could be laid the responsibility for the offense charged; that not only did he perpetrate the act but that it amounted to a crime. What is required then is moral certainty.”
Both the trial judge and appelate courts had to concur and the Court itself had to cast the third and final vote.
In effect, a unanimous vote of three Courts: the RTC, the CA and the SC are needed to overthrow the presumption of innocence.
Pozon is not guilty of rash judgment. He has merely cast the first of up to three votes to convict Smith.
Unless and until the other two votes contain the same moral certainty of his guilt, he will be acquitted.
He has not YET lost the presumption of innocence.
i wonder about gsdc’s citizenship. if one has dual citizenship, one can understand divided loyalties. analogies are supposed to create a better understanding but for me it seems to be the opposite here. maybe it is enough to say that people are different with different views specially in politics.
Norpil,
This is more than a difference in opinion. I have been thinking about and researching the question of “presumption of innocence” ever since the verdict of Pozon was handed down. What does my citizenship have to do with a point of the Law and morality. You see, if I am right, and I happen to know I am right, everyone who has been calling Daniel Smith a maniac rapist, are guilty of rash judgment. It is immoral and shameless to not ask people YOU trust if GSDC is right about this.
Oh no sir, it is not just a difference in opinion, but a difference in moral principles. But I am sure, once convinced that this is the right way to understand “judicial proceedings” in the Philippine jurisdiction, most who have exercised such rash judgment will feel abashed and would refrain from indulging in it further. At least I hope so.
IF Ellen Tordesillas is found guilty by the RTC of LIBEL in the suit brought by Mike Arroyo against her, who believes that she will then have lost the “presumption of innocence”?
Dean,
Indulge me, sincerely interested – so what was all that trial under Pozon and all the spiel delivered during the sentencing – this court therefore pronounces you guilty, etc.
Does that count for anything at all?
In that case, half the folks in Muntinlupa who don’t have the money to fight for reversal of the lower court’s sentence are innocent (never mind the “presumed”)…
Does that mean that all those courtroom legal battles are really just step no. 1?
Para sa akin, hindi parin siguradong guilty si Smith! Okey lang sa akin kung meron magalit na bloggers sa statement kong ito. In fact, si Smith ang tunay na biktima dito at kahit sinong babae ang napagtanungan ko ay nagsasabing nagsisinungaling si Nicole.
Ang totoo nyan natukso si Nicole sa gandang lalake ni Smith bukod sa American pa , buti nga pinatos pa siya! Hindi lang niya matanggap pagkatapos siyang gamitin ay basta na lang siya iniwan sa isang tabi na parang basahan, dun siya naghihimutok sa sama ng loob, sa totoo lang!
Kung sasabihin ng iba na kung sa akin nangyari yun anong gagawin ko… kung totoong ginahasa ako ako ha? Syempre magdedemanda rin ako pero walang bitay-bitay [kung meron man] basta magbayad lang ng danyos. Pero kung sa kaso ni Nicole na kusang sumama at di naman pinilit, tatahimik na lang ako at magsisilbing malaking leksyon na lang sa akin yun! Yan ang pananaw ng mga liberated na tulad ko. Sana maunawaan ng mga “manang at manong” na hirap parin tanggapin ang mga pagbabago sa lipunan
ALIS DIYAN MAY KILITI AKO DIYAN!!!
gsdc: citizenship has a lot to do here. if you have a double citizenship, you will be torn between your loyalty to the countries you swear your loyalty to. the guy was found guilty of raping a filipina by a phil court. americans will contest this, otherwise they will belong to the minority in their own country.this is why gma belongs to the 0.0005% which i read somewhere above and which is about 400 persons.
Anna,
The RTC finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is exactly ONE vote count against Smith. ON appeal, the Court of Appeals must find the same guilt by the same exact quantum of proof as the RTC Judge did, but this time there are first 3 justices who must rule unanimously to affirm the ruling of Pozon. If the CA affirms there will 2 out of 3 required “votes” or verdicts of guilty. After the SC rules to affirm, then with three unanimous concurring verdicts, the Philippine Judiciary will have overthrown Daniel Smith’s presumption of innocence and his sentence of conviction will be final and executory.
So of course “all that” in Makati RTC counts for a lot. It is like the House of Representatives has passed a resolution to amend the Constitution in a certain way. If the Senate concurs, why it’s plebiscite time.
Oh, but this principle applies to all such defendant appellants as they are called. Irrespective of citizenship. (Ahem!)…
“We would rather that 9 guilty men go free than a single innocent be unjustly punished!”
Hope I answered the question Anna!
I see the logic Dean but save for the appelation that’s Smith’s today, “convicted rapist”, I couldn’t agree with you more and of course, this means exactly what I advanced up there – more than half perhaps of the guys including convicted (child) rapists in Muntinlupa should be presumend innocent that’s because that most of them convicted rapists, murderers, thieves or what have you, don’t have the money to go to CA to achieve the other “vote” for a nay or yea.
Anyway, what shocks me in the Smith trial is that the 19-yr old marine’s immediate chief and the other fella were let go easily. I DON’T BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE LESS GUILTY if Smith is indeed by your logic, presumed NOT GUILTY. I could very well see the bastard (Smith’s chief) egging the young Marine recruit to do what he did. I believe in command responsibility – therefore that f*ck was equally guilty if not more guilty in all this affair.
I am counting on the US NAVY JAGO to investigate the bastard and pursued for allowing this dastardly even to happen, Semper Fi!
Tell you what Dean, that bastard (the chief) was let go easily – had Smith been my son, I would have had his chief skinned alived, no legal hocus for me, oh boy, no way! And don’t try to convince me that the bastard was innoncent – no way! I know how the Marines work particularly at that level. The bastard ought to be hanged too if there’s any hanging to do.
norpil —
Citizenship OUGHT NOT be the determinant of who we side with in a judicial proceeding. Surely, naman. Di ba? We have to side with truth and justice, even if it ends up that the Pinoy involved is disadvantaged. But if you wish to declare your allegiance to the defense of the Filipino in every criminal case, simply because he or she is a Filipino, that is your own admission of immoral prejudice!
Or did I misunderstand the lesson in Kindergarten and Sunday School?
FYI…
The Philippine Constitution considers as its natural born citizen any person born anywhere in the world whose father or mother was a Filipino citizen. The American Constitution considers as its natural born citizen any person born within US territory. (Only natural born citizens can run for President in either country).
But there is a very large class of human beings, numbering millions and growing, who are natural born DUAL CITIZENS of both the US and the Philippines, namely, any person born in US territory either of whose parents was a Filipino citizen. For these very large number of natural Filipino Americans, their dual citizenship was not a matter of personal choice but accident of birth.
Now, there is also a far smaller number of so called “naturalized” dual citizens. These are persons who were originally Filipino citizens born in the Philippines who acquired US citizenship by naturalization and immigration processes mandated by US Law. Then, by the magic of the so-called Citizenship Reacquisition Act of the Philippines, some of them have indeed reacquired their “lost” Philippine citizenship, mainly to exercise civil, political and economic rights vouchsafed to Pinoys.
Yet I must say, national citizenship is abrogated, or superceded by our citizenship in the Republic of the Truth, Justice and Morality.
Susmaryosep!
Dean,
I don’t know but is it true that even if a US citizen born of both American father and mother but one who is not born on American soil is not eligible to run as US president?
Anna,
Correct me if I am wrong, but is that the creeping shade of a reasonable doubt in Daniel Smith’s guilt that I detect? How sure ARE you of his guilt? Forget the other three Marines. For believe it or not, your argument was used in People vs. Dramayo too! There, a conspiracy for murder was affirmed, even if some of the conspirators charged were acquitted! NO fair bringing up the same thing. Besides the Supreme Court knows what I’m talking about. They’ve already ruled on your point Anna.
BTW, it isn’t “more than half” are presumed innocent until final judgment, it is all are presumed innocent until that 3rd and final verdict of the SC. And it is automatic review for capital crimes. Theoretically no need for money, but surely THAT is not Smith’s fault.
So don’t change the subject dear!
Anna, lots of permutations, and several different ways of becoming “natural born.” you have to ask google. jus sanguinis; jus soli; those are search phrases that lead to interesting info on this
Dean,
Let’s be intellectually honest. I never, ever INDICTED or judged Smith guilty in any of my posts here or elsewhere, not in yours nor in anywhere – and waited for the trial.
I do believe circumstancial evidences pointed to a possible guilt, eg, Nicole being drunk, 4 Marines trained to kill, to overpower any opponent, some of the things I read but you MUST be intellectually honest Dean. I’ve defended Nicole’s version against those who maligned her in the Nicole website with degenerate arguments.
Am also not trying to change the subject – my curiosity is genuine so don’t change the subject, dearie, will you?
And Dean, on the culpability of Smith’s chief based on SC, I’d rather have US Navy Jago opinion on the matter. I would like to know if there’s been any final, official closure at the Navy JAGO level.
I think I told you once in your blog that I have a tendency to believe in the fairness of military justice more than I would in civilian justice.
GodSaveDConstitution, i think the analogy is loose because of two reasons. The first lies in the way a law as opposed to a judicial verdict comes into existence. In a bicameral legislative system, there is no question that a law comes about by a meeting of minds between the House of Representatives and the Senate as two halves of Congress. That is inherent in the bicameral concept. By contrast, the way a verdict comes about depends on the pronouncement of the judge. If the verdict was not rendered, then there would be nothing to appeal. If the appeal is unsuccessful, we do not speak of a verdict coming into existence. On the other hand, if the appeal is successful, we speak of a verdict being set aside. Either way, the verdict existed even before the appeal.
The second reason lies in your construction of the analogy itself. The proper analogy is not between law and verdict, it should be between law and the presumption of innocence i.e., is the coming into existence of a law analogous to the process of extinguishing the presumption of innocence?. Based on my surfing, there is indeed genuine debate on this matter.
The wikipedia entry on presumption of innocence agrees with you that presumption of innocence remains even after a conviction during first-instance trial. So does Pakistani jurisprudence. However, it seems that Canadian, Indian and even American jurisprudence conforms to my interpretation. Therefore, the way to resolve this question is to find out which interpretation we follow here in the Philippines, and not by resorting to analogies.
This is where your reference to people vs. dramayo comes in. The passage that you quote is also the excerpt that i read while googling, but i don’t think it means what you think it means. That’s why i’m still looking for the complete text in order to understand the context in which that decision was made.
Anna,
Okay, sorry, just getting your attention.
So do I take it you believe Daniel Smith has not lost the presumption of innocence even if Pozon has found him guilty of rape beyond a reasonable doubt? (Yes or NO, then why or why not). It is not by the way correct to call him a “convicted rapist” — he is still merely an accused rapist found guilty of rape beyond a reasonable doubt by a judge at trial. He has not yet merited a “sentence of conviction” which will happen as soon as his presumption of innocence is overthrown with a moral certainty by CA and SC.
Can’t answer you on that Dean, much as I’d like to. Let’s put it this way, what you say makes sense but I’d rather have a lawyer confirm that. Fair enough?
Kabayang Diwata, halos pareho ang opinion ko sa iyo tungkol sa kaso ni Nicole. Iniwasan ko lang diretsohin ang tunay kong palagay dahil ayaw kong makasakit ng damdamin ng kapwa at magkaroon ng kaaway. The issue is too hot to talk about. Emotion and anger are still very high. I take into consideration to the fact that she’s a Filipina and a kababayan. But being one of our own and justice are different. Nabanggit ko na minsan dito na marami ang na-convict at nasa bilangguan na walang kasalanan. I think many got my message but I just didn’t want to elaborate until I read your above opinion. It would help to assess her personal background and the case background. Sila pala ay may-ari ng isang bar sa kanilang lugar catering to GIs. Doon niya nakilala ang boy friend niya na isa ding US Marine. Question should be asked why she was there that night at that bar with these guys. Why was she drunk? Nilasing ba siya o talagang malakas siyang uminom? Needless to say, she’s no longer a virgin at maaaring marami nang karanasan sa babae. Her boy friend is also a US Marine. But what’s her intention of suing these guys and pursuing the case? Siguro ang isa sa dahilan ay sulsol ng pamilya, kaibigan, media at mga taong naiki-ride on sa kaso. It has reached to such a proportion that it has caught the eyes of the international media and government. Dumating ang puntong mahirap nang umatras kaya tinuloy-tuloy na. Lalo pa’t nakialam ang Malacanang dito. This Nicole case would be used as one of the bullets against Arroyo this coming election. At puwede din ang isa pang dahilan ay settlement. Hindi siguro nagkasundo sa halaga. Too many people were involved so the price could have reached very hight. Iyan naman ay isa lang anggulo not necessarily tutoo. But in the end, I still maintain my position that rape could have indeed taken place. As I said earlier and I say it now again: Even a prostitute can be a victim or rape.
Sorry po: Maraming karanasan sa lalaki (hindi babae). Baka akala niyo ang ibig kong sabihin Tomboy siya. Thanks.
CVJ,
I am not arguing principally by analogy, but by established Jurisprudence in the Philippine Jurisdiction. People vs. Dramayo is definitive. If you are looking hard for a counter example, try State of Arkansas, where the accused DOES lose the right to be presumed innocent after a JURY trial. But that is Arkansas and some other states and jurisdiction. Not Pinas.
Besides, have you ever heard anybody claim that on appeal the accused must now prove his innocence. That in the SC the burden of proof has shifted to the Defense. Nay! Even at the level of the SC, the moral certainty of proof beyond a reasonable doubt must be accomplished by the Prosection through evidence and testimony alone. Even if the accused offers NO defense!
It is not my opinion but the Supreme Court’s you know. In fact, it appears to be elementary and common knowledge in the legal profession. The media and the lynch mobs have made fools of themselves on this one because they wanted to insist that judicial proceedings don’t include the appeals process! Just like Jdv and House majority on conass…
Anna de Brux,
I stand to be corrected then, regarding the junk weapons, I thought they had. AS you said “the AFP has some very good equipment in its arsenal” & what the problem really is the maintenance of these equipments. I appreciate the your explanation. Indeed, we learn something new everyday.
You also say that you “don’t trust any of the squids in Esperon’s entourage. Esperon himself, besides playing bodyguard to Gloria has no procurement credentials to speak of. Outside of the radio com he uses, I doubt very much if he can even beat a Msgt when it comes to Army guns, 155mm, 105 or 80 mm. That guy is seriously flawed on all levels. Maybe, Garci got to him first.” GREAT COMMENTS !
CVJ–It’s not my fault you don’t have a hardcopy of 42 SCRA 59. You can borrow mine if you like, just to check your theories out about “the context” of my citation from it.
Dean,
Re “The media and the lynch mobs have made fools of themselves on this one because they wanted to insist that judicial proceedings don’t include the appeals process!”
I think you will find that the “lynch mobs” you speak of (and I suppose you’ve conveniently included me) were out for blood, I believe not so much against pretty American boy Smith but against the legal acrobatics that Gloria and her handlers performed to get Smith away from the madding crowd BEFORE THE CA gave its verdict.
You must understand where we, lynch mob folks are coming from – Gloria ain’t exactly the paragon of truth and virtue.
Ooops, meant, “I’ve defended Nicole’s version against those who maligned her in the Nicole website AGAINST degenerates and their degenerate arguments.”
Gotta be consistent – gotta listen to both sides of the story. Who said that? Oh darn, t’was you Dean. Heheheh!
You’re welcome Chabeli!
Anna,
I want to say this correctly this time:
The means do not justify the end!
I just find it ironic how angry everyone was at the administration for moving smith to us custody (as the VFA plainly and explicitly states until all judicial proceedings are done) even before the CA ruled. Yet that is exactly what the lynch mobs are doing also in considering him a convicted rapist and wanting to terminate proceedings now that there is one vote from the RTC that they happen to agree with.
It’s moral inconsistency, enough to make one laugh and cry.
But I need accuse no one. Every one knows what “clubs” they are members in.
Legal acrobatics! What about trying to turn Nicole into some kind of pundit issuing challenges to international agreements. She’s fast becoming a public figure, no?
Re: “What about trying to turn Nicole into some kind of pundit issuing challenges to international agreements. She’s fast becoming a public figure, no? ” Not my cup of tea Dean so ain’t and won’t be privy to that sort of circus act.
I’m looking at it from a humane point of view. Both Smith and Nicole were and continue to be apalling victims of atrocious circumstances. This shouldn’t have happened but it did. What people ought to do is to calm down and to let Nicole get on with her life. That’s my view. I also found that the sentence of 40 years (???) is pretty stiff. But who am I to question Philippine justice, eh, Dean?
Whatever one says, I find poor Smith, half-educated, egged to do what he did by a “superior”, intellectually incapable of making his own judgement, as most young 19-yr old marines are in his case, equally a victim just like Nicole.
Anna, you asked,”I don’t know but is it true that even if a US citizen born of both American father and mother but one who is not born on American soil is not eligible to run as US president? ”
I think it’s true because before 1991, when Subic and Clark were still American bases,a political officer in the U.S. Embassy, Vicky Middleton, purposely gave birth in Subic because she said, I don’t want to deprive my child the opportunity to become U.S. president.”
These 19-yr olds also happen to be trusted with military firepower and asked to make judgement, to make a choice of when to kill and not to kill, yet are not trained when to keep their libido out of sight. But that’s life.
Thanks, Ellen. That’s what I thought. My son asked me this long ago and occured to me that I did do a search – US law stipulates that indeed.
anna,
I don’t know that military personnel are trained to be buyers. To me it’s just like like having your chickens fence in with the wolves. Not even with our Military, with proven integrity that they do the procurements. The Military will give the government their needs and it will be up for the Ministry of Defence people to do the procurement, the civilians.
But like I said in addition to my previous comment which I will paste here: “But the bottom line, once the sanamagans among the corrupts are punished and punished seriously, there will be corruptions and frauds, because you and I knew since that it is the only sure fire way to the life of Wealth and High Society in our kind of society.”
GodSaveDConstitution, we are in agreement then that the way to resolve this is by citing established jurisprudence and not by the use of analogies. I already mentioned that i do not think People vs. Dramayo resolves this issue. I could be wrong which is why i prefer to read the entire 42 SCRA 59 to understand what was really being decided by that case. (I’ll try to get hold of a hardcopy the next time i visit Manila.) In the meantime, i’ve seen Filipino lawyers go on record as saying that the presumption of innocence has already been lost. So the question still remains, is the Philippines similar American, Canadian and Indian jurisprudence or do we follow wikipedia and Pakistani justice? It’s a question of fact that i’m prepared to accept either way.
BTW, by hoping that the CA reverses Pozon’s decision, i take it that you’re also betting against your personal belief on Daniel Smiths guilt?
Ms. Tordesillas, I think in the US one should be a natural born citizen to be eligible to run for the highest office of the land. Hindi puwede iyong naturalized lang. That’s why California Governor Arnold can never be US President even if he wants. He’s also a naturalized US citizen. But I’m not sure about this thing that one should be born in US soil. Kung parehong US citizens ang parents at sa ibang lugar ipinanganak, the person is as good as a natural born citizen. That’s a very good question.
Vic,
In theory, I do know that people I’ve talked to at the DND and elsewhere in the political spectrum, want to do the same thing as you do in Canada, in the UK, in France, in Germany, etc.
But lemme say that Pinas at the time was training people from the military to make the specs for their procurement program. The military didn’t have any formal procurement knowledge coz the US had always done it for them through FMS and FMF so, when the US junked those in Pinas, our military boys had to start somehwere, that being the case, they had to go through the learning processes, trained to know equipment literally, then trained to draft specs and to evaluate these specs and equipment based on foreign nations’ military procurement, arsenals, etc.
You see very few of the AFP guys prior to 1992 never had a chance to even see modern equipment, let alone know how to evaluate them; if the military couldn’t even tell our leadership what their needs (except for a few basic items) because they really don’t know, how on earth can they even start to draft specs which could then be used by a procurement board. (For instance, the first missiles that were ever handled by many military officers and shown how to work were thanks to yours truly.)
That’s why I said, there are people in the military who were exposed, trained, shown how other countries do that.
What Pinas does to assemble that knowledge into some kind of methodology to be used eventually by an official procurement agency is something else.
The AFP Modernization Board was formally organized during Erap’s time. Philipino civilians still have a long way to go when it comes to tech specs but of course, once they haved outlined their procurement methodologies, I see no reason why Pinas could not have same procurement agency manned by many civilians just like we have in France, the UK, the US, etc.
For info, Vic, what you say re procurement methodology is how the AFP is doing it, I suspect in there is no gray area there. However, there’s a great chance that bids are being rigged (understatement).
Ooops, meanr, “The AFP Modernization Board was OFFICIALLY organized during Erap’s time although it (AFPMB) had been set up but not at the level it was set up during Erap’s time, thanks to shithead Orly Mercado!”
The Procurement Unit in the AFP or any government agency is a very lucrative department. Marami ang kumikita at yumayaman diyan. Ghost invoice and delivery is the common practice. This now reminds me of this Gen. Garcia who was charged and convicted of graft and corruption. Diyan siya galing.
Which procurement unit are you speaking of? J4? J4 as it is charged with procurment of heheheh – pencils, toilette paper, bond paper of the AFP,ok, ok, just kidding.
If we speak of the AFP Modernization, it’s even more lucrative.
Drats, drats and double drats! I meant, AFP MODERNIZATION BOARD
Ms. de Brux, I’m impressed by your familiarity of the different units in the Armed Forces. Were you in the service before? Opo. J-4 yata ang procurement. Ang J-1 ay administration, J-2 ay intelligence, J-3 yata ay operation. AFP Modernization is more lucrative? Of course. It’s big time. Pang matagalan na racket iyan. May mga advance delivery at payment pa iyan. Lalo na ngayong iba na ang tawag sa AFP. It’s now called Arroyo’s Forces of the Philippines.
Anna, I agree with you that bids are rigged. It would be naive to think otherwise. I have heard it many tmes and in many places that “that is how the game is played”.
How to rig a bid? Eeeeeasy! Our boys in the AFP or in DND and the guys in the Defence Committee/s in Congress don’t have to learn that from abroad!
For that matter, not only the AFP knows how to rig the bid? you can go down to the Barangay level and “el kapitan”, can give a pointer or two about rigging. The malignancy is just about complete.
Vic, that’s the way the wheel goes – you summed it up for us very, very neatly.
anna, before I left RP in 75, i worked for the PRY (Philippine Railway Co.) in Iloilo. My cousin was the Asst. Mgr. (the Manager was off-Residence) and the Chief Engineer was the purchasing agent and the vendors were dummnies. And the mark-up (200 pesos billed as 6000)
I quit and immigrated to Canada..
Vic, I understand and believe you me, the corruption IN THE MILITARY does NOT stop with military folks. People at the political level are heavily involved too, eg., Congressmen, Senators, department officials (outside of DND), etc.
The AFP Modernization Board did not just sprout into being without some kind of “blessing” from above.
Orly Mercado and his coterie of doctors at the DND were part and parcel of the whole shebang.
Ed Ermita himself was part and parcel of the whole chain saw gang, er just gang, even when he was already a Congressman. JdV too when he was Speaker under FVR.
Even the guy who carried the attaché case or brief case of FVR was involved; his son-in-law was a notorious INFLUENCE PEDDLER….
Congressmen Sulpico and Paras and their co-spice boys were too. Oh boy, and the list goes on and on and on…
In dealing with government, doing business with them, maraming kausap. Even the one handing you the check, the ordinary secretary have to be befriended. Delivery to the warehouse or office, you need to give something to the receiver or checker. Lahat kailangan lagyan. That’s the sad state of our government agencies. It’s already in the system. Dapat lahat maligaya or else….papalitan ang supplier.
Even Paquito Diaz the actor (whom I understand is now deceased) used to peddle influence during Erap’s time! Heheh! But mind you, he was good at the DBM level…
“Congressmen Sulpico and Paras and their co-spice boys were too. ”
Those two made LOADS of money not directly from the AFP but from somewhere else indirectly involved with military contracts… heh!
If Sulpico and Paras decide to sue me for saying this, they had better think twice, three times and more before they do it…
I don’t think Paquito Diaz is dead. You might be referring to his brother Romy Diaz who died of cancer. If Paquito is still alive, he could be disabled. Nagka-cancer din yata. About Sulpico and Paras, I don’t remember they being in the group of the Spice Boys. The Spice Boys I know were those with Mike Defensor. Si Paras pala wala na sa opposition. Independent na daw. Duda din ako sa mga indepedent tulad ni Enrile. Independent kasi flexible, puwede at madaling kausapin.
Re Paquito Diaz: Oh is that so? Drats! Sorry! He was very very ill so I just passed him for dead coz his girlfriend and business partner thought he was going to die.
Okay lang po Ms. de brux. Pero tutoo po iyon na maraming racket din si Paquito noon palibhasa kasi close kay President Erap. Hindi naman garapal tulad ng ibang mga tauhan ni Arroyo. I don’t know his condition now. Ang huling alam ko nagmamakaawa na tulungan siya sa kanyang sakit. I’m not sure if his showbiz friends helped him. Many actors and actresses died poor. Many didn’t get the help they needed from their colleagues. Dapat tingnan nila ito. Lalo na iyon mga rank and file tulad ng production staff, camera men, stuntmen. Nakaawa sila at kanilang pamilya. There was this Mowelfund organized by Erap. I don’t know how it’s functioning these days.
On the question of natural-born US citizens, here’s one link for a possible answer: http://beginnersguide.com/immigration/us-citizenship/what-are-naturalborn-us-citizens.php
In case the link does not work, here, in part, is what the page states:
What are natural-born U.S. citizens?
by the Beginners Guide Staff
Last updated July 17, 2006
Most United States citizens are natural-born citizens, meaning they have been citizens since birth by virtue of having been born in the United States or born to United States citizens overseas.
Children born in the United States (including not only the 50 states and the District of Columbia, but also, in most cases, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Panama Canal Zone before it was returned to Panama), are U.S. citizens at birth (unless born to foreign diplomatic staff), regardless of the citizenship or nationality of the parents. A birth certificate is considered evidence of citizenship.
A child born to two United States citizens who are abroad at the time of the baby’s birth is considered a natural-born citizen as well.
In most cases, one is a U.S. citizen if both of the following are true:
1. Both their parents were U.S. citizens at the time of their birth
2. At least one of their parents lived in the United States prior to their birth.
On the law-making process under the bicameral Congress, let’s not forget that the process is not complete until the president signs the bill into law. Indeed, the president may exercise his/her veto power. Of course, Congress may override that veto if it has enough votes. Just a minor detail. I hope this does not complicate the analogy.
CVJ,
This is not a minor thing. It is fundamental to the operation of the Judiciary. The way to ask knowledgeable lawyers about presumption of innocence in the Philippine jurisdiction is perhaps this: does the burden of proof ever shift from Prosecution to Defense between RTC, CA and SC?
If NO, then he won’t lose the presumption of innocence until the SC rules he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The analogy with the House + Senate + President is only there to show how reasonable and consistent it be that a verdict only become final and executory when RTC + CA + SC concur in the finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Together these three “Houses” of the Judiciary comprise the “jury” in our system.
GodSaveDConstitution, presumption of innocence is a separate concept from burden of proof and the two should not be confused with each other. Even if a person loses the presumption of innocence after trial at first instance and prior to appeal, the burden of proof does not shift. That’s why different countries can afford to have different rules on this matter without it being a human rights issue. That’s also the reason why the ‘jury’ or bicameral legislature’ analogy does not hold with regard to presumption of innocence.
CVJ,
Yes they are separate but intimately related concepts. When an accused is presumed innocent the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt rests squarely on the Prosecution. When an accused is not presumed innocent the burden of proving innocence shifts to the Defense, by parity of logic.
How can the burden of proof NOT shift if an accused person loses the presumption of innocence, which is tantamount to a presumption of guilt?
Anna,
Rigging bids is not new. Rackets abound even from day one of Philippine independence I understand, whether from Spain or the US. I should mention that Aguinaldo, for example, made a lot of money for joining the KKK. Spain paid him money to go on exile as a matter of fact.
The Philippines got the largest compensations from Japan and the US for damages in WWII, rehabilitation of the country included, but it was not actually when Marcos became president that blueprints of highways for construction done in the early late 40’s were reviewed, and constructions went underway. Intramuros for instance was finally cleaned up and beautified only then, more than 20 years after being bombed by Americans when Japanese troops holed up there at the end of the war.
I remember translating in fact documents on complaints regarding anomalies at the department in charge of construction of the Japan-Philippine Highway financed with reparations payments, and reading articles about it in Japanese newspapers that would embarrass any Filipino that could be sensitive and feel shame about those bid-rigging, etc. Kakahiya talaga!
Mandirigma, ellen na lang ang tawag mo sa akin.
Sige po, Ellen. I’m used to addressing people as Mr. and Mrs. Nakasanayan ko na po. Napag-usapan din lang dito ang mga transaction sa AFP, I have my own story to tell but it’s not about AFP but dealing with government. My uncle used to supply a large government agency in the past. Malakas siya sa purchaser o procurement official (they mean the same). Siyempre bawa’t order ay may lagay. My uncle did good and lived a comfortable life feeding a family of 12. Tapos may nangyari. Pinalitan ang purchaser. Ang pumalit ayaw sa uncle ko. May ibang mas maganda ang offer at bigay. So, my uncle’s business suffered. Mula sa masaganang pamumuhay ay medyo naghirap siya. His kids (my cousins) were forced to be working students to support themselves. My uncle sufferred from depression and became an alcoholic. Today, he’s still fine pero iba na talaga. Nakakaawa din. The lesson from the above story means it doesn’t pay to deal with these government people. Short term lang iyan. Kahit sa AFP, madalas palitan ang mga Hepe at may hawak na departmento.
Just sharing:
BAYAN USA wrote: Sovereignty made cheap; RP one of biggest recipients of US military aid
The umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan is accusing the government of putting a price tag on RP-US relations, saying that this has cheapened the country’s sovereignty and has led to compromises with the US .
According to Bayan, the Philippines is one of the largest recipients of foreign military aid from the US , thus explaining the attitude of the Arroyo government towards the souring of the relations between the two countries.
However, Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr. dismissed as a myth the claim that the Philippines stands to benefit from continued US military presence in the country. The Arroyo government has claimed that the existence of the Visiting Forces Agreement has resulted in immense benefits for the Philippines .
Citing reports from the Library of US Congress-Federal Research Division on the Philippines dated March 2006, the total U.S. military assistance to the Philippines rose from US$38 million in 2001 to US$114 million in 2003 and a projected US$164 million in 2005.
“This makes the Philippines one of the largest recipient of US foreign military assistance. Still, this can’t be used to justify RP subservience to US dictates. You can’t put a price tag on sovereignty,” Reyes said.
And it remains big even for this year. According to the US Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations (Fiscal Year 2007), the Philippines will continue to receive a hefty amount of military aid, though much smaller compared to staunch US allies like Israel.
Worldwide, the biggest recipients of US Foreign Military Financing (FMF), a component of Foreign Military Assistance (FMA) include in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Columbia, Poland and the Philippines, according to the US Congress budget report.
In the same report, the Philippines is also the largest recipient of FMF in the East Asia and the Pacific Region, bigger than the combined FMF for Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia and Mongolia.
Bayan also revealed that based on a Federal Research Division case study on the Philippines, another $2.7 million was given as part of the International Military Education and Training (IMET) Program in 2004. In 2005, the Philippines received $2.9 million for the IMET, the third largest recipient of US military education and training support, behind Turkey and Jordan.
At $148 million, the Philippines is also the number one recipient in Asia of Excess Defense Articles.
“US military assistance to the Philippines may appear big, especially from the viewpoint of a mendicant Philippine government. This may explain why the Arroyo regime will do anything to please the US government, even if this means surrendering sovereignty and jurisdiction over convicted criminals,” Reyes said.
“It is appalling that the Philippine government would surrender national dignity in exchange for ‘excess defense articles’ or surplus military goods. That is the height of cheapness,” Reyes said.
GodSaveDConstitution, to answer how the Court of Appeals ensures that the burden of proof is not unduly shifted to the accused, we have to look into the rules governing the appeals process itself. For practical purposes, the issue is not as problematic as you think since even in countries where the presumption of innocence is extinguished, the right of appeal still exists. The right to appeal which Smith can choose to exercise is guaranteed whether or not he is still presumed innocent.
Of course, Smith can also choose not to exercise his right, in which case the guilty verdict will stand. (Conceptually, it is more cumbersome to treat this as a transition from innocence to guilt which would be implied under your interpretation.) The optional nature of the right to appeal is another reason why your analogy to the bicameral legislative process does not hold because in the latter, the Constitution does not allow either the Senate or the House to waive their lawmaking powers.
Godsavedconstitution, puwede bang iklian mo ang pangalan mo? Gawin mo na lang IligtasngDiyosangkonstitusiyon. Okay ba pards?