by Tessa Jamandre
VERA Files
International law and constitutional law experts are set to ask the Supreme Court on Wednesday to nullify the three-week-old Archipelagic Baselines Law, barely a month before the May 13 deadline for the Philippine government to submit to the United Nations its claim over its extended continental shelf under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Saying Repubic Act No. 9522 “dismembers a portion of the territory of the Philippines, in violation of the Constitution,” University of the Philippines law professors Merlin Magallona and Harry Roque, their students in constitutional law and public international law, and Anakbayan party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros will also ask the High Tribunal to stop the government from registering and depositing with the UN Secretary General a copy of the law signed by President Arroyo on March 10.
The petitioners said the government should be prevented from depositing the law with the UN because, once deposited, “it becomes immediately binding on the Philippines under international law, and its subsequent constitutional invalidation by (the Supreme Court) cannot anymore undo the irreparable harm.” (Download a copy of the anti-RA 9522 petition.)
Please click here (VERA Files) for the rest of the article.
I agree that RA 9522 should be voided. It’s a clear sell-out by Gloria to the Chinese. Maybe that’s the reason why Chip Tsao is so cocky saying that the Spratlys belong to China.
Our congenital squatting culture as Filipinos didnt show a bit on the baseline law for any reason obviously virtually disadvantageous in any angle we look at it. Where is Sabah in the first place. We gave it up after it had been a long long time dream of a chance to show our mettle in stealth warfare and undiplomacy. Where goesth our Kalayaan oil town after this subtle capitulation just because we cant row our boat(s) that distance to defend it from any imagined foe. And next, we insist to dismember our southern real estate upon the dictates of alien oriented fighters. Imagine they can order our chain of command wagons rolling away from any turf they choose. By the way, who is running our country, Bin Laden? He is a better leader, I am prone to believe now. Can I imagine a world force without getting salaries.
01 April 2009
I said it before and I will say it again….. what about about our claim on Sabah??? if you compare spratlys to Sabah, it will appear only as peanuts. The Malaysian are investing a lot of Ringgits in Sabah, while RP is not??? what is happening to our claim???
prans
Valdemar asks: “Who is running our country Bin Laden?”
Who controls our rice, food, building industry, and the whole of our economy? Who conducts military exercises in our jungles, hills, seas, and all our terrain wich have tactical value against any foreign invasion? Which national controls the strategic direction of our country? Who has a military camp inside our own Filipino military camp in Zamboanga, where in not even us Filipino soldiers among us have an access inside it? Whose soldier can rape our Filipina and can not be put to jail here in the Philippines?
Is it Bin Laden? Or do they happen to be the Chinese and Americans? In normal nations, such actions are considered foreign aggression. They are considered the enemies. Their soldiers would resist such aggression. Their soldiers would arrest any of their compatriots who collaborates with the enemy.
Who collaborates with these foreign trespassers of the Philippines? Who facilitates their legitimacy in our country? Who facilitates the possession of our islands, real estate properties, national broadband network which can access our national information and communication? Are these not acts of TREASON?
If a compatriot is caught red handed involved in the aforementioned acts, should not Filipino soldiers among us be bounded by duty like the soldiers of normal nations arrest that person? In fact any soldier is punishable for abandoning his duty. It is because a soldier who tolerates an act of treason by a compatriot, is also guilty of treason.
Just in case Filipino soldiers among us, still do not know, GMA has been involved in the aforementioned acts of treason for many years now.
Do the Filipino soldiers among us need to be told what as common sense dictates, needs to be done?
for the northrail project thats already started but was put on hold for how many years (guys the clock is ticking and so is the interest)
for the nbn-zte project, they say its cancelled but nobody saw the contract
now its payback time
If the new baseline law becomes void, what baseline law are we going to submit to UN on May 13 deadline?
and if the philippine government couldn’t submit it on or before the deadline, does it also weakens our claim over the disputed islands?
Pran, about Sabah. It’s a lost cause, just like this spratly gimmick. We are only good in making bluffs. Okay, for the sake of the brave pinoys, if there are any armed confrontation, we can’t do anything but spit at our enemies. If you are not convinced, just look at the Abu Sayaf, the Phil Army cannot even fight a band of brigands, only 200-300 strong, effectively. Ano pa mga Chinese o Malasyano?
In the eyes of foreigners Pinas has become, is, a land of cowards, servants and corrupt people.
Sobra!
it reminds me of an entry on a blog.
http://otsopya.multiply.com/reviews/item/8
perl,
Dont worry about that, the Registers of Deads can make wonders. Not only real estates are getting sold, even middle of the Mania Bay and South China seas are brokered listings. A Prince Tallano laid claim to the whole territory and believe it or not, won it at the Pasay City court. Or leave the matter to the CARP. It will assign tracts of Sabah to those marchers when its extended. CARP is presently untangling with my 20 square meters somewhere as a result of poor education in english understanding of titles among its lawyers and other staff down the line. If Rome was not built overnight, congress can easily draft a new boundary even after the deadline and antedate it as usually the case of their products. There’s nothing impossible with us. We can lay claim to other territories by consanguinity also or even concubinages.
From Alberto Madrilejos:
Thank God my prayers that the Baseline Law be questioned in the SC have been answered. I sincerely hope that all the best legal minds of the land participate in the proceedings in the SC. That way, the perceived flaws of the law – if there are any – will be properly addressed, exposed, and remedied, for our sake and the future generations.
To all our brothers and sisters out there, let us look at all the issues related thereto with the most objective, altruistic, and nationalistic intentions. After all, all of us Pinoys are the ones affected – positively or negatively – by the law. May the good Lord, guide us all.
Ellen what will happen if we don’t submit to UN deadline?
The deadline is May 13, 2009. If we don’f file our claim to extended continental shelves, there is nothing that the international community will recognize as delineation of philippine territory. Where do we complain if foreign vessels and foreign aircraft (airspace above archipelagic waters belong to teh country that owns it) intrude into our territory if it’s not recognized by the international community?
What we are submitting is incomplete because we have not finished documenting our extented conteinental shelf claim. it’s just to stop the clock.
The reason why we are submitting it a month ahead is to give the UN body time to evaluate conflicting claims.
This is the story that VERA Files did one year ago. http://www.verafiles.org/index.php/focus/45-rp-in-last-minute-scramble-to-beat-un-deadline. I think it give a good background on the UN deadline on claims for extended continental shelf that we are trying to beat.
I have my reservations with the petition that Atty. Roque and company filed with the UN. I’ll see if I can do a piece on that next week.
Since we are really an archipelagic state, we should claim extended continental shelf based on that. My view is closer to that of Sen. Trillanes. Click here for his position paper on that issue: http://senator.trillanes.org/the-baseline-issue/
The issue of contenintal shelves should be at the UNs’ hands before that statutes expires. May is too soon to delay-daley the issue. If the Filipinos believe that the UN is a fair and square entity then it should be at the UN.
I believe the UN more than I believe Arroyo and her cabals. But then again the Philippines is facing a giant country of Malaysia and China whose military are much more superior than the Philipines. The Philippine Military is just good fighting and scaring the people that oppose Gloria.
I can tell from Trillanes articles that he is more in- tuned with the Philippines than this stupid midget.
Did Arroyo attend the G20? There is $1 trillion to be dispersed to the World Bank. Watch out boys, I’m sure Gloria will find ways to stick her hands in the World Bank. She will say the Philippines is a 3rd world country so she is entitled to that money.