Privacy Vs. Peace & Order and National Security

At the Philippine Daily Inquirer today, one headline says:

"Cops may tap Skype conversations, e-mails under new cybercrime law"

It says that under the recently signed "Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012", it only requires a court order, cops may be able to tap into everyone's online activities.

I believe that in instances where privacy gets into conflict with crime prevention and protection of national security, the individual has to take a back seat. However, the danger of this law being abused by people out to harm others remain very high. At the Manila Police District for instance, a radio reports that a good number of cases are filed against cops every month. 

I therefore propose that a special court be created specifically to handle cyber crime. That way, only a select few will be able to decide this matters. People will also be able to closely scrutinize their decisions.

Overly Secretive Rules Protecting Foreign Currency Deposits

In the United States, a lot of Americans avoided paying taxes on their income and savings hy hiding it in foreign banks. a lot of them hid their money in Switzerland and a few other countries with laws that heavily protects depositors. The thing is, bank secrecy not only protects the common people but also the unscrupulous sections of this planet. Corrupt politicians, drug lords and other crooks are able to safeguard their not so hard earned incomes through banks hiding under secretive bank laws.

Just recently, Switzerland relaxed it's bank secrecy laws and a number of Americans are now negotiating their fines for misdeclaring their incomes. Their Swiss accounts have now been exposed and their cheating days have ended. In the Philippines, there is still an old age minded bank secrecy law that protects the exposure of foreign currency deposits. it will be no surprise thefore, if the country's corrupt politicians and other criminals start converting their peso loot to foreign currencies.

Republic Act 6426, the "Foreign Currency Deposit Act of the Philippines" is a bad law. it tends to protect the criminal more than the decent man.

GMA should not leave

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo fought hard with her “Right to life” campaign. She claimed to have a dire spine condition and tried to make a Speedy Gonzales at the airport. However, her doctors later testified that she is in already on her way to recovery and yes, her lawyers are trying to pressure them into not telling the truth. It was also noted that the Gloria M. Arroyo was wearing skinny leather pants and heels when she tried to leave? As some ladies say, tight pants, leather ones specially, are hard to put on. How can a lady with spine trouble do it? As for the high heels, even guys would be able to imagine what it can do to a lady with spine injury.

Today, the same lawyers and spinsters changed tact and are now using the “Right to travel” campaign. I don’t know what else they’d say next.

To my mind, it is very clear that the former president is trying to flee and has seriously lied more than once. Remember that “I am sorry” press conference that she held amidst the election wiretapping case?

This lady should be forbidden to leave. The right of the state in this case is much bigger than anyone’s right to travel.

Salus Populi est Suprema Lex!

WAR OR PEACE IN MIDANAO

According to official statements, soldiers, some of whom are training for scuba courses in the army special forces, were sent to strike at a bandit group suspected of beheading members of the Philippine Marines (a couple of years ago) and kidnapping local residents. The problem is, they encountered members of the bandit group (Abu Sayaff) augmented by members of a rebel group (MILF). In the firefight, about 18 soldiers perished and a few missing.

According to a statement by a surviving soldier, the enemies were in position and waiting for them in ambush. The whole place has also been evacuated and very quiet. Another survivor also claims to have seen some of his colleagues ran out of ammo captured alive. They later on turned up dead.

MILF’s statement, however says that the military bombarded their positions with 105mm howitzers before launching an attack in their government recognized territory. They claimed to have simply fought back.

The military statement however claims that the site of the encounter was 4 kilometers short of the rebel territory.

MY TAKE ON THIS:

Various media units have claimed that in the area where the gunfight happened, there is a creek separating the MILF territory and the areas infested by the bandit groups. And whenever an encounter between government people and the bandits occur, the MILF crosses the river and helps the bandits fight the government troopers. A lot of MILF rebels are said to be relatives of the bandits.

SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT DECLARE AN ALL OUT WAR?

A lot of people are now calling for the end of the ongoing ceasefire and declaring an all out war against the MILF. The call is reminiscent of the Estrada administrations move that brought the MILF to crumble within a few days. What happened was very humbling for the MILF with their several years of boisterous and arrogant pronouncements of strength.

However, we should never forget that the Estrada action resulted to about a million refugees, as claimed by Ex President Fidel Ramos. It also failed to completely wipe out the rebellion. That would have taken much much longer, resulted to more refugees, more dead soldiers, lots of money spent, etc.

We should properly investigate the incidents and amend the terms of the existing ceasefire. Rebels should be mandated to make sure that no bandit is allowed within ten miles of their camps. They should be made to outlaw preparations for war like the building of weapons factories like the ones found by attacking soldiers in Camp Abubakar.

They MILF should be made to swear that they will report lawless elements that try to approach them and turn over any rebel with a warrant for a criminal offense unrelated to rebellion like kidnapping of civilians. For the meantime, the rebels should also be made to sit tightly in their camps as the military vigorously runs after the perpetrators of last week’s firefight.

The military leadership, on the other hand, should be made accountable for the loss of soldiers lives. With so many resources on their side, it is unforgivable for them to lose in combat.

Lastly, the public should refrain from being the cause of war. Hawks among the government and military can stage “massacres” of some of our soldiers and/or civilians in order to provoke the population into forcing the government leadership into calling for an all out war.

Let’s continue our path towards peace but always be on guard for war.

Clemency Delayed is not Justice denied

Late Clemency?

While I am no P-Noy apologist, I do not like the way some people are lambasting the president for granting executive clemency to a prisoner who unfortunately died a few days before he was pardoned. They say that the recommendation was forwarded to him a long time ago. Does that mean that there should be haste in approving recommendations?

When a prisoner’s sentence is promulgated, does it come with a clause that requires executive clemency for good behavior and/or failing health? When a criminal commits a crime, does he do it because there is a surefire recipe for pardon?

Crimes are not lightly committed and sentences are likewise not dispensed like a comedy show. An executive clemency therefore, should be well contemplated before being dispensed. Prisoners dying prior to clemency is indeed a regrettable event but it is not at all the fault of the president. The crime committed remains to be the sole fault of the criminal and never is it transferred to the pardoner at any time. 

Let us not forget the original victims of the crime. Is justice served when the clemency is given? Did it send the right message to criminals? Or did it render the penal system ineffective?

SMARTBRO's: (Slow) Speed

I remember hearing marketing lines that say SmartBro gives out speed as fast as 2Mbps. In my several years of SmartBro experience, I can’t remember having experienced that. I looked up Smartbro’s website and it says that the download speed can go up to 1mbps.

Now, I feel that this website is not updated and that they are now claiming that it is up to 2MBPS.

Anyway, I feel that my internet is unusually slow the past few days that I did a speed test.

The result speaks for itself. My speed is less than 100KBPS.


Now, I know what Smartbro will say. They will make an excuse that 1 or 2 MBPS is their company’s maximum speed. However, if you will ask them what is the guaranteed minimum, they will be unable to answer. I know that for a fact for they have given me such a stupid excuse the past few years.

I really feel that the NTC and the congress should act fast and crack their whips against the great Oligopoly called Smart and Globe.

Bad Information technology is greatly detrimental to the economy and providing poor telecommunication and broadband service is tantamount to economic sabotage.

Goodbye!

I can’t believe takeover that ASEC Torres of the LTO is still in office. Being caught on film “leading” a very hostile corporate raid of LTO systems provider Stradcom has made the public lose its faith in her and now, the president himself is spending so much time defending her. If I were her, I’d resign in order to protect the office of the president. There is so much work to be done and the president needs more time to do just that. He also needs the people’s FAITH and not the people’s DOUBTS.

Goodbye my lover , Goodbye my friend. You have (NOT) been the one , You have (NOT) been the one for me!

Here’s the song…

Did I disappoint you or let you down?

Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown?

'Cause I saw the end before we'd begun

Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won

So I took what's mine by eternal right

Took your soul out into the night

It may be over but it won't stop there

I am here for you if you'd only care

You touched my heart you touched my soul

You changed my life and all my goals

And love is blind and that I knew when

My heart was blinded by you

I've kissed your lips and held your head

Shared your dreams and shared your bed

I know you well, I know your smell

I've been addicted to you

Goodbye my lover

Goodbye my friend

You have been the one

You have been the one for me

Goodbye my lover

Goodbye my friend

You have been the one

You have been the one for me

I am a dreamer and when I wake

You can't break my spirit - it's my dreams you take

And as you move on, remember me

Remember us and all we used to be

I've seen you cry, I've seen you smile

I've watched you sleeping for a while

I'd be the father of your child

I'd spend a lifetime with you

I know your fears and you know mine

We've had our doubts but now we're fine

And I love you, I swear that's true

I cannot live without you

Goodbye my lover

Goodbye my friend

You have been the one

You have been the one for me

Goodbye my lover

Goodbye my friend

You have (NOT) been the one

You have (NOT) been the one for me

And I still hold your hand in mine

In mine when I'm asleep

And I will bear my soul in time

When I'm kneeling at your feet

Goodbye my lover

Goodbye my friend

You have been the one

You have been the one for me

Goodbye my lover

Goodbye my friend

You have been the one

You have been the one for me

I'm so hollow, baby

I'm so hollow

I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow

I'm so hollow, baby

Wealth Distribution in the Philippines

It has been said time and time again that most of the world's wealth are in the hands of a few. In the Philippines, the latest news report puts 47.1% of the country's total deposits in the National Capital Region (NCR). Checking the website of the National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB), I noticed that as of 2007, the NCR is inhabited by only 13% of the country's population.

It is not a wonder then that people continue to flock to the overpopulated Metro Manila. It is in this area where money is. There is not much to go around in the provinces at this point and it is but logical for people to go where the food is more abundant. 

The country's provinces largely remain untapped and this is something that the government should look at.

Here are some pertinent info from the NSCB website.

Area	2007 (Aug 1)	% distribution
Philippines	88,574,614	100.00%
National Capital Region	11,553,427	13.04%
Cordillera Administrative Region	1,520,743	1.72%
Ilocos Region	4,545,906	5.13%
Cagayan Valley	3,051,487	3.45%
Central Luzon	9,720,982	10.97%
Southern Tagalog
IVA- Calabarzon	11,743,110	13.26%
IVB - Mimaropa	2,559,791	2.89%
Bicol Region	5,109,798	5.77%
Western Visayas	6,843,643	7.73%
Central Visayas	6,398,628	7.22%
Eastern Visayas	3,912,936	4.42%
Western Mindanao	3,230,094	3.65%
Northern Mindanao	3,952,437	4.46%
Southern Mindanao	4,156,653	4.69%
Central Mindanao	3,829,081	4.32%
ARMM	4,120,795	4.65%
Caraga 1/	2,293,480	2.59%
Filipinos in Philippine Embassies/Consulates and Missions Abroad	2,279	0.00%

Just A Little More

Paul Getty, being a multi billionaire, was once asked how much money is enough. The reply was, "Just a little more!" If we will ask Tita Glo, how much term is enough, guess what her reply will be.

Strikers Stinking Sense of Logic

Following these people’s logic, I therefore recommend that the government start individually profiling and visiting them in their houses. I further recommend that the military bring heavy guns, send the ugliest and foul mouthed soldiers and talk them into not joining any protest from now on. After all, if we will follow the strikers’ logic. Intimidating them is simply part of the convincing process.

Hey GMA, I need a well deserved award for this. I’m so brilliant, Am I not?

For the past several years, strikers in this country have resorted to unlawful and highly unethical ways of getting their messages across. They use harassment and intimidation through the use of barricades, burning tires, metal spikes and even bodily harm to discourage public transport and even private vehicles from using the roads for the duration of transport and labor strikes. While this has not been very successful in Metro Manila within the last decade, the practice is very effective in the provinces where fear is easier to sow due to the lack of effective peace and order system.

The objective of transport paralysis, even through artificial means, is to project an image of strength to be able to force the government, whoever the president may be, to succumb to the demands of the strikers.

During one strike, a transport leader, when confronted over the radio about reports of intimidation, defends such move, calling it a part of their attempts to persuade drivers into joining them. If I may quote, he said something like, “Ang tingin naming dito ay bahagi sa proceso ng panghihikayat…”

WTF???

Coming from the same people who cry against violence, this system of intimidation is very ironic at the very least. If one will examine these militant groups, it will be easy to identify which ones are allied with one another. If one will closely observe their marches, one will easily be able to separate and group them together based on their methods, banners and slogans. Yes, the harassers are the very same people who cry against military and government abuse, intimidation, “hamleting”, violence, etc.

Following these people’s logic, I therefore recommend that the government start individually profiling and visiting them in their houses. I further recommend that the military bring heavy guns, send the ugliest and foul mouthed soldiers and talk them into not joining any protest from now on. After all, if we will follow the strikers’ logic. Intimidating them is simply part of the convincing process.

Hey GMA, I need a well deserved award for this. I’m so brilliant, Am I not?

These people, for all the validity of their complaints are as guilty of committing the same sins to the masses.

Cheap Medicines: At long last?

Perhaps, the biggest headline this week (other than the rice issue), is the passage of the cheaper medicines law. One important provision in this law is the parallel importation of certain brands of patented medicine in countries where it is cheaper.

A lot of congressmen claim that the new law is ineffective because of certain provisions that they proposed which failed to make it in the final draft. They are talking about the “generics only” provision which requires doctors to write only the generic names of the drugs that they will describe. The current law specifies that generic names of medicines be written by doctors in their prescriptions to give patients the option to shop around for cheaper brands.

Maybe they are correct but FOR NOW, this blog thinks that such provision is not needed. A comparison of prices of certain medicines shows that generic brands are also very expensive. This means that generics manufacturers, even without costly investments in Research and Development (R & D) are selling at the price that will cost patients their arms, in addition to their legs and their only necks!

Let’s take for example, the price of Ponstan (Mefenamic Acid), 500mg capsules. Quezon Vice Gov Suplico observed its retail price in India to be as low as P5.00. In contrast, generic brands (in tablet form) in the Philippines are selling at P5.50 while Ponstan itself can be bought at P25.00.

It means that generic brands are selling the tablet form higher than the original capsule while the manufacturer is trying to suck money from 80++ million Pinoys by selling it at 500% higher than their selling price in India. There are also observations that certain brands of generic medicine are ineffective. Perhaps, substandard meds have now penetrated the local pharmacies.

For the purpose of today’s post, let us make a price comparison of certain medicines:

NORVASC (Antihypertensive), 10mg tab , 2x10's
Philippine Government Retail Price : P29.90
Current Market Price (Philippines) : 74.75 ~ P80
Observed Retail price in INDIA : P8.00 <--Price difference = 1000% --- WHOA!

PONSTAN (Pain reliever), 500mg tab
Philippine Government Retail Price: P7.00
Current Market Price (Philippines): P25.50
Observed Retail price in INDIA: P5.00 <--Price difference = 500% --- WHOA!

Enclosed is the pricelist of the Government owned Botika ng Bayan. You will notice that a price difference of 100~150% is so common. What more if we are to buy it at retail prices in India? Please click the image to enlarge.

I will have a follow up post regarding this matter.

Source: http://www.pitc.gov.ph/pricelist.htm

MORE THAN SUBLIMINAL.

"During World War II, the tachistoscope, an instrument which projects pictures for an extremely brief period, was used to train soldiers to recognize enemy airplanes. Today the tachistoscope is used to increase reading speed or to test sight.

In 1957, market researcher James Vicary claimed that quickly flashing messages on a movie screen, in Fort Lee, New Jersey, had influenced people to purchase more food and drinks. Vicary coined the term subliminal advertising and formed the Subliminal Projection Company based on a six-week test. Vicary claimed that during the presentation of the movie Picnic he used a tachistoscope to project the words "Drink Coca-Cola" and "Hungry? Eat popcorn" for 1/3000 of a second at five-second intervals. Vicary asserted that during the test, sales of popcorn and Coke in that New Jersey theater increased 57.8 percent and 18.1 percent respectively."

Today's feature is more than subliminal. I call it blatant. Examine the MMDA posters all over Metro Manila and notice that Bayani Fernando's photo is larger than all the texts combined. Examining the texts, one will unfailingly notice "BF", which means "Bayani Fernando", again occupying more space.

Those posters reek of electioneering. I hope the guy losses all his money, friends and more importantly-- the elections!

If I remember it correctly, commercial banners and billboards were removed along the highways for reasons that include it being a dangerous "distraction". I wonder who gave MMDA the franchise to install BF's posters and more importantly, what reasons will be used to justify spending government money for those 10 feet tarpaulins that are all over the main thoroughfares.

SMOKE SMOKE SMOKE

Does the government give rewards to those who report street violators? If they do, I will probably make a lot of money by reporting on the MMDA. To this day, I am yet to see an MMDA vehicle that has no visible engine emission. The smoke coming out of their vehicles are so heavy that most of their employees are most probably in danger of Tubercolosis, Pneumonia and other lung diseases.

But I am not so greedy. I will probably offer a volume discount since there's a lot of them and probably I will give additional discounts for government accounts. Somebody tell me where is the agency that handles rewards and I will gladly share the bounty.

I am telling you, there's really a lot. :D

And the battle rages...

A lie, repeated often enough, will end up as truth.

- Dr Paul Joseph Goebbels
Hitler's Minister of Propaganda (1933-1945)

I am very busy these days but I can’t help but dish out some thoughts regarding the brouhaha called the NBN Scandal. An assortment of witnesses is coming out one by one and seems to be dishing out bombs distributed over time in order keep the public talking about it. Looking at it in terms of warfare, what we are seeing here is a prolonged bombing strategy intended to soften the targets before launching the final assault. This campaign is reminiscent of the last two wars in Iraq.

In the Dessert Storm, General Norman Schwarzkopf ran a month long bombing campaign while flanking his forces deep into Iraq in a final strategy called the “Hail Mary” that lasted only for 100 hours. During the campaign to oust Saddam, the US rained hell on Iraq before sending in the troops using a basically the same strategy now very popularly known as “Shock and awe”.

In the Philippines today, what is happening is a variation of the two campaigns except that the public is only seeing the propaganda aspect of it. Like an audience in a stage play, they are only seeing what the directors are showing. The bigger play is happening in the back stage.

In one side of this campaign, witnesses are lined up, dates are set, bombs timed and things are being set into motion. With Durano’s revelation that Lacson’s chief of staff is a close friend of Lozada’s brother and that they have been planning this since August, I am not at all surprised that this things are happening. And if that is the case, the street protests, withdrawal of support and possible military component is probably being worked on.

Of course, there may be truth to the allegations against GMA and corruption may actually be taking place. But one thing that we should never forget is that stalwarts of the Estrada led opposition, Escudero, Lacson and now Cayetano et al. are the ones leading the charge in the senate, the others are in the streets and one of the godfather’s, Erap has started to come out to lead the attack.

Let us remember that in contrast to GMA, Erap has been convicted of widespread corruption. Having spent only 880 days in Malacanang, he was he was proven guilty of having amassed P4,097,804,173.17 or P4.6 million per day. That is discounting the other charges that the prosecutors decided not to pursue, being so confident of winning a conviction in the first two cases.

Last weekend, the opposition Godfather Erap, bragged that none of the government dealings of his regime was ever tainted of corruption. With the media replaying this statement again and again, the public is being made to believe that this is true. This part of the strategy is nothing new, it was a theory so effectively used by Hitler, through Joseph Goebbels.

But what are the facts? Isn’t it that Erap was guilty of:

1. misappropriating, converting and misusing for his gain and benefit public fund in the amount of ONE HUNDRRED THIRTY MILLION PESOS (P130,000,000.00), more or less, representing a portion of the One Hundred Seventy Million Pesos (P170,000,000.00) tobacco excise tax share allocated for the Province of Ilocos Sur under R.A. No. 7171, in conspiracy with co-accused Charlie ‘Atong’ Ang, Alma Alfaro, Eleuterio Tan a.k.a Eleuterio Ramos Tan or Mr. Uy, and Jane Doe a.k.a. Delia Rajas, as witnessed by Gov. Luis ‘Chavit’ Singson, among other witnesses; and
2. (c) directing, ordering and compelling the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Social Security System (SSS) to purchase and buy a combined total of 681,733,000 shares of stock of the Belle Corporation in the aggregate gross value of One Billion Eight Hundred Forty-Seven Million Five Hundred Seventy Eight Thousand Fifty Seven Pesos and Fifty Centavos (P1,847,578,057.50), for the purpose of collecting for his personal gain and benefit, as in fact he did collect and receive the sum of ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY NINE MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS (P 189,700,000.00), as commission from said stock purchase; and

What do the two statements mean?

a) He took P150 million out of the P180 M of tobacco taxes.

b) He used the SSS/GSIS money for gambling purposes in the stock market. In Pilipino- “Ipinang sugal ang pera ng gobyerno”

There are so many other things that Erap is guilty of, here’s the court decision to enlighten us all. That is one big problem. If GMA is a plunderer, the opposition which is trying to oust her, is by itself led by a confirmed and unrepentant plunderer.

Isn’t it strange that they are also asking for the ouster of the mandated successor, the Vice President (VP)? They allege that since he is not lifting a hand against her, he should be taken out, as well.

Logic dictates that the VP’s silence is the most proper thing to do. With him about to benefit from the president’s downfall, any attempt for him to lead the opposition will make him look like a power grabber. One thing should always be remembered. Even if we have doubts to the VP’s ability to lead the government, he is and should be the successor, should anything happen. That is a truth that is as clear as the sun, which the opposition is trying to shield our eyes from.

The opposition is taking out the VP because he is no puppet of theirs. What they are doing is nothing but an attempt to bring back the old days. When the first order of the day was to persecute political opponents and reward friends, pardon convicted criminal friends, a hero’s burial for the Apo at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, etc, etc...

The best strategy for the people is to be vigilant and keep on sending crooks to jail, while awaiting the likes of Mar Roxas and the younger ones to become ripe. Hopefully, by 2010, they will be. Let us be careful in believing the opposition, they’re as tainted as the people they are trying to depose.

One thing for GMA, though… Take heed! The people is running out of patience. The end is near… As Shaekespeare once wrote,

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances.."

You will only be remembered only for your exit, for your entrance happened a long time ago.

INSPITE OF, AND NOT BECAUSE OF

Former economic planning secretary Dr. Cielito Habito wrote in his Inquirer column today that the economy is growing not because of the GMA administration, but it is in fact moving despite it.

He stated that GDP or local production has not really accelerated its increase, the income of the middle and the lower classes dropped and it's largely the OFW remittances that contributed to more stable prices and the strengthening of the dollar.

I agree with most of what he wrote, except for a few things. I agree that the economy is growing despite the government. What i am not sure of if it will continue to grow should the opposition come to power.

The government failed to reach its tax revenue targets and made money largely from selling government assets. The incidence of poverty is increasing, exports are on a decline and without the OFW remittances, I don't know where will we be.

However, Habito wrote that unemployment figures have gone down not because people have found work but simply because they have stopped looking. I say that this is largely inaccurate.

It is a big mistake to ignore the 300,000 BPO workers that were employed during the last few years. Of course, that is not sufficient to fill the needs of all Filipinos within the working age. But my two eyes have seen the largely unoccupied buildings that are remnants of the construction boom of the mid 90's that were suddenly filled to capacity. It was all because of the call center and outsourcing boom. Of course, there are those who stopped looking for jobs but the government is right in not counting them. Those who have no desire to help themselves should not be counted as a part of this economy or any society.

GMA, please manage this country well. We know that your "Damang dama ang asenso" advertisements are mere propagandas. The people are keeping you merely as a damage control measure and sans any viable alternative. But take heed. I am not about to call anyone to rise against you but I am not the only opinion writer in this land. My readership is nothing compared to the other bloggers who are soooo mad already.

Should the people rise, nobody can stop them and when that happens,

.....may God save the Queen!

SURVEILLANCE CAMERA IN LA SALLE

Yesterday, there was outrage over the installation of a police surveillance camera in front of De la Salle Greenhills. This is mainly because of the fact that anti administration witness Jun Lozada is seeking refuge in the campus against perceived threats against the government. I, myself found the move so brazen until a police officer was interviewed over the radio, moments ago.

According to him, vehicles with congressional plates (No 8) arrogantly park their cars in front of the school and traffic becomes so bad. How bad are the traffic violations? They occupy three lanes causing massive jams along Ortigas Avenue. When cops come over to drive them away, they even have the arrogance to yell at the lowly cops. The radio announcer interviewing the cop, suddenly switched gears and agreed. He turned out to be a parent of De la Salle students and he agrees with the observation. He, too is so disgusted with the arrogance, not only of congressional vehicles, but also of government cars (red plated) bringing kids to school.

That can happen only in that school. In UP, Katrina Ponce Enrile, the daughter of former Marcos defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile once narrated that during the Martial rule, she was studying in UP and students there waved their fists in her face. I also heard stories that Katrina was actually being polite. Actually, students there waved dirty fingers in her face even in the presence of her armed body guards, as a show of anger at her dad.

That's probably the reason why those congressmen and government officials sent their kids to La Salle. UP students will never have any of their arrogance.

Musings...

The latest NBN scandal also reminds me of parties, wines in my favorite Riedel glasses, imported cheese, expensive food and feasts that can feed entire communities for a long time. While reserving my final judgment on whether there’s a guilty party or none at all, I stand by my belief that the broadband project is not needed by the country. Existing technologies renders the perceived project benefits redundant and all that it has to offer is the possibility of some savings for the government. Appoint me as head of the DOTC and I can make it all happen without any expense to the government. It’s that easy.

CRAZY TIMES

We often hear the Chinese saying, "May we live in interesting times!"

But in this country, we've all had our share of roller coaster experiences that the latest brouhaha seemed to have failed to create a "Clarissa Ocampo" effect- EDSA 2! We seem to have had more than our quota of action that what is happening now seems to be boring already. Yes, we still listen and talk about it but it doesn't seem to be enough motivation to take action. Being an EDSA 2 veteran, I find myself asking nowadays, "Now what?" and "Are they all the same?".

Years ago, I have stopped being stubborn and finally opened myself to the idea of migration. I realized that i have been paying my taxes for so many years already but none of it seems to be coming back to the country. Such mind shift was strongly reinforced when FPJ, Jr. ran for office. I thought that it was good for everybody that he lost. But what happened? With GMA at the helm, there seems to be no end to the government scandals which I believe is not entirely untrue.

When the economy was bad during the ERAP times, I had the people to blame for voting for him. I've always said that to a large extent, we deserve what we are getting. But in this instance, I am not really sure if that saying is very accurate.

For those who are trying to consider the pros and cons of migration, count me as another vote for the pro.

Go and live happily ever after!

WRIT OF HABEAS DATA

With Justice Puno at the helm of the country's Supreme Court, individual rights to privacy and liberty are being raised higher. Too supplement the Writ of Habeas Corpus, the court came up with the Writ of Amparo. hoping to strengthen it further, we now have the Writ of Habeas Data.

As a practical example, let us assume that a person is missing and reported to have been arrested by government authorities. Visits to various military and police offices turned negative and relatives are already afraid that the arrested individual might have been kidnapped by lawless authorities or taken by government agents and tortured (or even killed). The relatives and friends of the missing person may seek the courts help by filing for a writ of Habeas Corpus that directs the authorities to produce the body before the court at a specified time.

However, the people identified and directed by the Writ of Habeas may deny having the person in their custody and the relatives are still left not knowing if the apprehended person is still alive. In this instance, the Writ of Amparo, which is derived from the word "Amparar" (protection) serves as a very effective tool. I will edit this article later and elaborate on this part.

To give the citizens more legal options, the court has introduced the Writ of Habeas Data which partly is partly explained through the following:

"The writ of habeas data, which went into effect Saturday, is available to anyone whose "right to privacy in life, liberty, or security is violated or threatened by an unlawful act or omission" of public officials or private individuals or entities that gather, collect, or store data regarding a person or his family, home, and correspondence.

One can use it to compel the release of information, or to update, rectify, suppress, or destroy such data.

"The basic attribute of an effective right to informational privacy is the right of individuals to control the flow of information concerning or describing them. It is, however, a right that must be balanced by legitimate public concerns," the Supreme Court explained."

• Here's the complete PRIMER ON THE WRIT OF AMPARO
• The Writ of HABEAS DATA according to the Chief Justice
• The HABEAS DATA and the WRIT OF AMPARO

Estrada: RP suffering for defying Vatican in 2001 uprising

In essence, the guy is saying that The Almighty is punishing the people for overthrowing him, the owner of BW Resources, the man who almost caused the collapse of the stock market, the man who ordered SSS to invest hundreds of millions of pesos in BW shares, the man who took hundreds of millions in commissions, the man who's first orders as president is to relieve his top election enemy (Gordon) from his government post, bury Marcos at the libingan ng mga bayani, release the son of Dolphy from Muntinlupa and many other gruesome acts.

Susmaryosep!

Here's the rest of the story.