You plan to move to the Philippines? Wollen Sie auf den Philippinen leben?

There are REALLY TONS of websites telling us how, why, maybe why not and when you'll be able to move to the Philippines. I only love to tell and explain some things "between the lines". Enjoy reading, be informed, have fun and be entertained too!

Ja, es gibt tonnenweise Webseiten, die Ihnen sagen wie, warum, vielleicht warum nicht und wann Sie am besten auf die Philippinen auswandern könnten. Ich möchte Ihnen in Zukunft "zwischen den Zeilen" einige zusätzlichen Dinge berichten und erzählen. Viel Spass beim Lesen und Gute Unterhaltung!


Visitors of germanexpatinthephilippines/Besucher dieser Webseite.Ich liebe meine Flaggensammlung!

free counters

Google

Showing posts with label Law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Law. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Duterte signs law allowing full foreign ownership of key sectors like telcos

By Philstar.com

March 21, 2022 | 6:34pm


MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday signed into law the Public Service Act, which would ease restrictions on foreign investments in key industries.


The law amended the 85-year-old Commonwealth Act 146, known as the Public Service Act. The changes would open industries that foreigners were once limited to own or invest in — such as telecommunications, airlines, and railways — to full foreign ownership since they would be excluded from the definition of "public utility."


There are still some sectors that are restricted to full foreign equity such as public utility vehicles, power, water, seaports and petroleum pipelines. Under the 1987 Constitution, only corporations that are at least 60% owned by Filipinos shall be given “the franchise, certificate and authorization” to operate as a public utility.


As it is, the enactment of Public Service Act is Duterte’s latest attempt to open up the economy even more to foreign businessmen. Last January, he signed into law a bill amending the Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2000. That new law trims the required capital for foreign retailers to P25 million from $2.5 million (at least P125 million) previously to entice global brands to open their shops here.


By easing the country’s protectionist policies, the Duterte administration is hoping that the Philippines can now corner more job-generating foreign capital for Filipinos. In Southeast Asia, several reports show the Philippines has been lagging in terms of attracting foreign direct investments, with the coronavirus onslaught further tarnishing the country’s appeal to investors.


Beyond job creation, some experts said allowing more foreign participation in important industries would encourage competition, which could benefit consumers through affordable prices.


But some watchers said the longstanding issues of corruption, cronyism and red tape in the country will still deter foreign investments since it continues to delay permits, disqualify competition, and raise capital costs to do business in the country.

Saturday, October 23, 2021

Our laws should lead us to God






By Fr. Roy Cimagala *


          WHEN Christ cured on a Sabbath a woman who had been crippled

by an evil spirit for eighteen years, he was corrected by the

synagogue leader for violating the law on the Sabbath. (cfr. Lk

13,10-17) That was when Christ made the following clarification:


          “Does not each one of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his

ass from the manger and lead it out for watering? This daughter of

Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to

have been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?”


          I imagine that a simple exercise of common sense could

easily see the point of Christ. But many times, we fall into the same

predicament when we would just blindly follow the letter of the law

without discerning the true spirit behind it.


          Ideally, both the letter and the spirit of our laws should

be in perfect harmony. But that is hardly the case in real life. The

problem, of course, is that the articulation of our laws is

conditioned and limited by our human powers that cannot fully capture

the richness of human life, considering its spiritual and supernatural

character that will always involve the intangibles and mysteries and

the like.


          That is the reason why we can go beyond, but not against, a

particular law, when such law cannot fully express the concrete

conditions of a particular case. This is when we can apply the

principle of “epikeia.”


          But first, we have to understand that our human laws are

meant to lead us to our ultimate goal which is none other than to be

with God, to be holy as God is holy, etc. Irrespective of their

immediate temporal purpose, our laws should lead us little by little

to become God’s image and likeness as we are meant to be. They in the

end should serve the fundamental religious purpose of our life. That

should always be the constant purpose of our laws.


          All the other objectives of our laws, let alone their

technical requirements, serve only as an occasion, a reason or motive

for this ultimate purpose. Setting aside this ultimate purpose would

empty our laws of their real legitimacy, making them rife for all

kinds of manipulations and maneuverings by some shrewd men who may

enjoy some power at a given moment.


          We have to realize that it is Christ who ultimately gives

the real meaning and purpose of our laws. We have to disabuse

ourselves from the thought that our laws can be based only on our

common sense, or on our own estimation of what is good and evil

according to the values of practicality, convenience, etc., or on our

traditions and culture, etc.


          While these things have their legitimate role to play in our

legal and judicial systems, we have to understand that they cannot be

the primary and ultimate bases. It should be God, his laws and ways

that should animate the way we make laws as well as the way we apply

and live them. After all, being the Creator of all things, he is the

one who establishes what is truly good and evil.


          With the way today’s legal and juridical systems worldwide

are drifting toward extreme positivism that simply bases itself on our

perceptual experiences and people’s consensus and systematically

shutting out any input from faith and divine revelation, we need to

remind ourselves that God’s law is in fact the foundation, the

inspiration and the perfection of our human laws.


* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com


Saturday, May 29, 2021

Duterte signs law splitting Maguindanao into 2 provinces


PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law a measure dividing Maguindanao into two provinces.

Republic Act 11550 creates Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur provinces.

Maguindanao del Norte includes the towns of Barira, Buldon, Datu Blah Sinsuat, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Kabuntalan, Matanog, Northern Kabuntalan, Parang, North Upi, Sultan Kudarat, Sultan Mastura, and Talitay. Its capital is Datu Odin Sinsuat.

The municipalities of Ampatuan, Buluan, Datu Abdulla Sangki, Datu Anggal Midtimbang, Datu Hoffer Ampatuan, Datu Montawal, Datu Paglas, Datu Piang, Datu Salibo, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Datu Unsay, Gen. Salipada K. Pendatun, Guindulungan, Mamasapano, Mangudadatu, Pagalungan, Paglat, Pandag, Rajah Buayan, Sharif Aguak, Sharif Saydona Mustafa, Sultan sa Barongis, Talayan, and South Upi will be Maguindanao del Sur. Its capital is Buluan.

The Commission on Elections will supervise a plebiscite within 90 days from the effectivity of the law. The plebiscite will allow Maguindanao residents to ratify the law.

If the law is ratified, residents will elect governors, vice governors, members of the provincial board and other provincial officials during the May 2022 elections.

Maguindanao Representative Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, author of the bill, was elated by the passage of the law.

“Alhamdullilah, Alhamdullilah! Finally, the President has already signed into law the bill, May Allah bless and prosper our sincerest aspirations for the welfare and development of Maguindanao,” Mangudadatu said. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo, SunStar Philippines)

Sunday, December 10, 2017

When in Manila ...

Beyond EDSA and Commonwealth, other crash-prone QC roads need more enforcers


A Quezon City DPOS officer managing traffic flow at Commonwealth Ave. QC Public Affairs Office
On Quezon City’s roads, death awaits drivers as the night deepens.

X

If you’re one of them, your chances of dying in a road crash peak from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., data from the Metro Manila Development Authority show.
Yet, in these deadliest hours, the streets are clear of traffic enforcers who can help save your lives.
From 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., traffic enforcers take turns manning the city’s busiest roads, each of them stationed at “choke points” or areas notorious for heavy traffic. Beyond these hours or when most fatal crashes happen, the roads are unguarded.
Quezon City recorded a total of 33,717 road crashes last year, the highest in Metro Manila according to the MMDA.

For the government, it’s traffic over safety. In fielding the bulk of enforcers, officials prioritize congested roads over crash-prone ones.
“Our deployment depends on where there is heavy traffic, or where areas are congested,” said Glenda Lim, chief of Police Community Relations at the Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group.
Black spots, or areas notorious for road crashes, come secondary in traffic deployment, even as studies have shown the presence of traffic enforcers deters reckless driving behavior that results in road crashes.
Quezon City’s deadliest roads, ranked by data science firm Thinking Machines based on the number of road crashes in 2016, are EDSA, Commonwealth Avenue, Quirino Highway, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon Avenue, Aurora Boulevard, Andres Bonifacio Avenue and E. Rodriguez, Sr. Avenue.
Of these roads, there’s a higher likelihood of enforcer response in the event of a crash in EDSA, Commonwealth and Katipunan, compared to other roads.
VERA Files, culling traffic deployment data from the MMDA, PNP-HPG, the Quezon City police and the local Department of Public Order and Safety, ranked the city’s crash-prone roads based on enforcer to crash ratio.
The enforcer to crash ratio corresponds to the number of enforcers likely to respond to a crash on a particular road on a given day.

If a crash occurred in Katipunan Avenue, there are 47 enforcers likely to respond on a given day.
If it happened in Commonwealth Avenue, once dubbed the country’s “killer highway,” there are 33 enforcers who are likely available to assist.
In 2016, Commonwealth Avenue recorded over 2,000 crashes, the second highest in the city next to EDSA, which saw over 4,000 crashes.
Along EDSA’s various junctions from Balintawak to Santolan in Quezon City, there are some 23 enforcers who are likely to attend to you in the event of a road crash.
Notably, Katipunan, Commonwealth and EDSA are notorious for heavy traffic, thus the abundance of enforcers.
  
Lim of the PNP-HPG, a member of the Inter-Agency Council for Traffic, says EDSA is already “safe.” The goal, after all, is to facilitate the movement of vehicles though slow, she said.
Yet, in other roads with fewer choke points but are equally high-risk, the odds of being saved get smaller.
One’s chances of being saved may be higher in Katipunan, which has 160 percent more enforcers than in Aurora Boulevard with only 18 enforcers likely to respond on a given day.
More, the 12-kilometer Commonwealth Avenue has 100 percent more enforcers than in Quirino Highway, despite having the same length. On a given day, Quirino only has 15 enforcers who are likely available to assist.
The gap between enforcers and crashes is biggest in the case of the four-lane Andres Bonifacio Avenue, a 1.9-km road that connects the North Luzon Expressway to the southern city of Manila. There are only four enforcers who could provide help.
“That’s alarming, right? Why is the [disparity] too large?” Lim said in Filipino.
“I wouldn’t want to pass through that road anymore,” she said jokingly, admitting though that she doesn’t take the route on a regular basis.
Surprised by the shortage of enforcers on crash-prone roads such as Andres Bonifacio Avenue, Quirino Highway and Aurora Boulevard, Lim recognized the need to refocus efforts in these areas.
“There are more cases to investigate in these areas, so there should be more police officers,” Lim said. “[Motorists] may be more careful when they see traffic enforcers,” she explained.
The relationship between road crashes and traffic law enforcement has been studied extensively.
In a book published in the United Kingdom, a chapter on the “effectiveness of traffic policing in reducing traffic crashes” found that if motorists perceive they might get caught violating road rules – by an enforcer, or tracking devices such as speed guns or CCTV cameras – they will adjust their behavior. This in turn reduces the likelihood of a road crash.
While the city’s roads are equipped with closed circuit television cameras in select areas, these cameras are used mainly for monitoring traffic situation and are not designed to capture traffic violations and road crashes in real time.
Speed guns targeting speeding vehicles are also limited in number.
In May, the World Health Organization highlighted that excessive speed is among the key behavioral risk factors for road deaths and injuries, contributing up to half of deaths from road crashes in low- and middle-income countries like the Philippines.
For its part, Lim said PNP HPG has intensified campaigns, in the form of infomercials and graphics, among others, advocating speed reduction as a safety measure.
Last year, the agency recorded a total of 32,269 road crashes in the Philippines mostly from reckless driving, or an average of 88 incidents daily. Of this number, 2,144 resulted in deaths.
Focused on Metro Manila road crashes alone, the MMDA reported a total of 109,322 incidents. In Metro Manila, Quezon City, the largest city in terms of land area, recorded the highest number of crashes.
To reduce the number of road crash deaths and injuries in the city, the local government has approved on third and final reading the Quezon City’s Road Safety Code.
The code, a signature away to becoming an ordinance, introduces interventions such as setting specific speed limits on main roads and implementing a no helmet, no travel policy.
In a news report, Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte said the local government will also deploy more traffic enforcers at night to deal with road crashes.
Yet, for DPOS Traffic Operations Chief Dexter Cardenas, augmenting enforcement alone wouldn’t solve road crashes.
A disregard for road rules resulting in road crashes, he said, usually happens in between intersections without traffic lights or enforcers.
“In between those intersections, when a crash occurs, there are no enforcers assigned to monitor because there is no traffic congestion in those areas,” he said.
“Deploying an enforcer is not an immediate solution. Perhaps, their visibility would instill fear, but there are three approaches to [addressing road crashes],” Cardenas said, adding that education and environment are as crucial.
“Because what people see as the only solution to road crashes is enforcement, which should not be. There must also be education, teaching people to be obedient to the law. And secondly, the engineering and design of the road,” he said.
Cardenas eagerly awaits the passage of the Road Safety Code of Quezon City, which he said will now enable traffic safety officials to examine the causes of road crashes in blackspots, and evaluate the reasons behind these.
“Does the road need enforcers, or just some lane markings and certain signages? The engineering design of the network or the quality of the road surface could also be the problem,” he added.
___
This story was produced under the Bloomberg Initiative Global Road Safety Media Fellowship implemented by the World Health Organization, Department of Transportation and VERA Files.VERA Files is put out by veteran journalists taking a deeper look at current issues. Vera is Latin for “true.”

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

UST law dean should face probe ...

... over freshman's hazing death: lawyer

Patrick Quintos, ABS-CBN News

MANILA - The dean of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Faculty of Civil Law, who is a member of the fraternity involved in the hazing death of Horacio "Atio" Castillo III, should also be investigated, according to a lawyer assisting the student's family.
Speaking to ANC, Atty. Lorna Kapunan said Dean Nilo Divina, who earlier claimed he has been an inactive fratman of the Aegis Jvris, was the one who recruited the 22-year-old UST student to the fraternity, according to the account of the mother.
"She did not want her child to belong to a fraternity but they were assured by the dean that there was going to be no hazing," said Kapunan, who co-founded the Inang Naulila sa Anak (INA) Foundation.
In the interview, Kapunan cast doubt on claims that Castillo was the only person undergoing hazing by fratmen.
The lawyer also said the Department of Justice should verify reports that the fratmen involved in the fatal hazing of Atio, in panic, went to Divina's house after the hazing to seek help.
Even if untrue, she said Divina, as UST law dean, should have ensured that the requirements of the Anti-Hazing Law were met and that there were at least school representatives when the initiation rites for the Aegis Jvris neophytes were conducted.
"If there were two responsible adults there I don't think the murder would happen," Kapunan said.
Divina, however, denied that Aegis Jvris members went to his house after the hazing. He said he will file charges against Kapunan.
Divina earlier said he has been inactive with Aegis Jvris since he assumed deanship. He also stressed that the UST Faculty of Civil Law does not tolerate violence among fraternities, claiming that Aegis Juris did not give them notice about the initiation rites.
Kapunan, meanwhile, said it would be a good idea to turn primary suspect John Paul Solano into a state witness. She believes Solano is telling the truth, after he named names in the hazing incident during a Senate executive session.
She hopes that the truth comes out especially they already received reports that Atio was not the lone neophyte in the initiation rites, and the 18 others were told to be silent about the hazing incident.
FORUM SHOPPING
In the interview, Kapunan also denied that she is "forum shopping" after the House justice committee junked an impeachment complaint against Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista for being insufficient in forum.
Kapunan is an adviser of Mrs. Patricia Bautista, estranged wife of the Comelec chief. Mrs. Bautista earlier said she has documents that show the poll chief had P1 billion in unexplained wealth. She said her husband allegedly received "commissions" from Divina's law firm, which counts among its clients Smartmatic, Comelec's contractor in the automated elections.
Divina has denied Mrs. Bautista's claims.
Kapunan noted the impeachment complaint against the Comelec chief was filed without Mrs. Bautista's participation and before the National Bureau of Investigation could finish its own probe on the unexplained wealth.
"Patricia was not the one who filed the impeachment complaint. It was filed notwithstanding our advice to wait for the NBI report," she said.

Monday, September 4, 2017

Careful rumor mongers

Reprint from Mindanao Daily Mirror, published September 2-3, 2017 with friendly permission from the publisher.

EDITORIAL

Beware rumors mongers, you could now land in jail. This after President Duterte signed into law Republic Act 10951 which constitutes the amendments of the Revised  Penal Code. The law carries harsher penalties of crimes among others, treason which is now punishable by reclusion perpetua to death and a fine of at most 4 million Pesos, and spreading of false news found to endanger public order or cause damage to the interest of the State either thru publication  or utterances. The spread of fake news or unlawful utterances entails the penalty of arresto mayor (imprisonment of one month and a day to six months) and a fine of ranging from 40,000 to 200,000 Pesos. The prevalence of fake news recently in this country pushed lawmakers to declare it as criminal act.

Making fake news crime is a welcome development provided it would not be abused merely as a means for the fulfillment of certain political interests. This law also faces the danger of being abused as means to harass people out of personal grudge. Worse comes to worse, it could be used as a means to pin down political  detractors or enemies of state who are out to divulge irregularities of certain government officials or personnel. Thus, implementation of this law should be handled with extra caution to avoid thumping onto one's rights. There is a big tendency the spread of vital information against crooks in government could be easily charge to fake news, thereby curtailing one's right to freedom of speech. This is not cynicism since the above negative circumstances are big possibilities.

For all intensive purposes, fake news as a crime provides a tough lesson to rumor mongers who intend to color other people black. These people should be dealt with accordingly and be given a dose of their own medicine to let them realize how hurting it would be to be maligned in public. Meanwhile R.A. 10951 also penalizes a public officer who is guilty of revealing secrets of a private individual by arresto mayor and fine not exceeding 200,000 Pesos. This specifically pertains to a quidnunc who has the obsession of meddling into one's personal life for an ulterior motive only known to him. This law with any luck would stamp quidnuncs out.

Friday, November 13, 2015

Bullet Scam Victims Cleared!

Bullet scam victims cleared

No intention to violate law, Abaya tells Senate
Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph A. Abaya yesterday conceded that persons, mostly overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), arrested for alleged possession of bullets in what is now dubbed the “tanim-bala” (bullet-planting) scam at the airports “are not guilty and had no intent to violate the law.”
In an effort to address the tanim-bala incidents, Abaya called on the senators to carve out from the proposed 2016 Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) outlay a budget for the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) for the purchase of security equipment, particularly closed-circuit TV (CCTV).
image: http://www.mb.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Ricochet1.jpg


It was bared that airport personnel had demanded that White should fork out over P30,000 to settle his case, but he declined.
White’s family were on their way to Coron, Palawan, for their missionary work when he was allegedly victimized by airport screeners.
Another victim, Gloria Ortinez, 56, of Paoay, Ilocos Norte, had to spend two nights in a detention cell before she was released by the Pasay City Prosecutors Office after Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) chief Persida V. Rued-Acosta cited a Supreme Court decision that the charges must be dropped because there is no intent to possess and that the bullets are not intended to be used.
Four others accused of the same tanim-bala raps were released, she added.
Acosta stressed that the tanim-bala operation must be stopped but “the devil’s advocates” are there at the airport.
LACK OF COMPASSION
Sen. Grace Poe said what the national government lacks is compassion and common sense and that coordination and leadership must be shown by MIAA general manager Jose Angel Honrado, who was given a 70 percent passing grade by Abaya.
Poe also questioned why the National Civil Aviation Security Council, the single authority for transportation system in the country, has not yet been convened by Abaya despite the bullet scam.
Abaya vowed to convene the council to address the tanim-bala.
The passing grade drew an angry reaction from Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. and Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter S. Cayetano.
Honrado claimed during the hearing that he has no control over aviation personnel who man the x-ray machines at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Susan “Toots” Ople, OFW advocate, bewailed the failure or neglect of airport officials to tap the services of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to help the tanim-bala victims as these agencies have desks at the airport.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto said these alleged extortion activities damage NAIA’s reputation, giving an impression that the facility is gradually becoming a major extortion hub of the country.
“Extortion schemes and other forms of misconduct undermine the efforts made by the Philippine government in curbing corruption and in maximizing the Philippines’ potential for business and tourism.
ORTINEZ FLYING TO HK
As this developed, Ortinez will fly to Hong Kong tomorrow in attempts to regain her employment as a household service worker (HSW) following the dismissal of  her illegal possession of ammunition case over the “tannin-bala.
Ople said she will be accompanying Ortinez to convince her employer to rehire the 56-year-old OFW.
“We are headed to HK this Saturday so that she (Ortinez) can personally talk to her employer,” Ople said.
Ortinez will also be accompanied by Labor Undersecretary Ciriaco Lagunzad III to help with her cause.
“The POLO (Philippine Overseas Labor Office) already sent a letter to Gloria’s employer, but this Saturday Usec Lagunzad will be accompanying Glo to HK to directly talk to her employer,” OWWA Administrator Rebecca Calzado said.
Abaya assured Ortinez that he would write a letter or call her Hongkong employer to take her back after the charges lodged against her had been dismissed.
“I will craft a letter. I will call her employer …whatever Nanay Gloria asks me to do. No reservation,” Abaya told senators during the hearing.
Ortinez was detained by authorities at the NAIA last month after a bullet was allegedly found in her luggage.
She, however, denied the ammo belonged to her, claiming she was a victim of the tanim-bala scam.
The ordeal prevented her from immediately returning to her employer making her worry she might be replaced.
MEDIA BAN HIT
With the public outcry over the tanim-bala issue, airport authorities ban mediamen fromm certain areas.
The move prompted Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero to assail airport authorities.
Escudero said NAIA officials should give members of duly registered media entities access to areas where they can exercise their duties without intervening in security personnel’s work.
The senator made the call following reports that journalists covering Manila’s international airports are now prohibited from going to certain areas of NAIA Terminal 3.
NAIA reporters complained that the restriction on their access came only in the wake of reports on the alleged extortion scheme that has victimized overseas Filipino workers, tourists and travellers on business.
“At a time like this when we are all trying to find the truth behind this deplorable ‘tanim-bala’ modus operandi, we need the media to be free to do its work of gathering information, examining our systems, and uncovering the wrongs that may be hidden from sight,” Escudero said.
Besides, NAIA personnel and officials of the MIAA should not feel threatened by the presence of prying eyes if they have nothing to hide, the senator stressed.
“Lagi naman nating sinasabi na ang walang tinatago, hindi natatakot masilip, (We’ve always believed that those who got nothing to hide are not afraid to be scrutinized),”  Escudero said.
“We enjoy a democracy that upholds and protects the people’s right to know. Curtailing the media’s freedom to do the important work of exposing the truth cannot be justified, especially in this particular case,” Escudero said.
CHARGES MULLED
Meanwhile, DUMPER Partylist, formerly known as the DUMPER Philippine Taxi Driver Association, is planning to sue tanim-bala accuser Julius Niel Habana for wrongfully incriminating taxi driver Ricky Milagrosa.
Milagrosa was driving Vigil taxi with license plate UVK 190 on the eve of October 29, 2015, when he was accused by Habana of planting a bullet in his friend’s luggage.
Habana posted about the incident on his Facebook page, saying, “Muntik ng madali ang kasamahan kung seaman papuntang NAIA, buti napansin niya (na may) nilagay ang driver sa bag (niya) nag (text) sakin kung anong gawin niya,nag advise ako na wag ng tumuloy sa airport dumaan nalng sa boardng house ko. (My friend and fellow seaman almost got into trouble on the way to NAIA. Good thing he noticed that the driver placed something on his bag, he texted me asking for help, and I advised him not to go to the airport and instead come to my boarding house).”
However, when the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) conducted a hearing regarding this matter, only Milagrosa and his operator attended to state their case. Habana, on the other hand, refused to answer any of the board’s attempts to contact him. (With reports from Hannah L. Torregoza, Czarina Nicole O. Ong, and Samuel P. Medenilla)

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Full Force of the Law

Re-published Editorial from MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR dated June 4, 2014 with friendly permission of the publisher Marietta F. Siongco.

Mayor Rodrigo Duterte expressed anew his iron-fist stance against police scalawags in Davao City, most especially those involved in illegal drugs and "akyat bahay" burglaries that have hit a number of residences. His warning is as grim as his previous ones: policemen who are found to be involved in such crimes will be killed, a concrete display of an extraordinary mayor being so vocal about putting the law into his own hands. Davaoenos have already gotten used to Duterte's hard-hitting pronouncements against unlawful elements and even welcomes them with recognition and adulation. There are those, however, who disagree.

Duterte's confirmattion that some Davao City cops are involved in illegal drugs and are in cahoots with notorius robbers is certainly frustrating, and it is understandable that many accept the need to warn such cops that they could face liquidation if they do not stop. Policemen, after all, are supposed to protect people, not harm them. These erring policemen, regardless of their rank, are a bane to society.

But we do live in a democracy. Our system does not allow for the extrajudicial settlement of debts to society. Government itself is bound by law, and officials must show themselves as the prime practitioners and followers of the legal process. Besides, what sweeter way to punish a rogue cop than to throw the book at him and have him face the full force of the law?