If you “stand with Hong Kong” but can’t see how the Philippines is in the same situation with this Anti-Terror Bill, you‘re not concerned with democracy in HK. You’re worried about the loss of a holiday destination.
President Marcos Jr. says he plans to visit in Hawaii his old friends who extended help to his family during their exile following his father's ouster in 1986.
Marcos Jr: These were the people who looked after us after 86. These were the people who fed us, they brought us
Safe to say that Pasig wouldn’t have a ~100K turnout if Naga, Cavite, Bulacan, Basilan, Negros, Isabela, Naga, Iloilo, Gensan, Zambo etc. didn’t first show that it could be done
For all the empty decentralization talk of this admin, LeniKiko shows how beautiful that can truly be
In the Philippines, the trick is to visit your friend in the morning.
You not only get lunch, but also tag along the family’s afternoon trip to the local Costco, the cinema (with snacks), dinner, and possibly get upgraded to a sleepover.
For decades, farmers were used as props by candidates, who'd then toy with their livelihood and futures after they get elected. This cycle, the Sumilao farmers are the ones campaigning for Leni in Mindanao, the San Nicolas farmers are raising Kiko's hands in endorsement.
Sinorpresa ng mga masasaka ng San Simon, Pampanga si Senator Kiko Pangilinan.
Nais daw nilang sila ang magtaas ng kamay ng ating kandidato sa pagka-bise presidente.
- Team Kiko
#KasamaSiKiko
#LeniKikoAllTheWay
#PampangaIsPink
If the President is too sick to lead the national government response to the successive calamities, the solution is not to stay indoors as advised by the PSG/his doctors.
The solution is to resign and let the Vice-President take over, as suggested by the Constitution.
We took COVID seriously because doctors sounded the alarm: that while many may suffer mild symptoms, it can be fatal for some.
Please take the Anti-Terror Bill seriously because lawyers are sounding the alarm: that while there are exceptions, there are few safeguards v abuse. 1/
"Private cars ang pa-traffic" misses the point:
Gov't lifted ECQ w/o public transport. Instead of retrofitting jeeps to make them safe, it went with a typical unsophisticated solution, i.e. total ban.
The gov't left us on our own. Stop blaming people for just trying to survive.
Heavy traffic at Commonwealth Avenue and Regalado Avenue at around 6:00 am on June 1, 2020, the start of the General Community Quarantine in Metro Manila. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News
Sure, university rankings are dubious.* But it would be a grave mistake for U.P. not to use its ~200 drop in THE (and being overtaken as the top PH school) as a soul-searching opportunity, given how its own students/alumni are conspicuously not coming to its defense.
Not a DDS, pero naghahanap ka pa rin ng “context” sa video? Sorry, DDS ka.
Binaril ‘yung mag-ina sa liwanag ng araw at walang depensa, tapos may “context” na magsasalba sa kabulagan mo? DDS ka.
“Isolated incident”? 5,000+ na ang patay sa ilalim ng poon niyo. DDS ka.
DDS ka.
All of the sorties—Quezon City (my hometown!), Butuan, Surigao, CDO, etc.—were impressive. But I think Basilan’s 45K was the most inspiring. That’s ~10% of the provincial population, in the SW corner of the Phlippines.
When you show up for the people, they show up for you.
Been avoiding this, but there was already a UP Golf in the 2010s. So it’s worth thinking why the reaction is ~this strong. And it may come from a “confirmation” of a deeply-felt major demographic shift in UP Diliman.
There are impt hard questions, none of which are pleasant. 1/
Have been to many UP Law grads. First time to see a whole class—which studied law as Duterte captured institutions and Marcos was restored—join the lightning rally.
Like my Drug War class of 2016, some may well assist the very policies they condemn. But hope springs eternal.
The Du30 mascot punching a COVID mascot captures why PH had the worst response in SEA: everything is pandemic theater, w/ mandatory faceshields and police in fatigues intended to show that gov’t is doing something when it is really just waiting for the virus (or us) to die out.
Suntukin ko 'yan 👊
LOOK: A mascot of coronavirus being punched by a mascot of President Rodrigo Duterte was the highlight of the press briefing and covenant of the Joint Movement for Free COVID-19 Vaccine in the Philippines on Wednesday, October 27, in Pasay City.
Said it before, I'll say it again: Curfews are illegal as a restriction on the right to travel. LGUs have no power to impose it. While the right to travel may be restricted for public health, it requires an enabling law--and there is currently none. See SPARK v Quezon City (2017)
Today, 3 days before UP Law freshmen begin a most unusual sem, they are learning a lesson that should frame how they understand the law for the rest of their lives:
What is legal is not always just.
To say that “all presidents are the same” nudges people to gamble with the worst options because they feel they have nothing to lose. 2016 taught us that we do.
It’s in that light that I think an honest, critical view of PNoy’s legacy can’t result from that oversimplification.
This is why anyone who voted to kill the franchise is unqualified for public office.
That they would vote—out of spite/fear for their political careers and given COVID/yearly supertyphoons—to kill a major info source says ALL you need to know about how they view their mandate.
If we take him at his word, that he STILL supported Marcos Jr for President is Exhibit Z of the hollowness of Duterte’s War on Drugs. It was and has always been a War on the Poor.
“Bong Bong, bangag yan. May drug addict tayo na president.”
In a speech during the prayer rally in Davao City on Sunday night, former president Rodrigo Duterte accuses president Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr. to be a drug addict.
“Noong ako ay mayor, pinakitaan ako ng
PH twitter is abuzz with calls to “drop” Leni as opposition leader because of her (1) non-filing of cyberlibel charges vs fake news spreaders/trolls and (2) refusal to contest the results of the 2022 elections.
People need to stop shooting from the hip. It will kill us all. 1/
Maybe it’s time to re-think the conventional wisdom under the Duterte regime that we should not engage “trolls.”
It’s not 2019. Bulacan et al show we’ve hit a critical mass (i.e. may resbak na), and maybe there’s strategic value in insisting on the truth and pushing back 1/
Cannot believe uniformed immigration personnel need the protection of a non-existent Cyberbullying Law and the misapplication of the Data Privacy Act. Was this cleared with their legal?
One of the first things 1Ls learn in UP Law is not to confuse the law for the ideal: that just because it *is* the law doesn’t mean that it *should* be.
I’ve found that the lesson is quickly forgotten the more students grow in law and become lawyers themselves. 1/
The applicant had every right to reject the offer just as much as the company had every right to reject her application.
The applicant was good enough for an offer but the company could not afford her. So who is really the “entitled” party here?
We lost 2016 and 2019 because we were preaching to the choir, in a language our choir understood, in the pure white robes our choir admired.
Not saying we need to play dirty, but we do need to get less squeamish.
Anti-terrorism laws are not evil per se. Laws rarely are. But at the hands of despots, they can be used to kill dissent and perpetuate power.
This gov’t was able to exploit its pandemic powers to stifle free speech and promote Bong Go. Pano pa ‘yung panlaban talaga sa terorista?
Sigh:
1. BAHO can’t/doesn’t authorize warrantless arrests.
2. BAHO doesn’t give police right to shoot except in self-defense/of others.
3. If you’re a lawyer who says so, you break your oath.
4. If you’re a law student, sana hanggang student ka na lang. I SAID IT. I MEANT IT.
Reading some of the QRTs/replies, and I think the point is Filipino hospitality/generosity—to a fault.
Obv., not all hosts get to do it, but they’ll share some other way. Guests do/should pulse-check (makiramdam). And the ‘local Costco’ is a descriptive aid. So yes, Puregold.
Closed ABS-CBN contrary to press freedom (III.4), oversaw extralegal killings of drug suspects contrary to due process (III.1), concealed his health despite disclosure requirements (VII.12), obscured a Senate investigation (VII.21), but sure, do not f**k with the Constitution.
‘DO NOT F**K WITH THE CONSTITUTION.’
Former President Rodrigo Duterte warned President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. against taking the path of the latter’s father and namesake, telling him to “not dream of extending [his] term.”
READ MORE:
Annual plea, but ahead of the PH bar results:
A serious reform of the PH bar exam requires (1) abolishing the list of top scorers and its equivalents, e.g., categorization (excellent, exemplary); and (2) reversing the personalization of the bar exam. 1/
Scrubbing posts you've written before the Cybercrime Law came into effect? Changing your Facebook name? Hesitating to post/tweet your criticism of people in power?
Even when you're not actually the one sued for libel or a cybercrime?
That is what we call the "chilling effect".
There are Qs that can be answered by data we are ignoring:
1. If the UPCAT is purely merit-based, has public basic ed (in general) fallen behind?
2. Did free (vs socialized) tuition actually crowd-out low-income students by making UP more attractive to the middle class? 2/
Unpopular opinion, but “in the difficult moments, hindi siya nagpapakita” is, I think, more compelling than “sinungaling” to voters we still need to convince.
Both are absolutely true re: BBM, but his voters at this point are already fine with the lying.
Since 2016, the UP Carillon has played Bayan Ko to mark 3 events:
Marcos' LNMB burial
CJ Sereno's ouster
The ABS-CBN Shutdown
Its bells did not toll as in a funeral for democracy. Instead, it played, somberly but defiantly, the protest song that marked the fall of a dictator.
The clip doesn't show how the farmers hyped the
#PampangaIsPink
crowd after they raised Leni and Kiko's hands. "Kahit simpleng magsasaka lang kami, ipapasa namin si Sen Kiko at si Ma'am Leni!" They own this campaign. Kung ako si Kiko hahagulgol din ako.
There is a palpable surge of COVID in M. Manila, and people who've gotten it a 2nd/3rd/nth time complain that even if they've wanted boosters, they couldn't get them anywhere. In a country without affordable healthcare for long-term illnesses. Gobyerno talaga ang papatay sa atin.
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa cited a change in the approach in dealing with the viral illness, saying they have learned “that the solution is minimum public health standards and managing your own personal risks.”
I keep thinking how I'd feel if I were in Leni and Kiko's shoes. Kakabahan ako kung manalo ako! 'Yung mga botante nila 'yung tipong magmamatyag at maniningil. As we should.
To be clear, it’s great that we’re standing with HK and insisting that black lives matter. The fight against autocracy and racial discrimination is a universal fight. But solidarity with the rest of humanity shouldn’t stop us from standing with the humans in our own backyard.
If public officials sincerely think that being called “stupid” is libelous/defamatory, they are not ready for the much greater challenges of public office.
JUST IN: Incoming NSA Adviser Clarita Carlos has requested the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate alleged libelous posts made against her by five personalities. | via
@Nikobaua
The problem with the moralized grief that Leni is not “fighting hard enough for us” is it shows that we haven’t internalized how multi-generational a struggle it’ll be to build a better democracy. We can’t fight every battle there is, much less at mere sight. 6/
I haven't seen any criminal case in the Philippines that took only 3 months from arrest to acquittal, i.e., after full trial.
I have no basis to say that something was irregular. But that this is not how it is for everyone drives the perception that the system serves only some.
We should NOT trust lawyers blindly! But when professionals—who, by nature, sincerely disagree on most things—speak as a community, that should count for something. Why should the assurances of your favorite politician deserve more credence? 3/
Reflecting on PNoy’s term, I think the ff can’t seriously be questioned:
1) He didn’t try to have a relative replace him or to hold on to power
2) He didn’t sell us to an aggressor
3) He didn’t enrich himself in office
By these alone, he is better than the one we have
I remember all the “should we
#OustDuterte
during a public health emergency?” circa March 2020.
1.5 yrs later, we have 20K daily cases, budget cuts to health, plunder in PPE purchases, and a father-daughter run for “continuity”?
The correct answer was and is, “Absolutely.”
I’d argue that as it’s naked indoctrination, it violates the constitutionally protected acad freedom of SUCs. Clear to anyone with a college degree.
Have my own misgivings about flag ceremonies in general, but an EO-mandated pledge also raises serious issues w/ compelled speech.
President
@bongbongmarcos
orders all national government agencies and SUCs to recite the “Bagong Pilipinas Hymn and Pledge” during flag ceremonies to “further instill the principles of the Bagong Pilipinas brand of governance and leadership among Filipinos.”
LGUs are only
Especially when the lawyers are basically just confirming your own honest observations on selective justice: No to rallies, but yes to mañanitas. Arrests for Piston 6/Cebu 7, but Mocha/Bong can keep exploring.
Search your feelings, you know it to be true.
#JunkTerrorBill
4/4
Doctors based their warning on their training and their personal knowledge of the limits of our healthcare system.
We’re basing our warning on our knowledge of the flaws of the justice system and law enforcement and how they can be exploited to silence critics. 2/
3. If the rich are coming to UP (despite its poor ranking), has good private ed become so inaccessible?
4. Is UPD’s student body richer now because low-income students have chosen to study in other CUs/SUCs?
5. Has the non-tuition cost of studying in UPD become prohibitive? 3/
The senior lawyers who justify warrantless entries and immediate punishment for ECQ violators as "police power"/"general welfare" are the same lawyers who measure your worth by your bar scores.
Further proof of the limits of the bar exam and what it does and does not measure.
Ateneo Law’s elevator broke down this week—a rare opportunity to teach future litigators how to climb the 14 flights of stairs to the Metropolitan Trial Court of Makati City.
Respectfully: The worst way to proclaim your status as a lawyer isn’t the license plate. Or the IBP card.
It’s a socmed post on not studying for 4/+ years just to give legal advice for free, or complaining about acquaintances coming back into your life via “Hi, Attorney”. 1/
We need more info on who gave the vaccine to the AFP as a “Christmas gift” since under Const. art. IX-B:
“Sec. 8. No elective or appointive public officer or employee shall ... accept without the consent of the Congress, any present ... of any kind from any foreign government.”
Not gonna dignify every reply with a response. But suffice to say that every PH taxpayer funds every presidential trip, official or unofficial (e.g., security). And for efficiency, happy to accommodate these incidental personal benefits. But is the personal benefit incidental?
The disbarment is overdue! But anxious to see the resolution, on the direct contempt for how Gadon “sought to inhibit” justices in his case
PH practitioners should watch out as judges will take their lead from this. Academics should see what this means for privileged speech. 1/5
Philippine Supreme Court Public Information Office
Why is it important to say this out loud? Because people need to remember that what's happening around us is not normal and cannot be the "new normal".
From Leni’s speeches since her loss, my sense is that she is precisely doing that debriefing/evaluation. And that is a painful process that takes time. It requires her—requires us!—to retreat from some fights when we can so we can regroup, restrategize, and act deliberately. 5/
When Drilon graduates in 2022, the Senate will have one less member with the skill and bona fides to ask questions like this.
I mean, we have other senators who can, but they will only act tough in non-controversial hearings—more posturing than legislative oversight.
HULI!!!
Galing ng tanong ni
@BigManDrilon
!
Drilon asked who owns the inventory purchased for DOH by PS-DBM. Duque said property of DOH.
Biglang tanong ni Sen Drilon "So why did you buy your own face masks/shields from PS-DBM?" At may tubo pa na 4%?
Bow!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
And here I was hoping that aspiring lawyers understood that the Court is not above public criticism, or that lawyers are not a professional class above all others, etc.
that the Supreme Court needed to tighten the security during the bar exams.
Why direct the attack towards the SC? Why not towards the school for how it implemented modal learning for the bar season?
A fmr student reminded me of my advice when he began his review for this week’s PH bar exams:
Don’t make it more dramatic than it is.
And really, it should’ve been for the profession that insists this is the best way to screen new members, reinforcing myths around the exam. 1/
Alam kong wala na pake mga tao sa batas since 2016, but lines must be drawn anyway: A curfew is a limitation on the right to travel, which limitations must be by law. As far as I know, there is no law which allows LGUs, and definitely not the MMDA...
(1) The decision to use cyberlibel as a tool to fight back vs trolls and fake news is complex. It’s not even abt cost, but principle.
Cyberlibel is a severe tool that disproportionately penalizes internet libel. It has been misused against journalists and activists. 2/
The even harder Qs are the follow-ups, which are premised on a budget constraint:
1. Are there redistributive effects of socialized tuition that aren’t produced in a free-tuition model?
2. Should resources be allocated to improving other CUs/SUCs? 4/
I’m on record re: backwardness of PH legal ed and UP’s curriculum. That our students can still win Jessup shows that they and their hard work* are our saving grace. The possibilities are endless if the rest of us get it together. Congrats to UP Law’s Jessup team, world champs!
*Saying this while being very happy for Ateneo. We’ve heavily benefited from their research output/publications for some time. And the work of their holistically formed undergrads are some of the most insightful I’ve reviewed/supervised in U.P. Law.
Unpopular opinion, but Senate did a good job of limiting the Bayanihan Bill--at least it's not the unlimited power APC wanted for Duts.
Also shows that until we have a real party system, we need a Senate to check a House that's historically been an Executive rubber stamp.
3. For admissions, should UP aim to be a vehicle for affirmative action or admit based on merit only?
Complete overhaul of capitalist education (or reallocation of confidential funds) can be answers to these, but asking in rel to what is within the reach of UP admin. 5/5
Hoping that the Phil Supreme Court can come up w/ a more efficient way of holding the bar exams than closing univ. campuses for a week.
The NY Bar is administered in NYC’s Javits Center (among others). There are convention halls in every major PH city, some gov’t-owned. 1/3
PNoy also got the best people to work with him. During his time, peers were being recruited from all regions/backgrounds. Graduating from top schools here and abroad, they turned down high salaries and worked for PNoy’s gov’t because of the promise of what a clean gov’t can do.
Sa Pilipinas lang ata ‘yung kapwa taumbayan ang sinisisi sa kapalpakan ng gobyerno nila, e.g., ‘di nagbabasa ng announcement na magsasara ang MRT.
Shouldn’t the right question be, bakit sinara na walang alternatibo? Bakit walang plano? Martiiir
P.S. Am aware of the original hashtag that made that post viral, but my sense is the discomfort is more deeply rooted in the structural changes in UPD’s student body composition.
The restorative movement is already threatened by dark money and a system tilted towards people already in power. It can’t afford the daily damage from clout-driven self-owns. And we certainly can’t keep shooting people who, by all indications, truly have our back. 7/7
(1) The obsession with topnotchers has stunted PH legal education. Instead of courses/approaches that push future lawyers to reform the PH system, schools focus on “bar knowledge,” teaching students to regurgitate statutes/cases which tend to protect existing hierarchies. 2/
Attended a wedding of a HS classmate 2 weekends ago. It’s been more than 12 hrs since I found out that on my note to my gift, I got his bride’s name wrong—calling her by his ex’s name. I haven’t recovered or may ever recover.
Also, and respectfully, if our takeway is (1) reducing the number of general education courses, or (2) a press release mentioning the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we have not learned anything.
Shoutout to my barber, Kuya Jun, whose unprompted reflection (“buti pa noong kay PNoy, eh ngayon parang pineperahan na lang tayo sa faceshield”) also made me question how much of the discourse we’ve ceded to the trolls. Also happy he convinced coworkers to get vaccinated.
Lawyers are prohibited under the “no contact” rule from talking directly with one who already has a lawyer (on the subject of the representation). (See CPR Rule 8.02)
If there is reason to believe that this was violated by the top gov’t lawyer (twice), the IBP must investigate.
Calida says the 2 Aetas who previously sought to intervene in the ATA petitions have executed an affidavit of desistance and says they are now represented by NCIP and Public Attorneys Office. Claims Aetas paid one thousand pesos.
Interviewed by
@jairojourno
in this Rappler piece on RPC clauses protecting religion. Space constraints mean I couldn't explain in detail my view that Arts. 201 and 133 are unconstitutional as an establishment of religion, so tweeting them in this thread. 1/
In suing Pura Luka Vega, the complainants alleged that the drag artist violated Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code. Specifically, the drag artist was charged for the performance that allegedly “offend(s) any race or religion” under the law.
READ:
If there's a people power revolution on your oath taking, what will you do? Marcos: Finish my oath so I can order as president. Talk to the military and identify who is with us and who aren't, and ask the people why they are revolting. We negotiate, we don't start a civil war.
Anecdotal, but the Philippines similarly saw “Old Manila” nostalgia Facebook pages pop out of nowhere in the early 2010s. Perfectly fit the then-emerging narrative that strongman-enforced discipline (Marcos, Duterte) was preferable to the post-EDSA urban chaos.
🧵 On Those Classic Cultural Twitter Accounts
Someone on here questioned why I would say that accounts like the one below are dog whistles for white supremacy.
Well, ok. Let's do this.
(2) Anyone who still doubts that Marcos Jr amassed 31M votes need only watch Gilas last night.
Winning the country back from a final alliance of dynasties and oligarchies requires accepting the result of the 2022 elections and making sense of what it says abt our democracy. 4/
My peers in PNoy’s admin proudly joined a young but competent bureaucracy, w/c they could based on merit. While that idealism gave way to the reality that governing is hard, there wasn’t this brazenness that public office is for self-enrichment.
Low bar, but look at where we are
To be fair, as a Filipino overseas, mas nakakahiya 'yung matanong araw-araw kung bakit tayo naghahalal ng tao na galing sa pamilyang ninakawan tayo ng $10 Billion, may P203 na utang sa gobyerno, at kapapatalsik lang natin 30 years ago. You cannot comprehend the shame.
‘BILANG PILIPINO, NAKAKAHIYA’
Atty. Vic Rodriguez, the spokesperson of presumptive president Bongbong Marcos, lamented the protests organized by Filipino communities in Australia, stressing that it is not “Filipino culture” to humiliate fellow Filipino outside the Philippines.
Haven’t used EDSA in mos and not a transpo expert, but there’s something I don’t get from the pic used to show Pinoys’ “lack of discipline”:
Why take half a car lane for the bike lane? The car won’t fit in the other half anyway. So just give bikes the whole thing?
Unlike in 2010, my gen is jaded, tired, and cynical—signs of aging. Many of my peers have left not just gov’t but the country, with more on the way out. But just as the youth then propelled PNoy and his administration, I hope (even) younger people give us reasons to keep fighting
In SPARK, LGU curfews for minors were justified by the law (e.g., PD 603).
But there is no law allowing curfews for persons of legal age—in LGC, RA 11332, or even BAHO (expired).
Worth noting also that PD 603 aside, SPARK ordinances were still subjected to strict scrutiny test.
VP Leni said that her team, at some point, realized that it had to push back vs disinfo instead of not engaging her online detractors.
That made me think if we’ve conceded too much of the terrain to lies, letting them grow deep, complex roots—like weeds that are hard to kill. 2/
Surprised that very few suggested the barong, which is cool enough for waiting up to 4 hours in non-airconditioned halls before your court hearing starts. (Straits Times photo)
t-shirt and shorts, or dress shirt and chinos, is basically about as lightweight, nonexistent clothing as you can get. traditional clothing in these other places often involves more cloth. IMO, the prob is that most American men don't want to spend money or wear more fabric.
There is def a need to push back vs people who red-tag or defame citizens (and, to an extent, public officials). Cyberlibel might well be the tool. But using it has collateral consequences that Leni may be (rightly) carefully weighing. 3/
We have an Anti-Terror Act that can be weaponized against dissent, a court ruling that blocks us from inquiring on the president’s health, armed men on the street enforcing curfews, and the shutdown of the largest TV network.
And Duterte didn’t even have to declare Martial Law.
So, not to sound like a “legal influencer,” but best wishes to everyone taking the PH bar—especially my former students. Looking forward to reimagining a better future with you, where law is a means to fairness and not a personality. 5/5
Examinees also fixate on studying the bar chair’s decisions when they should be tested on the law as a whole, not as principally interpreted by a justice.
These two increase the possibility that admission is contingent on the year of examination, which is ideally irrelevant. 8/