Shake, rattle and roll

Oh boy, here it comes. It was very slight, and brief (see christine’s Site), but there it was. Tremors shake Metro Manila, Central Luzon areas. This, after Philippines Hit by 6.5-Magnitude Earthquake, U.S. Agency Says . And this sets the scene: 6.6 quake in Atlantic, north of Brazilian coast — USGS.

24 years after, brains of Ninoy slay a mystery. Goofy idea or lapsus senilis? Narvasa: We should close book on Ninoy Aquino’s murder. See Inquirer Current for my entry on Ninoy’s martyrdom.

On the Mindanao front: ‘No spillover of Mindanao hostilities in Metro Manila’ even as PNP placed on full alert nationwide. Government tries to soft-pedal news that Government-MILF talks canceled. In Hawk Central (Philippine Commentary), there’s an update on concern among retired or ex-officers, on the recent casualties in the fighting.

At this point, I’d like to share with you a copy of a letter Sen. Dick Gordon sent the President, which makes for interesting reading (he sent me a copy this morning). Here’s the letter:

Letter To Gma Sulu Basilan

Some interesting excerpts:

1. Despite the recent hostilities in Basilan and Sulu, which have claimed many lives and injured others, the area is by no means a war zone. The situation is under control. The no-guns policy is being enforced effectively by the AFP and the PNP under the leadership of Gen. Romeo Tolentino and Gen. Ruben Rafael . The number of displaced persons is not as large as feared, and they are being assisted by the DSWD, PNRC and other groups. Normal business and social life prevails.

This is not to minimize the seriousness of the terrorist threat and the high toll of lives of recent incidents there. But the fighting has occurred mainly in a few pockets of the two islands where the campaign against terrorist bands, particularly the Abu Sayyaf, is being prosecuted.

The local people, while edgy about the recent fighting and the military presence, are happy about the gun ban. Sulu Governor Abdulsakur Tan told me that he will continue the ban beyond the current situation. He has successfully made all mayors and barangay chairmen report to their posts, where in the past such local officials used to station themselves in Zamboanga City. The mayor of Jolo, Hussin Amin, is fully supporting his initiatives.

The focus of complaint and worry of the local people is not peace and order but the poor provision of basic services (such as schools, water service and roads), the payment of salaries to teachers, and support for economic activities and livelihood.

He goes on to note that,

4. On the economic front, business and commerce go on as usual in both islands. In the campus of the Jolo Agricultural School, we visited a site that used to be a dumping ground for bodies. It is now being used for poultry raising. We found high school and college students bottling sardines, mangosteen and durian. Everywhere we went, we were being offered bananas, lanzones and other fruits. These produce are very cheap in the province. Mangosteen was selling for 5 to 7 pesos per kilo. In Metro Manila, it sells for P100 to P120 per kilo. I believe the President should call on the DTI to help them market these products at better prices. This will do so much to provide livelihood and jobs to the people of Sulu and the entire ARMM area.

Another move that could really help the regional economy is for the government to finish the circumferential road in Isabela City in Basilan and other road projects. General Juancho Saban, the marine brigade commander in Basilan, told me that the completion of the circumferential road will have far-reaching impact on provincial life and commerce because people, goods and relief effort can move more quickly from Isabela to isolated towns. This will pave the way for local prosperity because of the increase in the number of rubber trees and the abundant production of lanzones.

He suggests a change of perspective:

What I am suggesting here, Your Excellency, is that we should consider a change in perspective and approach to the area. The prevailing practice has been to treat Basilan and Sulu as a war zone, whether one is calling for all-out war like the hardliners or for peace talks like the bishops. This has led to a total neglect of the all-important buildup of basic services and infrastructure in the area. But in fact, the situation there is no more severe than in other areas of the country where there are insurgent or rebel activities. Peace and order prevails and the encounters are sporadic and occur mainly in forest areas. Significantly, however, by neglecting to strengthen basic governance in the area, we wind up losing the argument to the extremists and terrorists.

And makes an appeal for political will and to listen to the solutions proposed by those in the affected areas:

For this kind of capacity-building, assistance from the national government is a must. As I reported previously to Your Excellency after a visit to Tawi-tawi, in Bongao town a bridge donated by the US remains to be built even though the materials for it — valued at several hundred million pesos — have been there since seven years ago. This infrastructure will not happen unless there is direct intervention and assistance from the national government.

Simply stated, consistency, accountability and follow-through leadership in ARMM and government agencies must be committed to peace and progress in the region. Using best-practice as our model, we have to set up the infrastructure for accountability and standards to implement all funding initiatives.

What we face in the South, finally, is a battle for hearts and minds. The conflict cannot be won by force alone. All groups trying to help there — the military, the private sector, civil society and international aid organizations — share this conviction about the situation. Local people have to believe that there really is a peace dividend, and that in getting from here to there, we will be with them all the way.

On the economic front: this is a potentially highly significant story: Fewer OFWs leave, but flow of funds steady:

The remittances of overseas Filipinos have flowed at a rate of more than a billion dollars a month for 13

months in a series thus far, totaling $7.03 billion in the first half.

What is not apparent, however, is that the deployment of sea-based Pinoy workers fell by 11.1 percent to just 123,950 while land-based workers fell 3.2 percent to 422,262 during the period.

The declining pace of deployment has caught the eye of relevant government agency heads who noted the annual remittances account for 11 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product and at least half the country’s foreign exchange reserves at the moment.

The sustained flow of worker remittances helped fuel consumer spending that in turn pushed the GDP higher to 6.9 percent in the second quarter.

According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, deployment in the period contracted by 5.1 percent to only 546.212, making more imperative the pursuit of the training and skills development programs undertaken earlier by both government and private employment agencies.

Elsewhere, March of the mines sees islanders facing loss of ancestral homeland:

The Philippines archipelago of more than 7,200 islands is among the world’s most mineral-rich countries, with gold, silver, bauxite, nickel and coal mines. But it remains one of Asia’s poorest nations, with a fragile democracy, slow growth, weak institutions, and a widening wealth gap. Its mineral reserves are estimated to be worth £420bn, yet only 1.4% of the estimated 22m acres (9m ha) of mining land is covered by permits. To exploit the resources the government formed a mining act in 1995. It claimed the industry would bring an extra million jobs over the next six years, although only 125,000 people are now employed in mining. The development has come at a price for the country’s 84 million people. The worst mining disaster was on Marinduque island, involving a leak of 4m tonnes of toxic waste at Marcopper’s mine. The estimated damages of £40m have yet to be fully recouped

Deal-making update: 2 new air accords rushed. Also, Arroyo orders sale of energy assets rushed and GMA wants nuke power harnessed (see Jove Francisco for more details on government’s efforts to gauge public opinion on this one). Oversight’s called for on potentially juicy deals.

Happy, happy, joy, joy in the stock market: RP stocks index end up nearly 10% as global equities rebound. However, US stocks waver as uncertainty remains. As usual, noteworthy observations on the part of Ricky Carandang.

On a point of filial pride, Aquino Awards honors work of former president, priest. My mom was among the awardees, for her half-century of work in volunteer training, consumer advocacy, and NGO work.

Overseas, Thailand approves a flawed charter and Thailand’s Constitutional Merry-Go-Round. Also, how the American presidency clamps down on dissent in Sic ’em With the Rally Squad. See also, How Physics Can Explain Why Some Countries Are Rich And Others Are Poor.

Jarius Bondoc on the government’s winning its case vs. Fraport. Cielito Habito on the stock market and the Peso’s seesawing levels.

In the blogosphere, Mon Casiple has a blog! See his entry on GMA searches for way out of her political crisis:

The 2007 elections, particularly the senatorial one, basically confirmed the whole series of surveys on GMA that signified her political isolation from the majority of the electorate. Her senatorial slate got a drubbing, along with a very controversial last-place win for her candidate Senator Miguel Zubiri. The GMA kiss of death, some say. It resulted to her being considered a political lameduck for the rest of her term.

Well, except for two things that will diminish as her term ends. Her silent endorsement is eagerly but silently being solicited by presidentiables who need the money and resources a sitting president can give. The other thing is the behemoth GMA-led coalition that, so far, does not have a viable presidentiable in its stable…

GMA’s current political crisis stems from her alienation from the people — not from her bitter rivalry with the political opposition. The opposition only becomes effectively The Opposition if and when the people clearly side with it. Unfortunately for GMA, the situation beginning in the run-up to the 2004 elections generally went against her. Her December 31, 2002 Rizal Day statement that she will not run in the 2004 presidential elections did not help at all. Her perceived involvement in the Garcillano scandal started the current skid on a slope with no acceptable end in sight.

There are, I think, only two good options open for her: One, to gracefully exit in 2010, patch things up, and try to make good during her remaining days in office; and two, to negotiate with (a) winnable presidentiable(s) on political protection in the post-GMA period.

A third option, to remain in power beyond 2010 — as some in her Cabinet proposes — is a political minefield. Marcos did it in 1972 with the declaration of martial law — bringing forth the Marcos dictatorship and ruining the country. However, he had a certain level of popular support, the full control of the military, and the tacit tolerance of the Catholic church and Western powers at that time. GMA had none of these today.

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Manuel L. Quezon III.

85 thoughts on “Shake, rattle and roll

  1. “unless people promise to read the relevant laws and documents and not just Conrado de Quiros, k?”

    Nice. But DJB, I’ve read the entirety of HSA, and I still don’t believe it holds the key to fighting terrorism. The US has it’s Patriot Act, the British a similar law, but is there any sign of either country having success with these laws in fighting terrorism? Or are we fighting a losing battle?

    I’ve always believed that the moment we surrender the liberties we so value, the terrorists have won. when they make us so afraid of our own shadows, they’ve won. when they force the govt to make PARANOIA state policy, they’ve won.

    it’s not the letters written in HSA that defines its qualities as a good law. yes, nowhere does it explicitly state anything horrific as destroying our liberties per se, but as they say, the devil is in the details, eh? if you even had a grain of imagination and a little common sense, you’d see that HSA is barbed with all kinds of dangerous possibilities and no amount of legalistic eloquence will change that.

  2. Brian, not to mention the billions of Central Bank money that Roberto S. Benedicto’s Republic Planters Bank showered on the hacenderos as sweet-deal “loans” so the latter could still buy the latest car models, go on vacation abroad, and hold their annual “Kahirup” balls.

  3. If one is able to access Foreign Policy magazine you will find good articles on the threat assessment from intel agencies on Pakistan being the center of Al Qaeda’s resurgence and the probability that Pakistan will transfer nukes to terrorists.

    It is also no secret that due to the Philippines being an archipelago with a longer coastline even than the U.S. and with weak state institutions, it is a transhipment point
    for drugs and contraband that is used to fund both criminals and would be jihadists. It is relatively simple to move goods and money in and out of the country. In the so called supply chain of the Muslim jihad the Philippines provides a vital link in the export of contraband (shabu) in this part of the world. As for laundering money it is a criminal haven for washing money as HongKong and Singapore have tightened a little. As for projecting fear in the war On terror the Philippines does not have high value targets to project the message of jihad.

    Out Muslim locals are similar in culture to the guys in the tribal areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Their issues are almost entirely local disputes over access top land and resources.

    if anyone had bothered to read the Medium term development Plan of Big Mike and GMA together with the BEAT THE ODDS agenda it is written in black and white. The government intends to develop 2 million hectares of public land for agri-business. The total arable land in the country is aproximately 6+ million hectares. Where will this 2 million hectares be found? Obviously primarily in Mindanao. In the BEAT THE ODDS program the resolution of the Communist and Muslim insurgencies are listed by 2010.

    The national government through its agencies have already signed an MOU with the PRC for the lease of up to one million hectares of public lands for conversion to crops. Probably one of the largest real estate deals since the sale of the Philippine islands to the U.S. That is 10 billion square meters of land. The program is to identify an additional 3 million hectares. The final solution to the Muslim problem could be at hand.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/17/AR2007081701716.html

  4. Some people think that because they can get a lawyer (or a court for that matter) to offer some legal justification for a law like the HSA does not mean that it is valid or not unconstitutional. Take the definition of terrorism in relation to conspiracy. How can one be convicted of mere agreement to commit terrorism when the definition of terrorism is judged by its effect on the populace? And how, for that matter, can there be attempted or frustrated terrorism since the law refers to the applicability of Book 1 of the Revised Penal Code? Is it therefore a matter of devining the intention of the accused? If the definition is already not clear and problematic, then the law is invalid. Even Gloria’s Supreme Court cannot supply its defects, well, we’ll see soon enough.

  5. UK’s version of the patriot act, if you have seen Bourne Ultimatum, if that can happen in real world no wonder,notwithsstanding the cctvs, London still got the big bang from the terrorists.

    As to fighting a losing battle,we should know what battles to fight first.

    As to getting rid of the sugar barons,one Surname cannot make that happen till post 2010 and that again is Arroyo,whoelse.

    FG and bro,controls the sugar industry the ports,customs,and whatnot speaking of customs,even customs can make fun at the expense of GMA. Imagine destroying chop chops with replaced seats.

    If Mar wins, I hope he would still be single by 2010.

  6. if you even had a grain of imagination and a little common sense, you’d see that HSA is barbed with all kinds of dangerous possibilities and no amount of legalistic eloquence will change that. Devilsadvc8

    Thanks, D for saving me another trip.

    What I’m also thinking is: Does the regime in power really need an HSA to use (or abuse) its power. Let me cite some instances: 1) the pre-HSA “Project Lighthouse” wiretapping by Isafp which produced the “Hello Garci” tapes, 2) the debacle in Maguindanao during the last elections which, among others, gave us the Musa Dimasidsing tragedy, the Bedol moro-moro and, well, the Zubiri moment, or 3) the “extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions” as reported by the UN Human Rights Council.

    If the terrorist lair is known, does the military need HSA or the prosecutor a “probable cause” to blow up those bad guys to kingdom come? For some light duty, isn’t more cost effective to just reactivate the Palparan brigade?

    DJB, are you sure you’ve the good copy of the HSA that Devilsadvc8 read?

  7. And some people think that they can go to some place, try to make the inhabitants there do as those “some people” are doing and not expect the inhabitants to react (or blame them for reacting) in the manner they see fit. And all because of “manifest destinty” or in this present case, “democracy,” which are nothing but substitutes for agricultural trade then and oil now.

    And while we here in the Philippines are debating about hawks and doves (as if these are the only categories there are) and war rages in the south, the American foreign policy planners are laughing all the time since wars fought in other countries in the name of terrorism is one not fought within their own soil. SO the solution is to export wars to other countries, have them fought by their cronies while managing to sell the same type of armaments to the “terrorist,” egged on by the likes of DJB, and the American public can rest easy unless funding for the war is threatened.

    The question for Filipinos is, should we be content as cannon fodders?

  8. beancurd,

    maybe d8 read it, maybe not. but d8 IGNORES everything that may or may not have been read, and admits it! He starts attacking “the devil in the details”, but doesn’t mention any of them. He claims it diminishes our liberties but admits he cannot find that anywhere in the WORDS of the law, but is sure that it is there, somewhere in the details.

    but let’s be objective. The biggest concern over civil liberties is the wire tapping provisions.

    If we measure “liberty” according to how hard or how easy it is to invade our privacy under the law, I challenge anybody who claims to have read the law, to convince us that it is EASIER to invade our privacy under HSA than under RA4200 the Anti wiretapping law.

  9. abe,
    don’t get mad, get even! read the law yourself, i know you can do better than this, but get to the meat of the matter. you can’t get away with generalities and fuzzy thinking in this comment thread, you know that!

  10. The point of DJB as to US protectionism…

    The US din’t want our agriculture to develop,we are the first reasons why until now the G what ever number of poor nations is feeling the brunt of subsidies of the protectionist approach of the whole developed nations.We have the honor of being the reason for such protectionism.

    They wanted to control our resources that is why they came here,and since history prevented them from doing so.Subsidies are their answer to protect their farmers.
    What about our farmwers?

    They will meet their match in Etanol production first from Brazil,then from China,et al.. Palm oila biofuels first from Malysia,then from Indionesia.

    Until know,it is protectionism all the way.

    I wonder why we can’t challenge them on agriculture and biofuels,when many are willing to face them head on?
    why is it because of the hacienderos?

  11. I view the Mindanao conflict in the same manner that Dr. Samuel K. Tan has viewed it thus:

    “In reality, the Mindanao conflict is a microcosm of the national and international conflict between the marginalized and exploited social sectors and the State and / or dominant sector. The Bangsamoro and Lumad struggles are not in a sense different from those of the working classes and farmers in other areas of the country and the world represented by different factions of the NDF-NPA network coordinated either by leaders from abroad or within the country or by other similar radical groups. They are similar to the struggles of the Muslim minority in Patani, Thailand, The LTTE (Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam minority in Sri Lanka, the Muslim Majority against a Hindu minority leadership in Kashmir, the East Timorese majority against the Indonesian minority leadership, the Fijian majority against an Indian minority leadership, the Chechen majority against the Russian minority, etc. Their common aspiration regardless of racial, ethnic or socio-cultural differences is the enjoyment of freedom and its maximum benefits without outside interferences. Understandably, such aspiration is basic to human nature and is natural to all people having a common origin and sharing a common tradition.”

  12. beancurd,
    you are stuck in the same rut as MB over the definition. the first thing you’ve really got to convince yourself of is that there is NO crime of terrorism without ALL three defined elements being present, namely (1) some component ACT already punished under the RPC, then two elements of INTENT (2) to sow fear and (3) to coerce the govt into an illegal demand.

    In the case of a terrorist conspiracy there is the fourth element of mutual agreement to undertake a terrorist crime.

    But to see how silly your argument is, try applying it to the law against conspiracy to commit murder or rape. Would you be against these laws too just because some jerk policeman might try to arrest a bunch of guys in a bar watching baseball and screaming “Yeah kill the umpire!” or listening to the news about Tipo tipo and crying “F*CK those savages!”

    But further to trying to understand the definition (and I admit it’s not easy!) it is useful to make the distinction between “simple crimes” and “complex crimes”. A simple crime is a crime not made up of other crimes, while a complex crime may be composed of other crimes AND other stuff like intent, extenuating or aggravating conditions, organized crimes that are essentially conspiracies, etc.

    A good example of a complex crime is plunder, in which the component simple crimes are things like robbery and extortion and graft and corruption, which may themselves be complex crimes. but in plunder the added element is

  13. DJB, when the law says “any person suspected of the crime of terrorism or the crime of conspiracy to commit terrorism,” it could mean you, Manolo, Devilsadvc8, MB or Shaman, unless of course any one of you belongs to the majority in power.

    Now, do you like Doble’s double to be listening to your bedroom conversation or the disposition of your fat bank account subject to approval by someone because you are a suspect of a crime defined by HSA?

  14. …in plunder the added element is that there be a series or combination and a clear pattern of those other acts all with the intent of amassing ill gotten wealth exceeding 50 million pesos.

    MOTIVE or INTENT are normal elements of complex crimes, which really are just the underlying acts, but they are done with some objective whose implications are greater, far greater than them. The Whole of a complex crime like Terrorism is far greater than the sum of the individual criminal acts like bombings, kidnappings, beheadings, ambuscades, etc, because they are INTENDED to sow fear and panic in the populace and bring about illegal political changes.

    Notice that I interpret “coercing the govt to give into an illegal demand” to mean forcing it into accepting illegal changes of policy — NOT that the terrorist must deliver a written demand to the fast food manager just before he blows it up (the Colmenares Fallacy that MB can’t seem to get over.)

    Nowhere in the law, if you have read even Section 3, the Definition provision, does it say that elements 2 and 3 must accompany EACH of the component criminal acts literally. That is why the colmenares fallacy is a silly fallacy. His counter example is funny only because it refutes a situation the law does not mandate!

    Regarding the fear and panic element, note that even if the populace does not respond with fear and panic, which is what the Law would want their reaction or nonreaction to be, the intention to do so can be seen in those very special cases where it really is a terrorist act. For example when the act involves the use of nuclear, biological or chemical agents of mass destructive power, it is inherent in the act that it’s intention is to sow fear and panic, by the very terrible nature and details of the operation, for example to poison the Manila water supply, to spread deadly diseases, or to start randomly beheading people under mysterious circumstances.

    It is true that the 2 elements of intent will be hard, almost impossible to prove, except in these obvious or near obvious cases.

    But that is the beauty of such a tough definition. There will naturally be only a very few members of the Philippine list of terrorist personalities and organizations.

    It is NOT TRUE that just anybody can be suspected of terrorism, picked up, beat up held, and possibly killed, because of the HSA. Heck, fascists don’t need a law to be themselves! In fact this law protects civil liberties!

    But the Left needs to be persecuted and they will do anything to give the public that impression.

    The only think i am afraid of is that this stupid govt will help them!

  15. abe,
    C’mon it’s elementary that ANY ONE can be suspected of any crime by any body else.

    And what do you think changed before and after the law was passed?

    I tell you: it made it HARDER for Doble to listen to me snoring like a freight train at night. Under RA4200, he only has to go to ANY RTC.

    But under HSA he has to go to a Special Division of the Court of Appeals, and the anti terrorism council, and then, after he listens to me snoring for two months, if he doesn’t hear ALLAHUH AKBAR, even snored backwards, he has to TELL me that he has been doing so. if he doesnt tell me with a few days of 60 days expiring, he owes me money and can go to ten years in jail!

    Some fascism!

  16. what you all folks don’t seem to know is that joma sison helped to write this bill through jamby madrigal and nene pimentel. they put all sorts of “goodies” in it for lawyers, judges, pseudo terrorists, and for the terrorists, well defined zones of three months a piece around EVERY election when their terrorist crimes, AIN’T.

  17. oh btw, doble has to GIVE me copies of my two months worth of snoring, along with his log book. if he doesn’t,… you guessed it ,… up to ten or twelve years in jail…

    so d8, is it 10 or 12 years doble goes to jail if i don’t snore allahu al akhbar? you read the law right?

  18. DJB, that part of your hypothesis is obvious and has been generally known for sometime now. I’m not sure why you think it necessary for a bombing to confirm it. Even if a terrorist does not take place within the time period you specified i don’t think it will falsify the existence of JI/AQ.

    My hypothesis is that once an attack does take place, you (and your fellow neocon ideologues) will exploit it to further your agenda and this has been confirmed by your admission above (at August 21st, 2007, 8:06 pm).

    Bafil, i agree with you that there won’t likely be a warming up of civil liberties in China for the foreseeable future. This presents a golden opportunity to the Philippines if only we get our democracy (and guarantees on civil liberties) on the right track as we could be one of the beneficiaries of a diaspora from the Mainland in the same way that Australia is currently the beneficiary of emigrants from Singapore.

    Devils, i also do not like Tim Harford’s take on the piece. I think you need to go to Rodrik’s discussion instead or better yet, the original paper.

  19. DJB, you claim to know the law and yet you do not even know the basics of criminal law, one of which requires that all the elements of the crime be proved beyond reasonable doubt. Terrorism as defined is a crime of result and not of intention. Read it again please.

    As for complex crimes, terrorism as defined is not a complex crime. A single act like arson can amount to terrorism if the other elements are present. While in a complex crime, there are at least two crimes involved animated by a single purpose or intention. Read again your literature unless the one you are reading is authored by Raul Gonzales.

  20. Alright but even as a suspect (therefore still very innocent) and after being paraded for photo op in Malacanang (which HSA does not prohibit) DJB could be sent to Pakistan for police investigation if Mr. Gozalez says so while your family wonder if you could withdraw money from your bank to pay for your lawyer as your love ones begin to doubt whether you correctly appreciated the import of the law.

  21. DJB: And the biggest issue is not wiretapping. It is the definition itself. Without a legally and constitutionally compliant definition of terrorism, the whole thing will simply crumble, wiretapping included.

    And please, stop implying that the only terrorist are those that snore “ALLAHUH AKBAR.” If you know your Philippine history, the population of Batangas went to to almost half at the turn of the 19th century in the name of manifest destiny. And remember Balangiga and Bud Dahu? You and I are perfectly capable of any monstrosity, it is only a question of willingness. And you have demonstrated your willingness to sacrifice your privacy in the name of security but do not expect us to do so just because it is perfectly acceptable to you.

  22. Mon General DJB said in his blog that the Basilan beheadings should be a good test case for HSA. To me, they were more of a case of war atrocity, since the victims were soldiers in battle. Sure, I felt revulsion, but not “fear and panic”.

  23. “Immediately after taking custody of a person charged with or suspected of the crime of terrorism or conspiracy to commit terrorism, the police or law enforcement personnel shall notify in writing the judge of the court nearest the place of apprehension or arrest: Provided, That where the arrest is made during saturdays, sundays, holidays or after office hours, the written notice shall be served at the residence of the judge nearest the place where the accused was arrested.

    The penalty of ten (10) years and one day to twelve (12) years of imprisonment shall be imposed upon the police or law enforcement personnel who fails to notify any judge as provided in the preceding paragraph”

    DJB, what happens when no judge is found?

  24. ” DJB, what happens when no judge is found?”

    Here’s the present reality; PNP and NBI criminal arrests are typically done on late Fridays and weekends. That way, the arrestee gets to “negotiate his bail” directly with the arresting officers.

  25. Devils, Rodrik’s discussion may be briefer but it is closer to the essential message of that study (a copy of which is available in his blog entry as well).

  26. DJB,

    “Notice that I interpret “coercing the govt to give into an illegal demand” to mean forcing it into accepting illegal changes of policy — NOT that the terrorist must deliver a written demand to the fast food manager just before he blows it up (the Colmenares Fallacy that MB can’t seem to get over.)

    Nowhere in the law, if you have read even Section 3, the Definition provision, does it say that elements 2 and 3 must accompany EACH of the component criminal acts literally. That is why the colmenares fallacy is a silly fallacy. His counter example is funny only because it refutes a situation the law does not mandate!”

    “… The first thing you’ve really got to convince yourself of is that there is NO crime of terrorism without ALL three defined elements being present, namely (1) some component ACT already punished under the RPC, then two elements of INTENT (2) to sow fear and (3) to coerce the govt into an illegal demand.”

    On February 25, 2000, bombs exploded on 2 buses riding in the ferry M/V Our Lady of Mediatrix bound for Ozamis city resulting in numerous casualties.

    The act was blamed on Muslim separatists.

    In a seeming retaliation a day later; the Muslim mosque in Turtle Island Tinago district in Ozamis city was strafed by unidentified MEN armed with M-16 rifles (which fortunately injured no one); a Muslim trader in another area was killed and another was seriously injured. After the attacks which was being blamed on Christian group/s; the Muslim community initially contemplated on leaving the city.

    Should that have happened now; no doubt you would consider the ferry bombing covered under HSA.

    But would the seeming retaliation be likewise covered under the HSA? Why or why not?

  27. Re: 24 years after, brains of Ninoy slay a mystery.

    If JFK’s assasination remains a mystery in the land of the ‘rule of law’, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Ninoy’s murder remains a mystery in the land of the lawless.

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