BY LUIS V. TEODORO
April 23, 2010
Instead of turning a bad thing into a good thing, acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra did exactly the opposite: he turned what was already a bad thing into something worse.
From the way he keeps smiling at the cameras, he looks as if he’s gained something from the whole wretched mess. But it’s certainly not the improvement of his public image or that of the government he serves. The widespread public cynicism over the capacity of the so-called justice system to do justice to those who’ve been aggrieved, as expressed in various ways by those familiar with the role of the Ampatuans in the so-called victory of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2004 and of her candidates for the Senate in 2007, is now universal. (The results of a survey on which government agency the public trusts the least should be interesting.)
Agra has also succeeded in creating a firestorm of outrage directed not only against himself, but also against Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. If Agra’s boss thought that only her henchman would attract the lightning bolts of criticism and protest over the order to drop two of the Ampatuans from multiple murder charges in connection with the November 23 massacre of 57 people, she has another think coming. Expect Agra’s caper to add to the continuing slide of Arroyo’s already subterranean approval ratings, although she cares about that about as much as a tarantula cares about its prey.
But what’s ironic is that some Filipinos did give the justice system the benefit of the doubt last November, and many of those Filipinos were journalists and media practitioners. If they didn’t they wouldn’t have gone to the justice system for redress, but to the streets or elsewhere straightaway.
In the first place it was journalists who helped the government get the facts about the massacre right — the police were contaminating the crime scene by handling the bodies every which way, so there was little help from that direction — by sending fact-finding teams to Maguindanao almost immediately after that terrible event.
Despite their maddening experience with official indifference and incompetence, and, in some cases, partisanship for the suspects in the arrest and prosecution of the killers of journalists since 2001, some journalist groups also fielded private prosecutors to help government prosecutors do their jobs. These groups have also worked with government prosecutors by providing whatever information they could so a credible case could be assembled against the people accused of involvement in the murders.
Some journalist and media advocacy groups even assumed such government tasks as providing immediate humanitarian aid and scholarships for the families and children of the survivors. Through their lawyers and by providing funds to fly the relatives to Manila so they can attend hearings, the same groups are still helping in the prosecution of the alleged murderers of the 32 journalists killed.
The way the country’s leading journalists have comported themselves during the many scandals and crises the Arroyo government has generated suggests that the Philippine press — or at least the better part of it — is not so much into undermining the government, but in trying to make things work as they should. Their relationship to the government only seems adversarial; in reality they recognize the crucial role of government in the shaping of the country’s present and future. It’s not the press but the Arroyo government and such of its minions as Agra who have been recalcitrant in implementing the country’s laws, for example, or in finding creative ways around them, and in concealing what they’re doing from the media and the public.
The same attitude has been evident in past administrations. All governments lie and try to conceal wrongdoing. But the officials of no other administration in memory has been as deliberately non-transparent, non-accountable, blithely abusive of power, contemptuous of public opinion, and hostile to the press as Arroyo and her officials.
Although the administration is crawling with similar creatures, Arroyo election lawyer Agra is a near-perfect example of non-accountability and smug indifference to public opinion.
Interviewed by the print and broadcast media, Agra betrayed the most minimal understanding of official accountability to the citizenry he’s supposed to serve. To questions from the media meant to solicit an explanation for his order to drop the multiple murder charges against Zaldy and Akmad Ampatuan, the most Agra could say was that it was his prerogative to review the recommendations of DOJ prosecutors.
He used the word “prerogative” so often it was obvious it was both his excuse and his conceit. It wasn’t the public’s reaction he was concerned with, but Malacanang’s. He repeatedly said it was Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s opinion that mattered to him; it apparently never occurred to him that public opinion weighs heaviest on public officials in societies that claim to be democratic.
But having reached the limits of their patience, their outrage relentlessly aggravated not only by such acts as Agra’s but also by his indifference to the public and its demand for justice, the citizenry could justly argue that what obtains in the Philippines is not a democracy but a plutocracy, the self-serving minions of which eagerly pander to the whims of those who rule it so they may themselves enter the exclusive circles of the powerful. Agra probably has millions of reasons for acting the way he did, and for practically telling the entire country and all Filipinos that their opinions about anything don’t matter in the least. But none of those millions have anything to do with legality, and least of all with justice. (BusinessWorld)
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Lacson: Dismissal of rebellion case, first of many to exculpate the Ampatuans from complicity in the Ampatuan massacre
Posted by Patricio Mangubat
March 30, 2010
As what this writer wrote several posts ago, the Maguindanao massacre case will be dismissed before the Holy week and attempts at formally closing the case will happen after this period, or on the second week of April. Now, it happened. Though Malacanang wants to lead efforts to appeal for reconsideration, just to appease rising public anger, the palace ruse fell by the wayside. Evidently, the dismissal of the case was actually brought by Arroyo herself when she declared martial law and charged the Ampatuans with rebellion.
The question remains--what happens then to the other case, that of multiple murder?
Atty. Alex Lacson is the first to articulate the question that lingers in the minds of many--since the rebellion case was dismissed, what happens now to the pieces of evidence recovered by the military? Will the prosecution still use them as additional evidence in the multiple murder case? Or will the court then just dump these pieces of evidence?
Lacson believes that this dismissal is just the first of many attempts by this administration to assist their strongest political ally in Mindanao. As we know, the Ampatuans know of many secrets about the Arroyos particularly that so-called Hello Garci operations.
March 30, 2010
As what this writer wrote several posts ago, the Maguindanao massacre case will be dismissed before the Holy week and attempts at formally closing the case will happen after this period, or on the second week of April. Now, it happened. Though Malacanang wants to lead efforts to appeal for reconsideration, just to appease rising public anger, the palace ruse fell by the wayside. Evidently, the dismissal of the case was actually brought by Arroyo herself when she declared martial law and charged the Ampatuans with rebellion.
The question remains--what happens then to the other case, that of multiple murder?
Atty. Alex Lacson is the first to articulate the question that lingers in the minds of many--since the rebellion case was dismissed, what happens now to the pieces of evidence recovered by the military? Will the prosecution still use them as additional evidence in the multiple murder case? Or will the court then just dump these pieces of evidence?
Lacson believes that this dismissal is just the first of many attempts by this administration to assist their strongest political ally in Mindanao. As we know, the Ampatuans know of many secrets about the Arroyos particularly that so-called Hello Garci operations.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Int’l Solidarity Mission’s report: 23 recommendations on the 23 Nov massacre
MindaNews
Sunday, 24 January 2010 23:26
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/24 January 2010) – “Massacre in the Phillippines: International Solidarity Mission Rapid Assessment Report” listed 23 recommendations on four areas of concern in the aftermath of the November 23 massacre in Ampatuan, Maguindanao: addressing the massacre and the long prevailing culture of impunity for the murders of media personnel in the Philippines; support for the families of victims; government and judicial issues; and the security of journalists working in the Philippines.
Some of the recommendations are being implemented already such as trauma-counselling and legal support for the media victims’ families.
The recommendations were made by international media organizations – International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), International News Safety Institute (INSI), International Media Support (IMS), Union Network International (UNI), Thai Journalists Association (TJA) and Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) whose representatives visited Mindanao and Manila on December 5 to 11.
The recommendations also took into account the findings of an independent fact-finding report prepared by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) with the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), news organisation Mindanews, and members of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), immediately after the massacre.
It also called on the international community to monitor developments in the Philippines to ensure that the massacre is properly investigated, that the perpetrators are punished and that such atrocities against journalists and media workers can never happen again.
The following are the recommendations. A copy of the full report is available at http://asiapacific.ifj.org//assets/docs/203/037/15d11cb-013d725.pdf
Support for families of the victims
1. Families of the victims must be provided with trauma counselling and further follow-up support.
2. Families must be provided with legal support to pursue the prosecution of perpetrators, given the likelihood of protracted delays in the justice system. They must also be given support in bringing pressure on the Arroyo Government to pursue its own procedures.
3. Other areas of legal assistance may be required in terms of the ongoing welfare of the families and this should also be made available as needed.
4. The families of all victims must be given immediate financial support as well as follow-up assistance to help generate a sustainable income and assistance in finding employment in cases where the victim was the sole breadwinner for the family.
5. The mission welcomes the NUJP’s intention to extend its scholarship program for the children of slain journalists - now running for five years - to address the needs of at least 75 children and dependents of the massacre victims.
6. A safety assessment must be undertaken for each of the victims’ families and appropriate measures taken to ensure their ongoing security. This is urgently required during the gathering of evidence and the lead-up and subsequent trial.
Military and Police
7. A full investigation is required into the actions of General Cayton, then Commander of the 6th Infantry Division, immediately preceding the massacre.
8. A full investigation is required into reports that several members of the Philippine National Police were involved in the massacre. The Government must take all necessary steps to remove corrupt police and ensure all police in Maguindanao act in accordance with their responsibility
to protect and serve citizens. Any police found to work with ruling clans and warlords must be stripped of their positions and punished.
9. The Government must instigate immediately a thorough investigation and overhaul of structures covering local government, the military and police to redress the failure
of authority and accountability in the administration of Maguindanao province (and other provinces across the Philippines) and ensure that law and order is respected.
10. The Government must immediately provide training for its military and police to ensure that those responsible for the safety and security of citizens, including media personnel, are aware of their obligations under United Nations Resolution 1738. The resolution “condemns intentional attacks against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel, as such, in situations of armed conflict, and calls upon all parties to put an end to such practices.”
Investigation and Prosecution
11. The Government and local authorities must undertake all necessary measures to fully investigate the massacre and to ensure all evidence is properly preserved and available.
12. The Government and local authorities must provide all necessary measures for the protection and safety of witnesses, investigators, prosecutors, lawyers and judges throughout the investigation and trial process.
13. The Government must ensure that observers and human rights groups have full and open access to legal proceedings to ensure an open and transparent investigation and trial.
14. The Government must ensure that families of the victims are given access to all relevant documentation regarding the massacre, the investigation and resulting legal proceedings.
15. The Government should ensure that sufficient resources are made available to prosecutors and the judiciary to guarantee a speedy and effective trial of those accused of this massacre. It may be necessary to establish a special tribunal for this purpose.
Martial Law
16. The Government is urged not to reimpose martial law in light of concerns it could be restored in the lead-up to the May 10 elections with a consequent risk of human rights abuses. The mission therefore urges the Government to use due legal process without the resort to brute force that could undermine any prosecutions.
Compensation
17. The Government is responsible for providing effective, adequate and ongoing compensation to the families of all victims.
Journalism in the Philippines
18. The Government must take measures to protect media personnel who witnessed the events of November 23, including the provision of a safe haven during the investigation and legal process.
19. Journalists working in Mindanao must be provided with trauma counselling.
20. Support is needed to assist the NUJP to establish a regional safety office in Mindanao (working with the NUJP’s Manila-based Safety Office) before the May 2010 elections, in order to provide safety training and support for journalists covering the campaign. The office would
also seek to monitor the effect of the massacre on reportage in the region as well as ongoing threats to journalists’ safety.
21. Support is further needed to assist the NUJP and other organisations to revise safety procedures for journalists and media houses across the country. Complementing this, assistance is required to upgrade the skills of current safety trainers and to train more locally based trainers who can work with media at the local level across the country, most efficiently through NUJP local chapters.
22. The Government must ensure a safe environment in which media across the country can report fairly and critically on the conduct of the campaign for the May 10 elections.
International obligations and actions
23. The Government is urged to acknowledge and act on its commitments under International Obligations and Actions to ensure protection and safety for media personnel as citizens working in the public interest.
Relevant international instruments including the Geneva Conventions, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and the 2006 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1738 must be respected.
The report, dated December 2009, was launched in Koronadal City on January 23, 2010 in the presence of the media victims’ families.
The launching of the mission report was also the launching date for the newly-organized “Justice Now!” organization of the families of media victims. (MindaNews)
Sunday, 24 January 2010 23:26
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/24 January 2010) – “Massacre in the Phillippines: International Solidarity Mission Rapid Assessment Report” listed 23 recommendations on four areas of concern in the aftermath of the November 23 massacre in Ampatuan, Maguindanao: addressing the massacre and the long prevailing culture of impunity for the murders of media personnel in the Philippines; support for the families of victims; government and judicial issues; and the security of journalists working in the Philippines.
Some of the recommendations are being implemented already such as trauma-counselling and legal support for the media victims’ families.
The recommendations were made by international media organizations – International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), International News Safety Institute (INSI), International Media Support (IMS), Union Network International (UNI), Thai Journalists Association (TJA) and Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) whose representatives visited Mindanao and Manila on December 5 to 11.
The recommendations also took into account the findings of an independent fact-finding report prepared by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) with the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), news organisation Mindanews, and members of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), immediately after the massacre.
It also called on the international community to monitor developments in the Philippines to ensure that the massacre is properly investigated, that the perpetrators are punished and that such atrocities against journalists and media workers can never happen again.
The following are the recommendations. A copy of the full report is available at http://asiapacific.ifj.org//assets/docs/203/037/15d11cb-013d725.pdf
Support for families of the victims
1. Families of the victims must be provided with trauma counselling and further follow-up support.
2. Families must be provided with legal support to pursue the prosecution of perpetrators, given the likelihood of protracted delays in the justice system. They must also be given support in bringing pressure on the Arroyo Government to pursue its own procedures.
3. Other areas of legal assistance may be required in terms of the ongoing welfare of the families and this should also be made available as needed.
4. The families of all victims must be given immediate financial support as well as follow-up assistance to help generate a sustainable income and assistance in finding employment in cases where the victim was the sole breadwinner for the family.
5. The mission welcomes the NUJP’s intention to extend its scholarship program for the children of slain journalists - now running for five years - to address the needs of at least 75 children and dependents of the massacre victims.
6. A safety assessment must be undertaken for each of the victims’ families and appropriate measures taken to ensure their ongoing security. This is urgently required during the gathering of evidence and the lead-up and subsequent trial.
Military and Police
7. A full investigation is required into the actions of General Cayton, then Commander of the 6th Infantry Division, immediately preceding the massacre.
8. A full investigation is required into reports that several members of the Philippine National Police were involved in the massacre. The Government must take all necessary steps to remove corrupt police and ensure all police in Maguindanao act in accordance with their responsibility
to protect and serve citizens. Any police found to work with ruling clans and warlords must be stripped of their positions and punished.
9. The Government must instigate immediately a thorough investigation and overhaul of structures covering local government, the military and police to redress the failure
of authority and accountability in the administration of Maguindanao province (and other provinces across the Philippines) and ensure that law and order is respected.
10. The Government must immediately provide training for its military and police to ensure that those responsible for the safety and security of citizens, including media personnel, are aware of their obligations under United Nations Resolution 1738. The resolution “condemns intentional attacks against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel, as such, in situations of armed conflict, and calls upon all parties to put an end to such practices.”
Investigation and Prosecution
11. The Government and local authorities must undertake all necessary measures to fully investigate the massacre and to ensure all evidence is properly preserved and available.
12. The Government and local authorities must provide all necessary measures for the protection and safety of witnesses, investigators, prosecutors, lawyers and judges throughout the investigation and trial process.
13. The Government must ensure that observers and human rights groups have full and open access to legal proceedings to ensure an open and transparent investigation and trial.
14. The Government must ensure that families of the victims are given access to all relevant documentation regarding the massacre, the investigation and resulting legal proceedings.
15. The Government should ensure that sufficient resources are made available to prosecutors and the judiciary to guarantee a speedy and effective trial of those accused of this massacre. It may be necessary to establish a special tribunal for this purpose.
Martial Law
16. The Government is urged not to reimpose martial law in light of concerns it could be restored in the lead-up to the May 10 elections with a consequent risk of human rights abuses. The mission therefore urges the Government to use due legal process without the resort to brute force that could undermine any prosecutions.
Compensation
17. The Government is responsible for providing effective, adequate and ongoing compensation to the families of all victims.
Journalism in the Philippines
18. The Government must take measures to protect media personnel who witnessed the events of November 23, including the provision of a safe haven during the investigation and legal process.
19. Journalists working in Mindanao must be provided with trauma counselling.
20. Support is needed to assist the NUJP to establish a regional safety office in Mindanao (working with the NUJP’s Manila-based Safety Office) before the May 2010 elections, in order to provide safety training and support for journalists covering the campaign. The office would
also seek to monitor the effect of the massacre on reportage in the region as well as ongoing threats to journalists’ safety.
21. Support is further needed to assist the NUJP and other organisations to revise safety procedures for journalists and media houses across the country. Complementing this, assistance is required to upgrade the skills of current safety trainers and to train more locally based trainers who can work with media at the local level across the country, most efficiently through NUJP local chapters.
22. The Government must ensure a safe environment in which media across the country can report fairly and critically on the conduct of the campaign for the May 10 elections.
International obligations and actions
23. The Government is urged to acknowledge and act on its commitments under International Obligations and Actions to ensure protection and safety for media personnel as citizens working in the public interest.
Relevant international instruments including the Geneva Conventions, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and the 2006 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1738 must be respected.
The report, dated December 2009, was launched in Koronadal City on January 23, 2010 in the presence of the media victims’ families.
The launching of the mission report was also the launching date for the newly-organized “Justice Now!” organization of the families of media victims. (MindaNews)
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Bong Revilla: 'Show only one Hollywood movie a month'
Sunday, January 3, 2010
By Noel Vera
"Hollywood movies? Did someone say Hollywood movies?"
"We should show only one Hollywood movie a month."
It's a hot topic of discussion among online Filipinos. For the record, I'm not a big fan of Revilla Jr.'s movies on the whole but I do sympathize with his sentiments.
Hollywood has always had a powerful influence on world cinema but its latest serious attempt to conquer foreign markets is actually quite recent--around the '90s or so, or about the time when Governor Schwarzenegger's movie career was at its height (Coincidence? I think not; Sylvester Stallone's films also did well internationally around this time). Hollywood's global push helped destroy the once-robust Hong Kong film, and brought both South Korea and Mexico to their knees (South Korea has since recovered, partly by imposing quotas).
France has long survived by subsidizing its film production and, during trade conferences, championing cultural diversity over open-market distribution of films (In other words, it kept speaking out against Hollywood imperialism). Of the commercially successful cinemas of the world, only India does not impose quotas--and that mainly because its cinema is so successful (it produces eight hundred films a year to Hollywood's 200 plus films) it doesn't need to protect itself.
Mainland China is an interesting case all its own. Not as commercially successful as India, it is nevertheless such an economic powerhouse, with a market larger than any American studio executive's wet-dream fantasy (and I'm sure they can fantasize) it can lay down strict quota rules and pretty much get away with doing so, just because no one can force it to do otherwise. China is in every way in an enviable position, but it's a position few other countries can emulate.
But India (and China in its own fashion) seem to be the exceptions that prove the rule. Trend seems to be, if you want a successful local cinema you needed to restrict the number of Hollywood films screening in your local cinemas. That, or you provide your production outfits with assistance of some kind, the way France does--anything to level the playing field.
I've actually suggested this very action on an online forum, in pinoydvd.com. Some five years later that discussion seem more relevant than ever, and recent arguments to and fro on the issue sound suspiciously familiar. One online forum poster at one point asked "if we ban Hollywood films, what are we to do next? How do we get our next Harry Potter, or Iron Man 2?"
That was too tempting to let pass. "Then," I responded, "we're left with the works of relatively new filmmakers like Lav Diaz, Raya Martin, John Torres, Brillante Mendoza, Sherad Anthony Sanchez, Rico Ilarde, Dennis Marasigan, Auraeus Solito, Richard Somes, Veronica Velasco. We're left with the works of established directors such as Raymond Red, Laurice Guillen, Chito Rono, Maryo J. delos Reyes, Joey Reyes, Gil Portes, Joyce Bernal, Marilou Diaza-Abaya, and (hopefully, someday) new work from masters like Mike de Leon, Celso Ad. Castillo, Mario O'Hara.
"What a terrible situation!"
By Noel Vera
"Hollywood movies? Did someone say Hollywood movies?"
"We should show only one Hollywood movie a month."
It's a hot topic of discussion among online Filipinos. For the record, I'm not a big fan of Revilla Jr.'s movies on the whole but I do sympathize with his sentiments.
Hollywood has always had a powerful influence on world cinema but its latest serious attempt to conquer foreign markets is actually quite recent--around the '90s or so, or about the time when Governor Schwarzenegger's movie career was at its height (Coincidence? I think not; Sylvester Stallone's films also did well internationally around this time). Hollywood's global push helped destroy the once-robust Hong Kong film, and brought both South Korea and Mexico to their knees (South Korea has since recovered, partly by imposing quotas).
France has long survived by subsidizing its film production and, during trade conferences, championing cultural diversity over open-market distribution of films (In other words, it kept speaking out against Hollywood imperialism). Of the commercially successful cinemas of the world, only India does not impose quotas--and that mainly because its cinema is so successful (it produces eight hundred films a year to Hollywood's 200 plus films) it doesn't need to protect itself.
Mainland China is an interesting case all its own. Not as commercially successful as India, it is nevertheless such an economic powerhouse, with a market larger than any American studio executive's wet-dream fantasy (and I'm sure they can fantasize) it can lay down strict quota rules and pretty much get away with doing so, just because no one can force it to do otherwise. China is in every way in an enviable position, but it's a position few other countries can emulate.
But India (and China in its own fashion) seem to be the exceptions that prove the rule. Trend seems to be, if you want a successful local cinema you needed to restrict the number of Hollywood films screening in your local cinemas. That, or you provide your production outfits with assistance of some kind, the way France does--anything to level the playing field.
I've actually suggested this very action on an online forum, in pinoydvd.com. Some five years later that discussion seem more relevant than ever, and recent arguments to and fro on the issue sound suspiciously familiar. One online forum poster at one point asked "if we ban Hollywood films, what are we to do next? How do we get our next Harry Potter, or Iron Man 2?"
That was too tempting to let pass. "Then," I responded, "we're left with the works of relatively new filmmakers like Lav Diaz, Raya Martin, John Torres, Brillante Mendoza, Sherad Anthony Sanchez, Rico Ilarde, Dennis Marasigan, Auraeus Solito, Richard Somes, Veronica Velasco. We're left with the works of established directors such as Raymond Red, Laurice Guillen, Chito Rono, Maryo J. delos Reyes, Joey Reyes, Gil Portes, Joyce Bernal, Marilou Diaza-Abaya, and (hopefully, someday) new work from masters like Mike de Leon, Celso Ad. Castillo, Mario O'Hara.
"What a terrible situation!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)