In one of the Senate hearings in relation to the NBN investigation, a point was raised regarding a request for extradition of potential witnessess allegedly in the United States of America. Extradition is a big word for non-lawyers who watched the Senate investigation, so it may be helpful to have a brief discussion on this subject.
Continue reading(This is a speech delivered by Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno on 19 November 2007, at the UNESCO Policy Forum and Organizational Meeting of the Information for all Program (IFAP), Philippine National Committee.)
Continue readingThe 22nd anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution will be celebrated this coming Monday, 25 February 2008, a non-working holiday. This, of course, is the celebration of the first People Power, also known as EDSA I. There’s an EDSA II and some say there’s an “EDSA Tres,” but since “EDSA Tres” was not successful, we are left with discussing the distinctions between EDSA I and EDSA II.
Continue readingThere’s a radio commentary discussing the possible effect of the pending complaints filed with the Office of the Ombudsman on the Senate hearings in connection with the aborted $329-million national broadband network (NBN) deal with China’s ZTE Corp., with Rodolfo Noel “Jun” Lozada, Jr. as the central witness. The commentary cited the case of Bengzon, Jr. vs. Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, in which case the Supreme Court (SC) stopped an investigation of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee as “the issue to be investigated was one over which jurisdiction had already been acquired by the Sandiganbayan, and to allow the [Senate Blue Ribbon] Committee to investigate the matter would create the possibility of conflicting judgments; and that the inquiry into the same justiciable controversy would be an encroachment on the exclusive domain of judicial jurisdiction that had set in much earlier.”
Continue reading[Just the other day, the Supreme Court affirmed the authority of Manila City to issue — and enforce — an Ordinance reclassifying certain areas within the city. The reclassification adversely affected the oil companies, which are now forced to relocate their oil terminals in Pandacan. This is a digest of Social Justice Society vs. Atienza, G.R. No. 156052, 13 February 2008. Other procedural issues are not discussed.]
Continue readingA writ of habeas data a remedy available to any person whose right to privacy in life, liberty or security is violated or threatened by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity engaged in the gathering, collecting or storing of data or information regarding the person, family, home and correspondence of the aggrieved party.
Continue reading[A.M. No. 08-1-16-SC dated 22 January 2008. This Resolution shall take effect on February 2, 2008 following its publication in three (3) newspapers of general circulation.]
Continue readingThe Philippines is a democratic and republican state. As a republican state, sovereignty resides in the People and all government authority emanates from them (Constitution, Art. III, Sec. 1). “A Republican form of government rests on the conviction that sovereignty should reside in the people and that all government authority must emanate from them. It abhors the concentration of power on one or a few, cognizant that power, when absolute, can lead to abuse, but it also shuns a direct and unbridled rule by the people, a veritable kindling to the passionate fires of anarchy. Our people have accepted this notion and decided to delegate the basic state authority to principally three branches of government — the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary – each branch being supreme in its own sphere but with constitutional limits and a firm tripod of checks and balances .”
Continue readingToday, 22 January 2008, marks the 21st anniversary of what has been dubbed as the “Mendiola Massacre.” An entire generation may not be aware of, and many could have already forgotten, what transpired on that date. In the words of the Supreme Court: “People may have already forgotten the tragedy that transpired on January 22, 1987. It is quite ironic that then, some journalists called it a Black Thursday, as a grim reminder to the nation of the misfortune that befell twelve (12) rallyists. But for most Filipinos now, the Mendiola massacre may now just as well be a chapter in our history books. For those however, who have become widows and orphans, certainly they would not settle for just that. They seek retribution for the lives taken that will never be brought back to life again.”
Continue readingA checkpoint is something that motorists have to contend with on the road. Only recently, a “concerned Filipino citizen” raised some issues with respect to PNP/AFP checkpoints. The issues raised are valid, as the Supreme Court itself noted that it “has become aware of how some checkpoints have been used as points of thievery and extortion practiced upon innocent civilians. Even the increased prices of foodstuffs coming from the provinces, entering the Metro Manila area and other urban centers, are largely blamed on the checkpoints, because the men manning them have reportedly become “experts” in mulcting travelling traders. This, of course, is a national tragedy.”
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