SONA 2015 and MRT issues

President Benigno Aquino III earned more than a hundred round of applause last Monday, July 27, 2015 when he delivered his sixth and most probably final State of the Nation Address (SONA). 

It lasted for two hours and 15 minutes, the longest SONA speech that he’s ever had in his five years of service.

President Aquino never seemed to get tired of showing his outburst against the the previous administration.

This year’s SONA showcased the achievements of the government with regards to employment, wages, taxes and revenues, national security, disaster preparedness, public and private infrastructures, transportation, communication, peace, national budget and different variety of reforms.

One of the sectors which President Aquino claimed to have already been taken good care of by them was the transportation sector. 

Those who have heard or seen the SONA 2015 may find it hard to accept that transportation in our country especially in Metro Manila is currently doing well.

How could they convince themselves to believe in Aquino’s sugarcoated words when there are apparently bunches of problems and failures in the transportation sector that the government still have to deal with?

Take for example the case of MRT 3 which is continuously drawing a lot of flak from most Filipino commuters because of a series of accidents. One of the most notable MRT incidents happened last August 2014 when a train got derailed which rendered a dozen of injured rail users. 

This raised the doubt about the integrity of our train systems, despite of the findings that it was caused by human error. That may just be a smokescreen in order to hide the faulty and miserable condition of the MRT 3.

Fortunately, DOTC acted quickly by slowing down the trains and trimming down the trains’ operations from the usual 20 to only 7 trains until the new train which were ordered from China finally arrived. 

Because of these wretched occurrences, the fare hike which was implemented by the end of 2014, was not fully justified and was considered unreasonable after all. The fare hike was intended to raise the budget for the development of transportation infrastructure which isn’t clearly visible up until now.

President Aquino discussed little to no solution for the MRT 3 chaos during his most recent SONA. The only thing that he said was, for the unresolved MRT crisis, there is already a plan of buying new MRT train coaches and getting new MRT railways. 

However, he failed to reveal the exact timeline of the project so there is no reason for us to expect too much from his fancy speech about transportation. 

Oh and by the way, he indirectly praised his administration for the successful upgrade of the signaling and automatic fare collecting or ticketing system just a few weeks ago. 

Filipino commuters weren’t really pleased by such development as it does pretty much nothing in solving the transportation woes that they have been experiencing on a daily basis.

Who is really at fault for the early death of the #Fallen44?

Who is truly at shortcoming for the early demise of the #Fallen44?

Saying there can be no peace without value, a pioneer of the House of Representatives needs various crime contentions recorded against parts of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) responsible for the bloodbath in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

January 25, 2015, three units of the five star SAF (Special Action Force) of the PNP (Philippine National Police) were sent to Tukanalipao in Mindanao – a spot acknowledged to be a guerilla enclave.

Two weeks have passed after the grievous and regrettable scene that took away the lives of 44 strong energetic PNP-SAF men who were sent to Mamasapano in Maguindanao, which is acknowledged to be a Moro Islamic Liberation Front district, to serve a warrant of catch to two known terrorists. In the meantime general society is up 'til now clamoring to bring value to their sudden passings.

Senate started to test into the Mamasapano debacle and are exploring the commitment of top rank powers, including President Benigno Aquino III and suspended PNP Director General Alan Purisima. 

Congressperson Grace Poe, who is driving the Senate Committee on Public Order, said she expected to know who are absolutely included in the covert operation and how high the appeal started from. The director said, "Typically ang SAF, sila ang nagpo-give ng aptitude, warm bodies, yung sa kanila kasi vital na sila pero yung key hindi naman sila.

More request concerning the Philippine National Police Special Action Force operation were raised on Monday, including the commitment of the United States.

Meanwhile, Sen. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., official of the Senate Committee on Local Government, said that considering the insistence of the police powers, Purisima stayed included in the operation to catch the two pursued terrorists despite the way that he was suspended since December of a year prior.

More request concerning the Philippine National Police Special Action Force operation were raised on Monday, including the relationship of the United States.

Meanwhile, Sen. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., director of the Senate Committee on Local Government, said that in light of the affirmation of the police powers, Purisima stayed included in the operation to catch the two pursued terrorists disregarding the way that he was suspended since December of a year prior.

I was incensed and took to long range informal communication to voice my shock, disappointment and uncertainty.

I couldn't begin to appreciate how and why the President and those high situating powers couldn't have known of such a basic mission.

I exorbitantly required for President Aquino to get down from his position in light of the unlucky deficiency of empathy he has showed to the denied family and how he responded to the whole scene.

And Justice For All

Bangsamoro Basic Law: Why Phil. Gov’t Is Wrong in Advocating It

Tragic is an understatement, if you will describe the demise of 44 PNP-SAF members who were sent to Mindanao to serve a warrant of arrest to two alleged terrorists is all over the news for the past week. You can see different people posting all sorts reactions and emotions – ranging from disbelief to sadness – on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social networks. Now, everyone is wondering: What really happened that day?

Last Sunday, January 25, 2015, three platoons of the elite SAF (Special Action Force) of the PNP (Philippine National Police) were sent to Tukanalipao in Mindanao – a place believed to be a guerilla enclave. Their mission was to serve a warrant of rest to a high-ranking Jemah Islamiya explosives expert Zulkifli Bin Hir aka Marwan and Basit Usman. However, the SAF troops were intercepted by 300 members of the MILF (Moro-Islamic Liberation Front) and BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters). What happened next will forever be etched in the minds of the remaining members of the PNP-SAF unit, which was composed of 70 specially trained police officers.

Outnumbered, the SAF officers attempted to retreat and take cover, but were immediately engaged by BIFF militants. Our servicemen were gunned down; corpses were even fired at with multiple bullets as if making sure that they are really dead. Their ammunition, firearms and personal belongings were taken away by the rebels, as ordered by a BIFF leader named Ameril Umbra Kato. This was according to a statement given by a military official who asked that his anonymity be kept.

All in all, 44 law enforcement agents were brutally killed like wild animals.

Why the Bangsamoro Basic Law – the law that started it all – should be stopped

In 2011, President Noynoy Aquino and his allies in Congress enacted the Republic Act No. 10153, re-scheduling the elections in ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) to synchronize with regular national and local polls. Such act also paved the way for the President to have power to appoint officers-in-charge, replacing outgoing ARMM officials. This move was considered against the 1987 Constitution provisions stating that top ARMM officials shall be elected. The Palace’s publicists branded this move by President Aquino as necessary to make ARMM an exponent of peace and progress in the region. Although several critics of the law, which were mostly leaders in Muslim Mindanao, doubted the validity of the law and brought it before the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, the tribunal upheld its validity.

However, Pres. Noynoy had a change of heart. He made a 360-degree turn and described the ARMM a “failed experiment.” He then directed the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process to create a “government peace panel” that will sit down with Moro Islamic Liberation Front representatives. A “framework agreement” was signed by the panel on October 2012, creating a Bangsamoro autonomous government over a much larger area in Mindanao. Aquino appointed Professor Miriam Coronel Ferrer replacing Leonen as he was appointed to the Supreme Court.          

Executive Order N. 120 was issued by President Aquino on December 17, 2012, creating a Transition Commission to create a draft law to replace the organic act that governs ARMM. Later on, a draft was submitted by the Transition Commission to the President. Changes were made to some of its contents and then, it made its way to Congress where it is still pending.

Constitutional Law experts question the validity of the BBL. The BBL is considered a clandestine move to dismember the Republic, according to former Solicitor General Estelito Mendoza while retired Supreme Court Justice Vicente Mendoza believes five aspects of the BBL will not pass constitutional scrutiny. Justice Mendoza also objected the use of the term “territory” in the BBL, saying this is like a land independent from the Republic of the Philippines. This is not like the provisions in the 1987 Constitution, which calls for “autonomous regions” in Muslim Mindanao and in the Cordilleras. The term “ARMM” meets that constitutional mandate, but the term “Bangsamoro territory” does not. In fact, it suggests more than just land in the southern part of the country because based on its historic name, “Bangsamoro” includes the oil and gas rich province of Palawan.

The BBL has provisions virtually allowing the Bangsamoro to operate as an autonomous region in form, but as an independent nation in substance. This means that if the BBL be finally enacted into law, nothing could stop its “autonomous government” from establishing its own militia, monetary system, police force and even passport and immigration regulations. It seems that the Bangsamoro government will take on a parliamentary type of government, which is an indication that it will not operate within the 1987 Constitution.

Another reason that the BBL should not be enacted into law is the strong possibility that Bangsamoro officials could stock on loose high-powered weapons, which proliferate in the country, and use it to declare independence from the Republic.

The preparation of the BBL has Malaysian participation, which is something that invites suspicion. The ongoing conflict between the Philippines and Malaysia over Sabah means that two countries clearly are not in good terms. So why the participation? What experts fear is that if anything happens, the parliamentary government of the Bangsamoro could easily adjust to that of Malaysia.

Another possibility that many experts fear that could come out of the enactment of the Bangsamoro Law is the increase in terroristic activities not only in the Philippines, but also to the rest of the world. As you can see, the Middle East and other parts of the world are still struggling with terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). Intelligence reports reveal that many of the terrorists are being trained in the southern part of the Philippines under the auspices of local Muslim terror groups including MILF and BIFF. If the BBL is enforced, the country will not be able to stop “autonomous region” from making their land a training ground for all these terrorists.

Another compelling reason the BBL should be void is that it is not the president’s responsibility to create a public office such as the Transition Commission, but the Congress’. This means that the creation of the Transition Commission is unconstitutional, following the ruling of the Supreme Court in Biraogo v. Truth Commission.

So you see? The President urging the immediate enactment of the BBL means he could be committing a culpable violation of the Constitution.

The whole country is mourning about the massacre of 44 police commandos,

Now, do you want this to happen to our country?