It has been noted by no less than Senate National Defense Committee Chairman Rodolfo “Pong” Biazon that the atrocities committed by units of the MILF’s Bangsomoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) under Kumander Ombra Kato and Kumander Bravo (Abdullah or Abdurahman Macapaar) are the very crime of terrorism as defined in Republic Act 9372 (The Human [...]
Stupid Cat, Wily Mouse
August 25, 2008 By 15 Comments
Listening to Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Alexander Yano just now talking to Ricky Carandang on Dateline Philippines gave me a sinking feeling. It was the realization that these two key elements of our Defense Establishment may not even see things regarding the MILF quite the same way, a dissonance [...]
Just A Piece of Paper
August 21, 2008 By 1 Comment
When the MOA-AD first came to light, Father Joaquin Bernas, S.J., assured everyone that it was “just a piece of paper.” That was mighty big of Fr. Bernas, although I wonder if the Palace actually showed him the MOA-AD’s opening line: “In the Name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful…” ; which might’ve tipped him [...]
Lost-and-Found Commands and the Crime of Terrorism
August 19, 2008 By 8 Comments
The Human Security Act of 2007 defines the Crime of Terrorism as follows: SEC. 3. Terrorism. – Any person who commits an act punishable under any of the following provisions of the Revised Penal Code: Article 122 (Piracy in General and Mutiny in the High Seas or in the Philippine Waters); Article 134 (Rebellion or [...]
Ancestral Domains, Indigenous Peoples and Other Juridical Fictions
August 17, 2008 By 6 Comments
ISAGANI A. CRUZ (PDI Columnist and former Justice of the Supreme Court) recalls how he once assailed the Constitutionality of the Indigenous People’s Rights Act of 1997 in his capacity as a taxpayer — but failed in a 7-to-7 tie decision in Cruz and Europa v. DENR-NCIP (6 Dec 2000). Considering it’s pertinence to the [...]
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