April 2019 Volume 12 No. 2 | An expose of the children behind bars

An exposĂŠ

of the children behind bars

THE RED CHRONICLES

The official student publication of San Beda College Alabang - School of Law

63A, St. Maur Building, San Beda College Alabang - School of Law 8 Don Manolo Blvd., Alabang Hills Village, Muntinlupa City, Philippines Ceasar Entila | Editor-in-Chief Kaiza Jay Abaincia | Associate Editor Maria Isabella Katrina Arevalo | Managing Editor Jenica E.S. Ti | Features Editor Kaitlin Keith Sierra | News Editor Meg Ariola | Literary Editor Reena Theresa Marquez | Layout Editor Paul Nikko Degollado | Photography Editor

Cover design by Reena Theresa Marquez. The illustration depicts the life of underaged prisoners -the innocence of their youth trapped inside a corrupted institution.

Gabriel Lacson | Social Media Officer Alvin Patrick Relox | Circulations Manager Features Writers

News Writers

Literary Writers

Layout Artist Photographers

Cartoonist Logistics

Annelyse Andal NiĂąo Arevalo Karl Michael Carvajal Chezka Celis Juan Miguel Lopez Katherine Lim Dick Martinez Leiron Martija Leandro Nadal

Robert Jian Melchor Tina Miranda Jolykha Toa Lopez Sanchez Edrese Aguirre Eunice Jumalon Marz Ragpala

Nikki Tuble

Lea Cerrudo Melissa Manansala Janna Santotome

EJ ClemeĂąa Hera Ydulzura

Joe Martin Cabaral Justin Heinrich Salazar

Maris Gabornes and Hayde Talorong | Editor-in-Chief Emeriti Katrina Belarmino | Managing Editor Emeritus Pauline Ubaldo | News Editor Emeritus

Stephanie Gener | Senior Layout Artist Emeritus

Erratum: Katherine Lim was not included in the previous regular issue. Lim is a feature writer of The Red Chronicles.

Ace Amulong | Copy Editor

Atty. Rafael Angelo Padilla Faculty Adviser

The Red Chronicles accepts original articles from students and faculty members.

We also solicit comments regarding the articles featured in our issues.

You may contact us at trc@sanbeda-alabang.edu.ph Member: College Editors Guild of the Philippines

FOREWORD The Red Chronicles is now officially a member of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP). This issue is the first yet to be released as a member of the said guild. The CEGP, a patriotic and democratic organization, is the center for the advancement of press freedom in the Philippines. TRC is one with CEGP, in upholding and defending the interest and welfare of studentjournalists, its student-publishers, and the Filipino people. From the 6th to 10th of last March, we attended the 77th National Student Press Convention of the CEGP in Cebu City. We are privileged to be part of an alliance of tertiary student publications nationwide, and the largest and oldest of its kind in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Inside this issue, our beloved Dean Ulan Sarmiento III recounts his trip to Marawi, accompanied by fellow Bedans, to give back to the war-stricken children in Against the Odds: A Tale of Bedan Compassion to the Children of Marawi.

In How to Get Away With Corruption, we chronicle the highly-publicized and controversial cases of Imelda Marcos and Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. In our cover story, Are the Kids Alright?, we give you an exclusive look on the current situation of institutions that cater to those children in conflict with the law, including an in-depth discussion on the effects of lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility. Undeniably, the youth is the future of every nation, which is why a progressive legislation on the reformation and reintegration of children in conflict with the law should be one of utmost priority. Thus, we ask: How could our legislators be acquitted of serious crimes, while the youth are severely punished for crimes that were committed without discernment?

As the school year draws to an end, I would like to thank my editorial board as well as the staff of this publication for stepping up in taking on additional responsibilities for the publication. To the graduating class of 2019 who are about to take their final examinations, I wish you all good luck!

Ceasar Entila Editor-in-Chief

B HOTEL ALABANG 2107 Prime St., Madrigal Business Center Park, Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa City, Philippines, 1780 Telephone: (632) 828 8181 local 8513 | Fax: (632) 828 8585 | Mobile: (63) 995 580 2924 www.bhotelalabang.com

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What’s Inside “...Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, while agreeing that the influx of foreign presence in a country might influence its economy, there are caveats to ponder on...”

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Editorial: Alipin

“After a tiring road trip, the group was welcomed by a basketball court filled with so many young children in their uniforms, some girls wearing their hijabs, waiting patiently in line since the early morning.”

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Against the Odds: A tale of the Bedan Compassion to the children of Marawi

“Proponents of the measure insist that H.B. 8858 will address criminality among the youth, including their exploitation by criminal syndicates.”

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Are the kids alright? House Bill No. 8858 and the Amendment to the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act

“As of now, it’s impossible not to perceive that she maintains the confidence that she will be acquitted in the high court.”

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How to get away with Corruption

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LAC Launches First Bail Project

21

SOL students request more presence from the SLG

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TRAIN: Excise or Excess?

68

Budget-friendly outings all over the metro

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10

15

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NEWS

SOL PROF TO JOIN NATIONAL ELECTIONS

By KAITLIN KEITH SIERRA & JOLYKHA TOA LOPEZ SANCHEZ Photo by CEASAR ENTILA

Atty. Rico Paolo Quicho, one of the esteemed professors in San Beda College Alabang - School of Law who teaches Evidence and Civil Procedure, will be participating in the upcoming national midterm elections on May 13 as the first nominee of Sulong Dignidad Party-list.

Sulong Dignidad is a regional political party that advocates for the protection and promotion of human dignity.

“The reason why I am running as first nominee is because I was given this challenge by our party. There is a clamour within the organization that Sulong Dignidad must be represented by someone who would really manifest the ideals of the party.”

Prior to his decision to run for a Congressional spot, Atty. Quicho was the dean at the University of Makati – School of Law; and a practicing lawyer at Quicho Angeles Law Firm of which he was also a co-founder.

One of the many highlights of his career includes his involvement as a member of the defense team during the impeachment of former Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Sulong Dignidad pushes for three main platforms: uplift the poverty situation; give good quality and equitable education; and provide employment

6 | The Red Chronicles

opportunities. “Hopefully, [with] my experience as a lawyer, educator, and [school] administrator, I would be able to come up with a workable agenda that could really help the students and their families because I really think that education is the greatest social equalizer,” he adds.

Quicho explains that in Sulong Dignidad, “We really believe that the heart of leadership and governance is human dignity. In everything that we do we are putting human dignity front and center. It is something ambiguous but that is where we have to be relevant; because of that ambiguity, Sulong Dignidad is here - to fill that void through programs that would really nurture human dignity.”

On supporting students, he shares that incentives and opportunities should be given to students to be globally competitive and to produce the best and the brightest.

With regard to the current social issues, he explains the stand of his party on the following: On divorce: “Definitely against.”

On same-sex marriage: Quicho emphasizes that marriage and civil union or partnership are two different concepts, “when you say marriage, it is a catholic concept, it is matrimony. But if you say same sex partnership or union, then we will get there. We have to do it step-by-

Office of the Dean now includes a faculty room

By ALVIN PATRICK RELOX

step. It is a process. There must be no discrimination to the LGBTQ as far as the protection of the government [is concerned].”

On political dynasty: “There must be an operative law because it is not a self-executing law.” He explains that there must be a workable definition on what political dynasty is.

As to the lowering of the age of criminal responsibility, “Children are never criminals. They are victims. They should not be imprisoned, they must be nurtured, rehabilitated, and reformed.”

On federalism: “We believe it is important for us to have full devolution of LGUs’ function and authority before we have full [implementation of] federalism.”

On fake news: Quicho explains, “Information is the currency of the 21st century. If only true information will flow, I guess the proliferation of fake news will be abated.”

When asked on how he copes with all the demands of his responsibilities, he shares that he draws strength from family and friends, “I pray that my wife continue to be more patient with me and my children to be more understanding. I have nothing except my family and friends.” ■

A new faculty room of the San Beda College Alabang - School of Law (SBCA-SOL) located at the St. Maur Building was opened and blessed by Fr. Rembert Tumbali, OSB on February 4, 2019.

The faculty room is an office extension of the Dean’s office which includes a faculty lounge with an access to the office of the Dean after it has undergone renovation.

Guests during the blessing of the facility included SBCA Rector- President Dom Clement Ma. Roque, OSB; SOL Dean Ulpiano “Ulan” Sarmiento III; SOL Administrative Officer Atty.

Roben “Jun” Cadugo, Jr.; and Faculty members Judge Wilhelmina Jorge Wagan, Judge Nerina Mendinueto, Prosecutor Noemi Macababbad, Atty. Bienvenido Bulatao, Atty. Efren Dizon, Atty. Jonas Cabochan, Judge Selma Alaras, and Prefect of Student Affairs, Atty. Carlo Busmente.

The faculty extension is expected to provide more comfort and convenience to the staff and faculty members of the SOL as it is also the venue for important meetings and discussions concerning the administration and academic concerns of the law school.

Prefect of Student Affairs, Atty. Carlo Busmente shared that the new extension definitely improved the situation of the professors in the office, “For one, the extension features a new Prefect’s Office. Another is that it made the office bigger; therefore, accommodating more professors during our faculty meetings.”

Busmente added that prior to the renovation, the former office cannot seat all 35 professors during faculty meetings. The facility improvements now can hold 30 professors at once.

The extension annexed a total of 3 rooms in addition to the 2 rooms previously occupied by the Office of the Dean.

“The new extension made the faculty office more accessible to SOL students compared to the old one which seemed quite compressed,” mentioned student leader Ceasar Entila, editorin-chief of The Red Chronicles. ■

The Red Chronicles | 7

BEDANS ATTEND ALSP LEGAL CAMP IN TAIPEI

By TINA MIRANDA

Student representatives from San Beda College Alabang – School of Law attended as delegates in the Association of Law Students of the Philippines (ALSP) Legal Camp 2019, a six-day legal forum held in Taipei, Taiwan last January 3.

Laira Manankil and Clarissa Malig-on of San Beda College Alabang – School of Law, along with other officers of ALSP, witnessed Taiwan’s legal system and culture.

“Our trip is mainly for the purpose of exchanging ideas, experiences, and culture between the Philippines and Taiwan Chapters,” Manankil said.

As part of their legal camp experience, the group visited the National Taiwan University and several judicial courts where they saw how trial hearings are conducted in Taiwan. “Each seat in the court has one computer where the encoded flow of the hearing is shown. It showcases how they value transparency,” Malig-on described.

The delegates also visited Baker McKenzie, a multinational law firm, to discuss their practice of law and the form of legal education in the country.

When asked about the possibility of applying Taiwan’s legal system in the Philippines, Manankil expressed, “There are systems that can be applied in the country like their strong support in the LGBT Community through establishing unisex (sic) comfort rooms, as well as the government’s support for the community events.”

Malig-on added that the Philippines should follow the transparency system of Taiwan, “This is to build public trust in the Philippine justice system.”

Both participants encourage their fellow Bedans to open themselves in different organizations, such as the ALSP. “It pays to have extracurricular activities that can enrich one’s knowledge about the theoretical and realistic aspects of his chosen field,” Malig-on proposed. ■

8 | The Red Chronicles

The Legal Aid Center (LAC) of San Beda College Alabang – School of Law (SBCA-SOL) pioneered a bail project for the women detainees of Muntinlupa City Jail (MCJ) with the first leg of the project held at Camp Bagong Diwa last February 25.

The organization founded this activity entitled, BAIL-entine’s Day as part of their mission to provide the indigent members of our society quality legal assistance.

LAC Secretary Edrese Aguirre shared that the team spearheaded the project after SOL Dean Ulpiano “Ulan” P. Sarmiento III’s suggestion. “We’ve already done it in the school campus, in the barangays, and so we thought we could also render such service to the detainees who are most likely in need of legal consultation,” she added.

LAC Launches First Bail Project

By TINA MIRANDA Photo courtesy of LEGAL AID CENTER

The said event consists of two phases— the first phase being the Bail-entine’s Day project wherein free legal counseling and gift-giving to LAC’s 210 beneficiaries were conducted. The second phase will involve a Bail Bond Application Drive in April.

Chelo Vianca Malapitan, LAC external vice president, shared that the project can bring hope to their beneficiaries. “This project is part of our advocacy to extend the services of our organization not just to those who directly go to the office to seek assistance but also to those who cannot afford to go to us but really needs our help,” she said.

The LAC expects to release five to ten detainees on Phase 2 of the project. The second phase is still subject to a fundraising activity.

The bail project is considered to be one of a kind

and a major innovation according to the LAC president Frederick Abella, Jr. “The LAC also provides for an avenue for understanding possibilities of helping others aside from what we are doing most of the time,” he explained.

As for the legal interns, this opportunity serves as their training for their future practice in the legal profession.

This year’s LAC looks forward to its continuous and successful bail drive for the detainees.

Malapitan added that the LAC is planning, upon approval of Dean Ulpiano Sarmiento III and LAC directress Atty. Maritonie Resurreccion, to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with the City Jail for better systematic handling of activities for the detainees. ■

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SOL Competes at Conflicts of Law 2019

By ROBERT JIAN MELCHOR & KAITLIN KEITH SIERRA Photo by JANNA SANTOTOME

In February, students of San Beda College Alabang – School of Law (SBCA-SOL) join fellow law students from different institutions in several sporting events and tournaments.

SBCA-SOL was represented through the persistence of its student-athletes in participating in the competitions which include Football, Men’s Basketball (winning 2nd Place, over-all), Women’s Basketball (winning 3rd Place over-all), Men’s Volleyball; Women’s Volleyball; Badminton Men’s Singles, Badminton Men’s Doubles, Badminton Women’s Singles, Badminton Women’s Doubles, Badminton Mixed Doubles, Chess, Table Tennis,Egames, and Debate (winning 2nd Place over-all).

Clara Murallos, captain of the women’s basketball team, stated that playing for the school with her teammates and coaches and earning a podium finish was a huge achievement. “Going against Mendiola, who was then the 7-peat champion, was also a great experience. Over-all, it was the happiest, most fulfilling season yet.”

Alex Po, captain of the men’s basketball team, recalls his experience, “[I felt] happy since we were able to beat Ateneo to make it to the finals since they beat us last year; but disappointed since we

10 | The Red Chronicles

were already in the finals but we weren’t able to win.

Bawi na lang next season.”

Nico Magayanes, captain of the chess team, said that he is proud to have accomplished so much this year considering that it is their freshman year, “Sa ‘kin lang, I feel proud na naka-buo kami ng chess team for San Beda Alabang. First time kasi sumali sa chess ang SBCA.” Meanwhile, the only non-sporting event during the occasion was the Debate Cup held at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and Arellano University wherein SBCA-SOL sent two teams to compete. The first team was composed of Dominic Paolo Marquez (awarded 11th Best Speaker), Lyndon Remigio, and William Terencio, winning 2nd place. The second team was composed of JP Maramot, JV Valerio, and Chezka Celis, recognized as 9th placer in the competition.

Two adjudicators from SBCA-SOL also took part, Kaiza Jay Abaincia and JL Aguilar, who was awarded 7th Best Adjudicator.

Chezka Celis, vice president for training and development of International Law Debate Society of SBCA-SOL shared, “I feel very happy with the outcome of the tournament. All our efforts and

ELS Gets Ready for EcoFest 2019

By ROBERT JIAN MELCHOR

sacrifices paid off. We have proven that San Beda College Alabang should never be underestimated.

We will come back stronger.”

Dominic Paolo Marquez reflects, “After my second year of [debating], I focused more on helping the younger batch. It was worth it to come out of ‘retirement’ and make it all the way to finals, a feat I have not accomplished in my long debating career. It was a great feeling and I’m happy I was convinced to participate again.”

However, the occasion met some controversy including the confusion as to the venue; and the discontinuance of the futsal event. The games were held in Marikina and Manila area.

The Futsal matches did not push through because some of the participating teams did not agree on the schedule of the games.

An athlete-participant shared, “Syempre naiba quality ng games, yo’ng mga tao na napunta sa ‘di magandang venue sobrang nainitan na. Ta’s yo’ng Badminton, dahil ‘di maganda venue kasi nasa vacant lot lang and nilagyan ng net, [then] nilipat sa ibang venue on the day itself.”

The Conflicts of Law 2019 concluded and held its last day of competitions on February 24. ■

The Environmental Law Society (ELS) of San Beda College Alabang – School of Law (SBCASOL) prepares for the upcoming EcoFest on April 10-14. The occasion will be in partnership with the Bedan Biodiversity Conservation Society of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS).

According to ELS President, Micah Alvin Gimelo, EcoFest is a week-long event with the aim of promoting environmental advocacies.

Entrepreneurs will also visit to sell products which are eco-friendly like bamboo toothbrush, clothing merchandise, and organic produce.

In preparation, the ELS conducted several projects like that on the overpopulation of the cats inside SBCA by ligation or ‘kapon’ process of the female cats. “We aim to promote a healthy ecosystem inside the campus while also considering the welfare of the cats,” Gimelo shares.

ELS is likewise in constant communication with the Office of Senator Loren Legarda on its inquiry about Senate Bill No. 1948 otherwise known as the ‘Single Use Plastics Regulation and Management Bill’. Kaitlin Keith Sierra, ELS vice president for research and development explains, “Since the ELS supports this initiative, we are eager to know more about the bill and hopefully, its fruition into a law. We are in constant communication with the Office of Senator Loren on how we can promote this prospective legislation in furtherance of our mission statement.”

The organization is also looking forward to its upcoming events such as the clean-up drive in Manila Bay which will be in partnership with the Society of Philippine Wetlands and other non-governmental organizations advocating environmental protection.

On the commitment of ELS to its advocacy, “the purpose is to envision that the generation after us will not have the same environmental problems as we have now,” Gimelo adds. The group is devoted to tailor projects aimed to inform the Bedan community and the public as to the potential solutions to environmental concerns and to be able to produce top-notch Bedan lawyers who are well-informed of the importance of protecting the environment. ■

The Red Chronicles | 11

SOL holds 2019 Career Week

By ALVIN PATRICK RELOX

The San Beda College Alabang – School of Law Guidance Center, in cooperation with the School of Law Internship and Development (SOLID) Group, launched its 2019 Career Week last March 11 to 15.

The week-long event featured various seminars graced by professional speakers. Prof.

Erickson Amion discussed about The Building Blocks towards Success focusing on the prevalent issue of handling stress in law school which catered to freshmen law students.

Vyne Hautea, a first year law student shared, “I learned about the essence of rest and the importance of time management.”

During the second day, students on their second and third year learned about The Equilibrium of Law School and Real Life from Bedan alumnus Atty. Khervy Reyes. He emphasized the importance of balancing real life and law school responsibilities by sharing his life story.

Following the discussion was a debate competition on the topic, Battlefront: Whether or Not Law School is Equivalent to a Masters or Doctoral Degree. Members of the International Law Debate Society participated in the event whereby the side of the negative emerged victorious with members composed of Kaiza Jay Abaincia and William Terencio. The best speaker award was received by Terencio.

The SBCA-SOL faculty also attended a lecture by Dr. Joan Mae Perez-Rifareal on How to Handle Millennials.

On the last day of the event which was attended by fourth year law students, the nature of corporate lawyering and what life is after law school were discussed by one of the esteemed faculty members of SOL, Atty. Maria Zarah Villanueva-Castro in her talk about the topic, To the Court and Beyond.

SBCA-SOL Guidance counselor, Sylvia Atienza, noted “I would like to thank our speakers, student volunteers, faculty, and the various student organizations who made this event possible.”

SOLID President Arnold Bolkiah Unidad also remarked that the SOLID Group will continue focusing on new and innovative projects that will help the SBCA-SOL student body. ■ 12 | The Red Chronicles

Out to Reach The San Beda College Alabang Legal Aid Center (SBCA-LAC) held a two-day outreach program entitled, Legal Technique: Resolving Disputes under Katarungang Pambarangay Law for the residents of Brgy. Talon IV, Las Piñas City last October 27 and 28, 2018.

The first part of the event involved a seminar on legal techniques under the Katarungang Pambarangay Law which was participated by the local officers. Free legal counseling was then given to the residents right after the seminar. The program was spearheaded by Frederick Abella, Jr., LAC president, and Chelo Vianca Malapitan, LAC internal vice president, under the guidance of Atty.

Vericson Dee Quitco.

According to Malapitan, the purpose of the event is to provide help and assistance to the

Legal Aid Center Thrives

in Community Activities

community in line with the primary goal of LAC to expand its services not just for the benefit of indigent clients but also to other members of the society.

The event was well-taken by the residents. The participants actively answered questions and raised queries on procedural aspects of the Katarungang Pambarangay Law, explained Abella.

Feast of Advice As part of the celebration of Pista ng Sto. Nino 2019, an annual free legal consultation was conducted by the LAC in St. Maur Building on January 18, 2019. The event was led by Mark Ellison Alarilla, LAC auditor.

“Consistent with the vision of LAC to become a leading school-based organization, which serves the community through free legal services, the interns

By JOLYKHA TOA LOPEZ SANCHEZ Photo by MELISSA MANANSALA

gave free legal advice to [all] the participants of the feast, which included students, employees, and the general public,” Alarilla shared According to Kaitlin Keith Sierra, LAC case manager, five sets of clients were accommodated during the event. On explaining what happens to clients after the free legal consultation, she clarified, “We assess each client’s circumstances and follow a certain procedure in accepting the cases. Fortunately, most of the participants that day were accepted as clients of the LAC.” The effect of which is that the LAC has become their official counsel for their respective cases.

Describing the event, Alarilla recalled, “The activity was fulfilling because aside from the fact that we helped out others regarding their legal concerns, it was conducted in honor and in celebration of the Holy Infant Jesus.” ■

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SBCA-SOL visits

ederly and children Photo and story by ALVIN PATRICK RELOX

The San Beda College Alabang - School of Law (SBCA-SOL) through its Student Ministry helped the abandoned elderly and children with special needs in Bahay ni Maria Foundation in Calamba, Laguna last December 9, 2018.

“It was chosen among our huge pool of target locations after thorough deliberation. We aim to make it into one of our adopted communities, and to continuously provide donations,” shared Nikko Paulo Dedicatoria, president of Student Ministry.

The Bahay ni Maria Foundation is managed by the missionary sisters of Our Lady of Fatima and it operates a home for the elderly and abandoned and mistreated children. It currently shelters 21 elderly women and four children. It has been receiving regular aid such as food, clothing, and health services from various charitable institutions.

Thirty law students volunteered including members from the SBCA-SOL Chorale, Environmental Law Society, and the School of Law Internship and Development Group. The SOL guidance counsellor, Sylvia Atienza and SOL head librarian, Marilyn Yap were also present during the

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occasion.

The volunteers were each assigned to one elderly woman or child for the duration of the event. The occasion included a feeding program; mini entertainment in the form of song requests to which the SOL Chorale gleefully performed; and a Christmas gift-giving to the beneficiaries who were all dressed up as Santa Claus. The day was concluded with the celebration of the holy Mass.

One of the volunteers, Jemimah Rachel Cruz, recalled, “It was a humbling experience because you can see how the people in Bahay ni Maria make the most of what they have.”

Dedicatoria also added, “I cannot say anything more but thanks, and my prayer [is] that you all would still continue to support our cause for a better tomorrow for all people.”

The Student Ministry will be having a relief operation in Albay in February. They are also planning to conduct an immersion program to engage its members and gain more knowledge on the lifestyle and livelihood of the various sectors of the society. ■

SBCA Celebrates 2019

Pista ng Sto. Nino

By KAITLIN KEITH SIERRA Photos by THE RED CHRONICLES

The San Beda College Alabang (SBCA) community honored the Holy Infant Jesus during the Pista ng Sto. Niño last January 17-19 as the Bedans of the South gathered in celebration and prayer.

The Pista highlighted a block screening of the movie Liway which was shown across all student levels in SBCA. The activity raised funds for the producers of the film and for the outreach programs of the SBCA. Students paid P200 each ticket to watch at the newly constructed Tugade Theatre Auditorium located in the Our Lady of Montserrat building.

Dr. Abraham de Castro, hermano mayor of the Pista, reported that it is first time for SBCA to organize a fundraising across all levels.

“I am a social studies teacher and the film is very close to my heart. Our main task is to make sure that our children are properly informed of what really transpired during the Martial Law. Not [to] put down any family but to make sure our children, the students of San Beda Alabang, are made aware of the need to fight historical revisionism to preserve our recent history,” said Dr. de Castro who is also the principal of the Integrated Basic Education (IBED) and Senior High School.

Liway is a 2018 Filipino independent film written 16 | The Red Chronicles

and directed by Bedan alumnus Kip Oebanda, about the experiences of Dakip, a young boy growing up in a prison camp as the son of an anti-Marcos dissident Cecilia Flores-Oebanda.

Third year law student, Robert Santos, Jr. shared his insights about the film. “The movie inspired me.

Growing up, I didn’t have a voice. I was a shy and an introvert kid. The story inspired me to speak for the voiceless.”

The IBED department led the three-day feast that featured simultaneous activities from the different departments and colleges. The White Party was organized by the School of Law Government to welcome students to the new semester.

There were basketball exhibition games for students and faculty of Alabang and Mendiola campus. Present were: Atty. Adonis Gabriel, Atty.

Roben “Jun” Cadugo, Jr., Dean Ulan Sarmiento III, Fr. Rembert Tumbali, Vice Dean Marciano “Rocky” Delson, Atty. Jesus Vicente “J-Vit” Capellan, Atty.

Efren Dizon, and Atty. Carlo Busmente.

The SBCA Legal Aid Center (SBCA-LAC) also held free legal consultation which was opened to all.

On the other hand, the hermano mayor worked in coordination with the Catholic Benedictine

SOL extends help in Marawi

By ALVIN PATRICK RELOX

Formation Office (CBFO) for the traditional and religious activities of the Pista.

A holy novena mass was celebrated by the law community. The Pista also included the holy procession and the prayer vigil in SBCA’s open grounds.

John Paolo Casal, the pastoral associate of CBFO, shared, “Generally, the feast is a good tradition to culture. Benedictine hallmarks were anchored in doing the activities.”

With the line-up of activities, Dr. de Castro shared that all activities of the feast complement each other. He said, “Faith without good work is dead. The screening of Liway was our humble contribution to Philippine society. And keeping the traditional activities to offer everything to God. St. Benedict teaches Ora et Labora. Prayer and work.”

The theme for this year’s Pista is Sto. Nino: Ehemplo ng Kababaang-loob at Pagka-masunurin. The hermano mayor explained that the theme is based on the Benedictine Hallmarks of Education and patterned from the operation plans launched by the Benedictine monks headed by the Rector President Dom Clement, OSB. ■

The San Beda College Alabang – School of Law (SBCA-SOL) extended help to the children of Amai Pakpak Central Elementary School in Marawi City last December 10, 2018.

The project was spearheaded by SBCA-SOL Dean Ulpiano “Ulan” Sarmiento III along with the School of Law Government (SLG), VolCorps, and some Bedan alumni, including former SLG president Lauren Mendoza, former VolCorps head Ryan Cancio and Vanessa Sagmit. They were also joined by thirteen SOL student volunteers and a handful of SOL administrative staff including administrative officer, Atty. Roben “Jun” Cadugo, Jr. “The project primarily was about giving to our brothers and sisters affected in the Marawi siege. But when we got to work, it meant so much more than just giving. It meant being there for them. It meant reminding them that they are not forgotten, that the SBCA community was one with them,” shared Isabella Bobadilla, a third year law student-volunteer said.

Around 1,000 students received school supplies, toys, and food from the outreach activity. The said outreach program took almost one year of planning and its first event includes the Christmas Concert for a Cause last 2017. Dean Sarmiento III pitched the idea to the Bedan community having in mind the state and situation of the children in Marawi.

Incumbent SLG president Laira Manankil expressed her satisfaction and life-changing experience during the outreach program, “The experience was really an unforgettable one for us participants and project heads. Being part of the success of the project made our hearts very happy, especially seeing the children full of joy and positivity despite what they have experienced. It was actually a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget since I also saw how united SBCA-SOL students and faculty can be when it comes to helping other people.”

The event in Marawi is one of many Christmas season charity events commenced by SBCASOL which also included an outreach program in Bahay ni Maria by the SOL Student Ministry and a community event by the SOL Human Rights Center last December 2018. ■

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SOL Holds Lex Celebrationis 2018

By ROBERT JIAN MELCHOR Photo by LEA CERRUDO

Last December 10-14, 2018, the San Beda College Alabang – School of Law (SBCA-SOL) celebrated the annual intramurals, the Lex Celebrationis, where the Bedan law community competed in various athletic events.

According to Valerie Tio, School of Law Government (SLG) internal vice president and intramurals project head, “Lex is significant because we try to promote camaraderie within the SOL through sports, and as a release of the pressure from the first semester.”

While there is no significant departure compared from last year’s flow of event, Tio explained that every year, they try to improve the system in involving the students as well as the logistics and

18 | The Red Chronicles

procedures of the various programs. She added, “We were able to make the e-sports a three-day event which was able to cater to more students na gusto sumali and may board games and console games kami – everything went smoothly with all the other events.”

The tournament included several games that were as follows: futsal, badminton, volleyball, basketball, board games and e-sports.

Winners were awarded by the SLG with SOL Dean Ulpiano Sarmiento III on January 17, 2019 at the White Party, a sem-starter gathering organized by the SLG. For futsal, Team Nori bagged the championship, while Timothy Pilar was awarded as the Most

SOL now offers J.D., replaces ll.b.

By TINA MIRANDA

Valuable Player (MVP).

Champions for badminton were John Wencel Caldit in men’s singles; Genesis Pareja and John Roque Delos Santos in men’s doubles; Hera Marie Ydulzura in women’s singles; and Hera Marie Ydulzura and John Roque Delos Santos in mixed doubles.

Two teams emerged as winners in e-sports events namely, Team Ming Choi for DOTA and Team MJ for League of Legends.

For basketball, Team Aldav emerged as the champion, while John Michael Castillo and Jerome Advincula were the Finals and Seasonal MVPs, respectively. ■

The San Beda College Alabang - School of Law (SBCA-SOL) renames their Bachelor of Laws course (Ll.B) to Juris Doctor (J.D.) as per the Memorandum Order No. 19, series of 2018 of the Legal Education Board (LEB).

This memo serves as a directive to all law schools in the Philippines to change the Ll.B. title to J.D. regardless of the additional elective requirement for doctorate degrees.

While there are objections to this change, SBCA-SOL concurs to the LEB resolution as this new title would be an advantage to the students.

“In substance, there appears to be no difference kasi LEB naman did not require additional subjects or certain other academic submissions, parang pinapalitan mo lang ‘yong pangalan,” SBCA-SOL Dean Ulpiano “Ulan” Sarmiento III said.

The Dean also expressed that there is no need for San Beda to require its students a dissertation – for the curriculum alone demands a lot of their time more so for working students.

Likewise, the SOL, through Dean Ulan, will not close its doors to the possibility of forthcoming changes issued by the LEB. “Sa amin kasi dito [in San Beda Law] is for you [students] to pass the Bar initially because trial and practice will just come after you pass; but the most important [thing] is passing the Bar,” he added.

With regard to the regalia of the graduates of class of 2019, the Dean issues the same until the LEB requires a new one. ■

The Red Chronicles | 19

SOL Assists Usman Victims

By ALVIN PATRICK RELOX

The San Beda College Alabang – School of Law (SBCA-SOL) through the SOL Student Ministry reached out to the victims of Typhoon Usman in Barangay Maynonong, Tiwi, Albay last March 30, 2019.

The team of 11 participants led by Student Ministry President Nikko Paulo Dedicatoria distributed 225 packages of food and clothing to the intended beneficiaries.

Barangay Captain Edwina Teves shared that SBCA-SOL was the only group that visited them after they returned home as Usman hit last December 2018. “Various organizations gave us donations while we were still in the evacuation center,” Teves said.

Katrina Nicolas, Student Ministry volunteer, on her outreach experience, “It is heartwarming to be able to unite Bedans to extend a hand for those in need. Also, despite the body pains, long hours of travel, and lack of sleep, I’d say that it was a wonderful [and] rewarding experience to actually be there to help. Their smiles were priceless.”

Dedicatoria added, “We heard news of the Typhoon Usman calamity way back in December and decided to commence actions to help the victims.”

The Student Ministry started gathering donations from the SOL community last December 2018. The project is an addition to the several outreach activities that SBCA-SOL organized including the visit in Bahay ni Maria, an elderly shelter; and in an elementary school in Marawi City after the area had been war-stricken. ■

20 | The Red Chronicles

The students of San Beda College Alabang- School of Law (SBCA- SOL) assessed the performance of the Student of Law Government (SLG) officers for the academic year 2018-2019 in the annual survey conducted by The Red Chronicles. The request of the 220 respondents is more presence from the student leaders.

The officers were evaluated using the criteria for good governance based on the United Nations Development Programme’s policy paper, where good governance is characterized by, “compliance to rules, transparency, responsiveness, consensus-oriented, equitableness and inclusiveness, effectiveness and efficiency, accountability, participation, and vision.”

Based on the overall results, the highest rating was obtained by Sean Loquinario, the first year batch

SOL Students Request More

Presence from the SLG representative, who also topped in the categories of transparency, compliance to rule (consensusoriented), accountability, participation, and vision.

During last year’s miting de avance, Manankil promised to provide a locker service, a book drive, and a career fair for the SBCA-SOL Community.

Together with Manankil, Mateo promised the launch of a career fair. In addition, her platforms included the Bedan Market, the continuation of the Conflicts of Law, and engagement with other schools.

On the other hand, Tio’s platforms consist mainly of continuation and improvement of existing projects namely the project revival of Lex Celebrationis and Gabi ng Parangal. Lastly, she promised to develop a student approval system where students will be consulted to major projects and activities of SLG.

By JOLYKHA TOA LOPEZ SANCHEZ Photos By PAUL NIKKO DEGOLLADO

The platforms of Arciaga included Red Card which provides discounts from establishments; and the Red Merchandise as a form of a fundraising activity for the community. She promised transparency and communication in handling the financial matters of the SLG and the community.

With regard to communication, one of Esguerra’s platforms features Red Box which serves as an online grievance mechanism for the students. Further, the batch representatives highlighted the Batch Hotline as one of their proposals which provides students with immediate ways to contact their representatives.

As to whether the mentioned platforms were carried out during their terms, the student body have spoken through their ratings. See table for the survey results.

The Red Chronicles | 21

3.40

3.36

LAIRA MANANKIL

MEGAN MATEO

COMPLIANCE TO RULE TRANSPARENCY RESPONSIVENESS CONSESUS ORIENTED EQUITY & INCLUSIVENESS

3.56 3.40 3.42 3.28 3.37

EFFECTIVENESS & EFFICIENCY accountability participation strategic vision

3.38 3.41 3.47 3.23

COMPLIANCE TO RULE TRANSPARENCY RESPONSIVENESS CONSESUS ORIENTED EQUITY & INCLUSIVENESS

3.39 3.55 3.38 3.42 3.25 3.35

EFFECTIVENESS & EFFICIENCY accountability participation strategic vision

COMPLIANCE TO RULE TRANSPARENCY RESPONSIVENESS CONSESUS ORIENTED EQUITY & INCLUSIVENESS

22 | The Red Chronicles

EFFECTIVENESS & EFFICIENCY accountability participation strategic vision

3.74 3.56 3.67 3.45 3.52

EFFECTIVENESS & EFFICIENCY accountability participation strategic vision

3.56 3.62 3.62 3.47

3.30

FERGIE VILLANUEVA 3.76 3.82 3.68 3.55 3.66

3.29 3.42 3.39 3.20

JAPHET ESGUERRA 3.32 3.44 3.47 3.34

3.67 COMPLIANCE TO RULE TRANSPARENCY RESPONSIVENESS CONSESUS ORIENTED EQUITY & INCLUSIVENESS

EFFECTIVENESS & EFFICIENCY accountability participation strategic vision

3.58

RACHEL ARCIAGA COMPLIANCE TO RULE TRANSPARENCY RESPONSIVENESS CONSESUS ORIENTED EQUITY & INCLUSIVENESS

3.57 3.41 3.43 3.26 3.23

TIMOTHY PILAR 3.58 3.71 3.71 3.56

COMPLIANCE TO RULE TRANSPARENCY RESPONSIVENESS CONSESUS ORIENTED EQUITY & INCLUSIVENESS

3.74 3.67 3.56 3.30 3.31

EFFECTIVENESS & EFFICIENCY accountability participation strategic vision

3.43 3.43 3.52 3.22

Remarks from the Student Body:

3.89

VALERIE TIO COMPLIANCE TO RULE TRANSPARENCY RESPONSIVENESS CONSESUS ORIENTED EQUITY & INCLUSIVENESS

4.04 3.96 4.05 3.73 3.84

EFFECTIVENESS & EFFICIENCY accountability participation strategic vision

3.84 3.85 3.99 3.71

3.91

SEAN LOQUINARIO COMPLIANCE TO RULE TRANSPARENCY RESPONSIVENESS CONSESUS ORIENTED EQUITY & INCLUSIVENESS

4.02 3.98 3.86 3.86 3.78

EFFECTIVENESS & EFFICIENCY accountability participation strategic vision

3.83 3.93 4.07 3.85

Second Year “Needs more exposure.”

“As a student athlete, I am not satisfied with the services regarding the jerseys. The sizes are all wrong and always need to be altered. Also, I’m not really sure who is incharge in the Conflicts event but I hope that you will be able to provide water and Gatorade to all teams especially to those teams that have early games since in the past 2 Sundays, there were some teams who did not have any drink at all thinking that the SLG would provide for them.”

Third Year “Lacks participation/insights in socially relevant issues.”

“I wish the SLG would release official statements supporting or disagreeing with current Philippine issues. The org needs to be more vocal and relevant in that aspect.”

“No new programs that are focused on the improvement of the students. No new opportunities. No improvement from the past administration.”

“Sana next year, ma-feel na ulit yung presence ng SLG, ‘di ko kasi talaga sila nararamdaman this year bilang student officers. And sana ibalik na yung pa-sandwich ‘pag exam week.”

Fourth Year “I did not feel the presence of the SLG this year save for the batch reps posting in groups. The officers, especially the president, played it safe yet still uses their position to cut class and get preferential enrollment despite other organizations in school working harder than they ever did.

Useless government; they are there for their CV and not to serve.” ■

3.51

ALVIN BAE MONTESA COMPLIANCE TO RULE TRANSPARENCY RESPONSIVENESS CONSESUS ORIENTED EQUITY & INCLUSIVENESS

3.60 3.39 3.46 3.19 3.40

EFFECTIVENESS & EFFICIENCY accountability participation strategic vision

3.44 3.39 3.49 3.28 The Red Chronicles | 23

editorial

菲律賓

Alipin /Fēilǜbīn/ (trans. Philippines; Servant)

“Has the government been surprisingly consistent in its ignorance of the presence of Chinese in our country or is that just an excuse for turning a blind eye for its “master”?”

The administration of our incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte is associated with the People’s Republic of China, but this relationship between these two countries is not the first of its kind to blossom in today’s modern politics. A few decades ago, the Philippines was kept under Martial Law by then late president Ferdinand Marcos, Sr., who, while showing support to communism in mainland China, fought aggressively against the local communist party. And while a camaraderie between the two republics were at a rise, it suffered disagreements caused by the West Philippine Sea dispute that is still subject to disagreement in recent events.

In 2016, President Duterte, a presidential candidate then, promised to protect the rights of the Philippines over the West Philippine Sea dispute, even proposing to ride a jetski along the boundary of Spratlys with the Philippine flag in hopes of reclaiming the land from the Chinese. Accordingly, in 2013, backed by UN Arbitration, the Philippines was declared to have legal rights over the West Philippine Sea, which was by all means a go-signal for the Duterte administration to enforce our country’s authority over the decades-long disputed territories. However, as fate would have it, history is repeating itself as a shift in what was promised shocked the Filipino people. Now, President Duterte seeks to prevent antagonizing China, maintaining good 24 | The Red Chronicles

relations by putting an end to the joint efforts of US-PH naval patrols in the West Philippine Sea, compromising the interests of Philippines and its rule of law to appease its heavily armed neighbor.

Assured with China’s alliance, President Duterte mentioned that he intends to make the Philippines a province of China, to be later defended as a statement made in jest. The Filipino people did not take this well, and had continuously expressed dissatisfaction with the influx of overseas Chinese businesses and workers flocking within Philippine territories. A string of complaints lodged in the Bureau of Immigrations had a distinguishable resemblance -- undocumented Chinese workers aggressively entering the Philippines since the inception of the Duterte administration. Yet a question emerges, do legally documented Chinese workers pose a threat to job distribution among our local workers? The answer lies in opposite directions of the spectrum.

On one hand, the Philippine economy dramatically rendered positive results despite backlash from the Filipino people. In its 2019 outlook released last April 3, the Asian Development Bank reports that the country’s GDP could bounce to 6.4% -- an increase from 2018’s 6.2%, with projections that it will increase further in the coming years. Last year, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, while agreeing that the influx of

RTC MARQUEZ ‘19

foreign presence in a country might influence its economy, there are caveats to ponder on, such as foreigners ending up to be permanent residents in the country. So while the Chinese influx had undeniably improved our economy, the demand for Chinese housing resulted in jacked up prices in condominium and other housing alternatives -causing a disadvantage to average Filipino wage earners in the metro. While the probe lobbied in the Senate labor committee is underway, the effects of the influx of Chinese have already been felt around the metro.

On the other hand, DOLE stands firm in its call for preferential treatment and allocation for Filipinos on construction, mining, and entertainment including foreign-funded infrastructure projects such as the Build, Build Build project. Upon inquiry, Finance Assistant Secretary Maria Edita Tan explained that negotiations with Beijing regarding the loan agreement for the government’s projects had no preferential treatment for China as far as sourcing is concerned. DPWH claims that, in compliance with preferential treatment for Filipinos, only skilled Chinese workers were employed with alien employment permits. Adding to that, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III noted that the sourcing of the Chinese was due to the lack of experience or desire of Filipinos to work. Bello rationalized that by deporting these Chinese workers, China might also deport our OFWs just like

what happened then in the Middle East, causing drastic increase in unemployment. But Senator Nancy Binay, unassured, pointed out that the BBB project was initially intended to create job opportunities for Filipinos.

Of course, these still do not explain the influx of undocumented workers coming in our country.

Disturbingly, the government has yet to present a reliable and complete access to the number of Chinese workers in the country. Absent any figures, how can the government crack down and put an end to illegal alien workers? And if these figures may finally be presented, when will this be retrieved considering that the influx had been grossly apparent for the last few years? While few arrests have been conducted in several parts of the country, only time and consistency can tell if our government will be able to truly answer why the influx of illegal Chinese workers started in the first place without raising any alarms. Moreover, a more boneshaking question arises, is the government afraid of its neighboring country? Why should we give way to these illegal workers, compromising the rule of law, in hopes that China will protect our OFWs? Has the government been surprisingly consistent in its ignorance of the presence of Chinese in our country or is that just an excuse for turning a blind eye for its “master”? ■ The Red Chronicles | 25

opinion

By CEASAR ENTILA Editor-in-Chief

Coco

Francis the Offlaner Francis* has been drinking for the past two nights, after failing in one of his subjects due to tardiness. On the third night, he opens Facebook while chugging down a bottle of Pale Pilsen. He sees various news articles about Salvador Panelo calling Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio “unpatriotic” for his opposition on the Chico River Pump Project.

Intoxicated, he falls asleep on the floor beside a black bucket. Francis wakes up at noon the next day. Like any person, he again opens Facebook and sees multiple posts by “riders” trivializing the proposed legislation of double plate numbers for motorcycles. He moves to his bed, goes back to sleep and regrets ever going online.

Francis belongs to the post millennial youth of today or Generation Z, which has been described

by The Economist as a “more educated, stressed, and depressed generation.” Composed of those born between the late 1990s up to the early 2000s, Generation Z is the most liberal generation yet is also the most vulnerable. Time Magazine has even reported that members of this generation has the worst mental health of any generation. Various publications also reported that the most plausible reason for poor mental health is social media.

Compared to millennials and older generations, members of Generation Z have never known a world without social media. Coupled with the rate of technological development and the ease of connecting to the internet, it is but natural that social media is what separates and defines this current generation.

26 | The Red Chronicles

Unfortunately, some people have mistaken it’s easy to use feature as an invitation to share unverified information. People have abused Facebook as a venue to complain, to police opinions (that do not align with theirs), and to politicize everything down to choosing one’s favorite color. It has become a breeding place for a mob mentality that adheres to blind partisanship.

Social media was borne out of the need to connect and express, as it gives everyone a virtual platform to reach out and voice their opinions. Ironically, social media can also exacerbate feelings of social isolation, according to Sherry Turkle, director of MIT Initiative on Technology and Self. Much of what is posted online shapes Generation Z’s perception on what to eat, who to ‘stan’, where to go to, to see and be seen. But, there is more to life than liking 21 Savages’ dope videos.

Francis knows this. Along with the other members of Generation Z, Francis is now about to enter the workforce. Being the most ‘woke’ yet vulnerable generation, the consumption of information is now more critical than ever.

Upon getting home from class, he sits down, fires up steam, and escapes to the position of offlane in DOTA. This is how he copes with the stress bearing down on today’s youth. He disconnects from school, and in part, from the real world. This allows Francis to be in control of his mental health and gives him an escape from the constant petty bickering between dutertards and dilawans as well as the online rantings of his ultrasensitive butthurt roommate. ■

By KAIZA JAY ABAINCIA Associate Editor

Train of Thought

How about the poor?

The killings of fourteen farmers in Negros Oriental, March 30, is deplorable. The fatalities involved suspected members and sympathizers of the New People’s Army; where fifteen others were arrested while one cop was injured during the simultaneous operations of serving warrants of arrest for illegal possession of firearms and explosives. Defense for the killing? The familiar “nanlaban” as a justifying circumstance.

The killings now extend not only to cases involving narcotics but to farmers and suspected members of belligerent groups. A question that lingers, who will Malacañang pick the next fight with?

A few months ago, the Duterte Administration admitted failure to win war on drugs after three years, when it promised that drugs will be gone in three to six months under his watch. Such admission can find an easy way out if not approximately 3,000 lives (numbers declared by the government) are now several feet below the ground, not afforded a single day in court.

Now on this seeming new war, fourteen lives have now fallen with killings similar to that of drug addicts. How many more will be added? Can the Philippines afford to sacrifice 3,000 or more of its farmers?

The country has farmers with an average age of 57-59 years old as their children see industrial jobs more profitable and promising. Why wouldn’t they if they don’t own their lands, and share 50 percent of their profits to their lords? It’s a dying industry as it decreases contribution to Philippine GDP every year despite our being a primarily agricultural country. It’s dying even more because of the impending threat to the farmers’ lives themselves.

On April 2, it was reported that four cops were removed in service for the Negros Oriental

killings. This could be a tacit admission that there’s an irregularity in the operations carried out. But the question is, how many months till we hear those same cops reinstated, reassigned, and even promoted in service?

By precedence, we can ask, wouldn’t it be more logical this time, that these people be afforded their basic human rights -- including their right to be presumed innocent before courts, because killing them have only led to admission of failure? Isn’t it time that the government think of other means and maneuver, rather than wage another war, ruining more lives? Because from how it looks, it can be inferred that the administration has only downgraded to an easier battleground, to be called victors once and for all.

Previously, in the war on drugs, the majority of victims are the pawns -- the poor and powerless. In this war against insurgents, fourteen have fallen and all are farmers, poor and powerless.

Bereaved families of the farmers asserted that they are in no way connected to the New People’s Army, to its ideals and for what it stands. At this point, how will we know, when they are not afforded due process, a basic right?

Article III of our Constitution underscores the rights that are inherent to us as Filipinos, as human beings. Those rights are already ours the day we were born. With the dreadful deaths of our fellow farmer brothers, compounded with the number on the war on drugs, it would seem that the government does not see the poor as humans. Only the rich are seen as such. And if the government only chooses to listen to those who have enough money and clout, then who will we as a people turn to in these times?

Where will the poor go? ■

The Red Chronicles | 27

MIKA AREVALO Managing Editor

MIKStape

born for this I remember one of those days where I went to the ophthalmologist to have my eyes checked. Our doctor, who is also from community, asked me whether I was in University District (the group that catered to college students) or Singles and I said “sa U.D. po” Then he replied, “ Tama yan. Kasi for law students (or med students) dapat nasa UD pa kasi nahohold yung growth niyo.”

I don’t think law school really holds your growth.

It’s more like being in between that part of your life where you feel like you’re still in college because of all the studying, exams, deadlines, etc. and that part where you’re supposedly working already and feeling like an adult. It feels like our maturity level still continues to develop.

So, it’s more like feeling stuck. But despite that or probably because of that, law school has its own way of molding you as a person.

Before I started law school, I had everything mapped out. When I will finish, when I will become a lawyer, and all those. But then.. Law school happened.

Most people go through something while in law school from having a hard time finishing the coverage given, failures here and there, to not graduating on time. Have you ever thought that the most cringe-y question you will hear in your life would be “When are you graduating?” You end up missing most of your family reunions or seeing family friends or anyone at all, that is outside of your law school friends, just to avoid that question.

I saw from one of my friend’s post on how to answer that question. It said, “Anak, Kelan ka na nga ulit gagraduate?” And it was followed by this verse: Matthew 24:36 which says, “Ngunit walang nakakaalam ng araw at oras ng pagsapit niyon, kahit ang mga anghel sa langit o

maging ang Anak man. Ang Ama lamang ang nakakaalam nito.” Yep, I saved that post. If only I can post this on my forehead for everyone who keeps asking THAT question. But I would always think to myself “Kung ako lang magdedecide, ngayon na.” then ask myself the same question, “When am I graduating?”

God’s time is the perfect time.

Ever heard of that? Do you believe it? I say, do believe it.

Each of us faces our own struggle in law school or in life in general. Never ever compare yourself with anyone else. Your journey is never meant to be the same as mine, or vice versa, or your friend’s who is now working and have accomplished a lot or those that are married and have kids already.

Your life is not a race.

You are right where you are supposed to be. Life may not have been going how you planned it, but it’s going.

And it’s okay. IT’S. OKAY. Having a hard time? God didn’t promise an easy life, but a life worth living. Maybe last year wasn’t really the year yet. If you think that you are 100% ready to take the Bar, maybe there’s something else He wants you to learn. Law school isn’t really just about learning the law. Midterms and Finals aren’t the only tests you will face. There are other tests like test on your character, your faith, how you deal with stress, with failures, with subjects that are giving you a hard time, how you deal with everything that you will go through. There will be a lot, but know that you will get through it. All of it.

Because, “When the time is right, I, the Lord, will make it happen.” (Isaiah 60:22) Be thankful for the struggles you go through. They make you stronger, wiser and humble. Don’t let them break you. Let them make you. ■

“Your life is not a race. You are right where you are supposed to be.”

28 | The Red Chronicles

KAITLIN KEITH SIERRA News Editor

Legal Drama

Halalan na Naman Sa darating na Mayo 13, boboto muli ang mga Pero, may hinahanap ako: sana, sa halip na Pilipino. May pagkakataon ang bawat botante na magpaligsahan ang mga taga-suporta ng mga magluklok ng kanilang mga napiling magiging susunod kandidato kung bakit ang kalaban ay ‘di dapat iboto, na kinatawan sa Senado, Mababang Kapulungan, at hindi ba dapat tayo manghikayat sa lahat na gamitin sa kani-kaniyang Lokal na Pamahalaan. ang karapatan na bumoto? Kahit na may kani-kaniya ‘Di maikakaila na sa tuwing panahon ng eleksyon, tayong opinyong pulitikal, mas mainam na ipaalam ang mga salitang ‘trapo’, ‘propaganda’, ‘pangakong sa bawat isa ang kahalagahan ng pagboto at ang napako’ ay laganap at laging nagagamit. Labanan at pakikilahok sa pagpili ng mga lider na tataguyod sa pagandahan na naman ng plataporma pero alam din ating bayan. ng lahat na ito ay kung kailan ang pangalan ng isang Ang eleksyon sa Pilipinas ay parang isang pyesta kandidato ay lubos na pinapapabango. Sasalain ng na mahigit tatlong buwan ang tagal. May mga sayawan, publiko ang mga sikat at yo’ng mga nagpapakilala pa kantahan, bangayan, asaran, at usaping seryoso at lamang. May mga bagong mukha ngunit nandiyan pa intelektwal. Makulay ngunit madumi. Ito ay malawak rin silang mga kilala dahil apektado ang na. kasama na “Ang boto ng bawat Pilipino ay lahat; N g a y o n g ang susunod na halalan ng 2019, katumbas ng kaniyang pagkatao henerasyon. dalawang panig ang at ng mga paninindigan. Kung ito ay liderSa pagpili nangingibabaw, ang ng gobyerno, maka-administrasyon masasayang o maipagbibili, para na sana hindi lang ang at ang oposisyon. rin nawala sa kanya ang lahat – ang ‘campaign jingle’ o Ilan sa mga mainit kalayaang mabuhay na may sariling TV commercial ang na pinaguusapan maaalala ng tao; sana ngayon ang isyu ng paniniwala at integridad.” ang kinabukasan pagiging tapat, ang ng mga Pilipino ay pananagutan sa mga krimen na may kinalaman sa ang tumatak sa isipan. Huwag sana ipagpalit ang pang-aabuso ng karapatang pang-tao, ang usapin kalalagyan ng Pilipinas sa hinaharap dahil lamang sa agawan ng teritoryo, at gaya ng dati, kung paano naambunan ng kaunting grasya – barya o bigas na mabibigyang solusyon ang kahirapan, kawalang- sapat lamang hanggang sa susunod na araw. ‘Di man trabaho, at edukasyon sa bansa. natin lubos na masisi ang mga nauudyukan, maaari Sa pagsagot sa mga katanungan ng bayan, ilan naman silang paalalahanan na higit pa sa limang sa mga kandidato ay nagbigay ng sagot na inaasahan daang piso ang dangal ng Pilipinong botante. na – mga sagot na narinig na ng mga tao no’ng mga Ang boto ng bawat Pilipino ay katumbas ng nakaraang halalan. Nagkakaiba na lang sa kung ano kaniyang pagkatao at paninindigan. Kung ito ay ang mga kasamang ‘pakulo’ o kung paano yo’ng masasayang o maipagbibili, para na rin nawala sa paraan ng pagkakasabi – kung mas nakakatawa at kanya ang lahat – ang kalayaang mabuhay na may nakaka-aliw, mas maaalala ng tao. sariling paniniwala at integridad. ■

The Red Chronicles | 29

JENICA E.S. TI Features Editor

Miao Miao Sio Pao

#NeverNotForget: Sensationalism of Social Media Every day, we indulge our minds by scrolling through our feeds; whether it be looking for memes, updates, or videos to pass some time before getting out of bed, seat, or just about any situation we’re in.

One may find it typical to find some ghastly news shared by a peer or family relative, causing a stir of emotions among netizens that would easily and swiftly be replaced with a different set of photos, videos, updates, and not to mention, a string of fake news and information. The lifespan of social media trends come

“While sensationalism of social media reflect our ever developing and rapid technology, it is quite ironic that it defeats its original purpose which is to assist and be of service to mankind.” and go in a matter of weeks, days, and sometimes, even just minutes -- causing possibilities of distraction from important and crucial issues. The status of today’s fastest and largest reach as an information conglomerate is not bereft with problems. Netizens sharing fake information, while treating unofficial websites, such as blog sites and clickbaits, as legitimate sources of reliable news and information has become a plight that is taxing to control and redirect.

In our information-overwhelmed world, how can technology be more accessible in protecting people from unreliable information, while at the same time, headlining important news updates and information to all concerned individuals or groups? It seems like

30 | The Red Chronicles

these days, the algorithm of technology is utilized for commercial reasons, filtering advertisements for people’s pleasure and wants sans pertinent material.

And while trends do cause a seemingly communal participation, is there truly a positive effect on the greater interest of the public, or are we merely blindfolding ourselves from actual growth? Take for example the recent mass trends: Kahit ayaw mo na dance challenge, baby shark, ilalim ng puting ilaw challenge, and dalagang Pilipina challenge; all of which have been populating across social media platforms.

Another illustration is the police report memes retrieved across the Philippines by various news channels and video footage, such as: boy battousai, finish na, bulalord, advance magisip, paano mo nasabi, among others.

These memes were lifted from documented interviews with different suspects and criminals regarding their respective crimes. Instead of addressing the main issue -- which is the actual commission of crimes, people are misdirected to these memes, taking serious matters like murder, physical violence, and grave threats lighthandedly.

While sensationalism of social media reflect our ever developing and rapid technology, it is quite ironic that it defeats its original purpose which is to assist and be of service to mankind. Serving as a bank of potential resources for critical thinkers, it is but an unfortunate predicament that people settle with just captions instead of entire contents, making it difficult to verify and differentiate hoaxes from the truth. To resolve such culture would not only require a rehabilitation of technology and social media, but also a retreat in our innermost morality of what our position is on societal matters today. ■

PAUL NIKKO DEGOLLADO Photography Editor

Through the Pentaprism

lipad, dante, lipad!

Open your Facebook feed, chances are you country, majority of our population come from the would see a plump man dancing suave moves and peasant class. Being literal in the identification of eventually standing on one foot with his arms spread being the backbone of this country, farmers bear out wide flying like an eagle - complete with three the heaviest of the burdens of food production sun tattoos, two on his chest and one on his navel. they till lands they do not own, shell out their own He calls himself Big Papa Dante while his followers money to buy seedlings and the use of machinery, are solid gulapanatics and daigonatics. only to have them shortchanged by unscrupulous Big Papa Dante’s rise to fame was due to his traders and anti-farmer policies of the State such as publicly uploaded dance videos. Doing it for fun, he the Rice Tariffication Act and the TRAIN Law. uploaded the videos reminiscing his dance moves It is also very sad to note that farmers are not only from his previous career as a macho dancer. Wasting being killed figuratively, they are being killed literally no time, memers picked it up and turned it into a as well. Last March 30, 14 farmers were ruthlessly meme - in which they put different songs to the killed in Canlaon, Negros Oriental. This raises the same dance video. Next thing he knew, his dance death toll of farmers being murdered in the current moves and even administration his life story are due to agrarian “With the 2019 midterm elections disputes to 200. being shown on live television. fast approaching, we should pick our With the He became 2019 midterm an internet candidates based on their platforms not elections fast sensation faster on how they dance on stage - leave that a p p r o a c h i n g , than Thanos thing to Big Papa Dante.” we should pick snapping his our candidates finger. based on their As the man behind the meme, he has openly platforms not on how they dance on stage - leave intimated his life and his struggles. Orphaned that thing to Big Papa Dante. Finally, this author as a kid, his life went downhill - getting with bad would like to take this column as an opportunity company, sniffing rugby, and probably engaged in to promote the senatorial bid of his former boss petty crimes. With such a bleak future, it lead him and mentor, Atty. Neri Colmenares. His concern for to the career of being a macho dancer that would the welfare of the underprivileged is unmatched, unexpectedly catapult him to the internet fame he pushing the peoples’ advocacies through KKK has today.

Kongreso, in which he was a three-term congressman Good thing Big Papa Dante’s internet fame gave under the partylist Bayan Muna; Korte, wherein him new economic opportunities as a performer and he served as petitioner and counsel for countless product endorser. Such opportunity can somehow public interest cases before the Supreme Court and break him out from the cycle of poverty, unlike finally Kalsada, where we exercise our Constitutional most from his economic strata. As an agricultural freedom of expression. ■

The Red Chronicles | 31

REENA THERESA MARQUEZ Layout Editor

Friends, Waffle & Work

Behind Bars: My Three Years in Prison The Bureau of Correction or BuCor, is always a part of my life. My grandfather was a correctional officer and currently a number of my relatives still work for the bureau. I also live within the prison reservation, which means that seeing living out inmates is the norm. But never in my life did I imagined myself as a prison worker.

It was November of 2014 when I entered civil service. Contrary to the cliché portrayal in films and movies, where prison riot always break out, I never witnessed one during my entire stay. I was assigned at the Reception and Diagnostic Center, now known as Assessment Rehabilitation Program Development and Monitoring Division, with my primary duty centered on the psychological assessment of the inmates or more appropriately Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) in accordance to United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners or otherwise known as Nelson Mandela Rules.

From denial of the commission of rape, to how drugs were planted in his person and even how a man was arrested for selling adult toys to children – such became the usual of my daily work. I was afforded the front row seat to the inner workings of prison life in the national penitentiary: how communities strive within prison walls and the sad reality of inadequate prison facilities. Within the center where I worked, I saw how the hierarchy between the PDLs exist. Usually those who are more financially capable are given the leadership position and given privileges in the form of larger sleeping quarters. While it is easy to see how this may foster inequality between PDLs, this undeniably helped answer for the insufficient services that the bureau cannot provide due to financial constraints.

With this system, PDL leaders answer to the needs of their fellow inmates which varies from food,

medicine, and even emotional support.

The current state of BuCor’s facilities leaves much to be desired. In the New Bilibid Prison, 24,000[1] are currently housed in a facility designed to accommodate only 7,000 inmates with only 1,200 correctional officers manning the area. With this overwhelming inequality, it is easy to see how some basic needs are being neglected and how prison officers are forced to go beyond their duties just to make sure that services are being delivered, which makes the portrayal by the media of BuCor as a corrupt institution as not only unfair but repugnant.

My time working at the bureau was coincidentally remarked by the various raids on BuCor’s facilities, the discovery of luxurious cells and even the scandal involving the then DOJ secretary turned senator.

Inarguably, it became difficult to be a BuCor employee. While I cannot claim that no BuCor employee is involved in any corrupt practices, the generalization depicted was truly demoralizing.

It also begs the question: if the government did not neglect BuCor for the past decade, maybe the current issues with the BuCor will not exist. And while the passage of Republic Act 10575 or The Bureau of Corrections Act of 2013 gives a glimmer of hope (a law that was passed in 2013, but only implemented last 2018), there is still so much work to be done to truly achieve BuCor’s mandate of reforming PDLs. I left my civic duty last December 2017, and during my three years of service, I was blessed to have been under the care and guidance of fellow civil servants. I am unashamed to admit that I have made friends with some PDLs. I genuinely hope that they will soon meet freedom and live reformed lives.

The experience have taught me valuable life lessons -- which can never be found in any textbooks -- that I will always carry with me. ■

As of 2017. Source: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/04/20/1687528/convicts-now-called-persons-deprived-liberty

[1]

32 | The Red Chronicles

ATTY. JOSEPHUS JIMENEZ

HOW DO PRO-WOMEN LABOR LAWS TURN OUT TO BE ANTI-WOMEN? It would be the height of legislative irony if pro-women legislation becomes the proximate cause of women losing opportunities for work. By then, the good sought to be attained would turn out unwittingly to be the unintended driving force to give rise to the evil sought to be avoided.

The newly enacted Expanded Maternity Law increased the number of days of entitlement of maternity leave from sixty (60) days for normal delivery and seventy-eight (78) days for delivery by caesarian section under RA 1161 and RA 8282 to what is now one hundred five (105) days for both normal and caesarian with full pay, plus another fifteen (15) days for solo mothers. On top of the one hundred twenty ( 120 ) days is another thirty (30) days without pay if the female employee opts to have longer leave. From the total of one hundred fifty (150) days is the right to transfer seven (7) days to the female employee’s husband, and if there is none, then to a caregiver. All the pay shall be advanced by the employer and then reimbursed fully by the SSS. The employer would also be compelled to hire substitute workers to do the work of women having maternity leave for 150 days or for five (5) months.

If the same woman having 150 days of maternity leave would also be entitled to 60 days of the Magna Carta under RA 9710 for having underwent either hysterectomy, or ovariectomy or mastectomy or D and C (dilatation and curettage) and related OB-Gyne problems, 150 plus 60 days would mean the female worker would be on leave for 210 days. If entitled to the ten (10) day leave under RA 9262 or the leave for victims of violence against women and their children, and another seven (7) days under RA 8972 or the Solo Parents Law, that would be a partial total of 210 plus 10 plus 7 or 227 days. If we add the five (5) days Service Incentive Leave under Article 95 of the Labor Code, plus the fifty-four (54) Sundays, representing the workers’ weekly rest day pursuant to Article 91 of the Code, then the total number of non-working day would be 286 days.

To this total of 286 days, if we add the twelve (12) legal holidays plus the three (3) special days, that would reach a total of 301 days when that particular female employee would not be working. Added to all these is an average of three (3) local holidays and special days. Therefore, the grand total would reach up to 304 days. And so, out of 365 days a year, that female employee would only be working for sixty-one (61) days or barely two (2) months. And, for sure, she would be paid thirteen (13) months at least

(including the Thirteenth Month Pay).

Now, this is fine with us. We believe that women are entitled to such liberality. But foreign investors look at all these in their decision whether to remain in the Philippines or transfer to Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia or even Singapore, which do not impose all the above burdens as increment to the labor cost. Added to the high cost of power in the Philippines plus issues on traffic, calamities and terrorism, drugs, crimes and corruptions, the employers’ cost of doing business would increase tremendously. Ultimately, the investors withdraw and the people, including women workers would lose their jobs and livelihood.

Protecting our women is a sound constitutional principle and basic policy of the State. But the many leaves for women would motivate employers to select men over women to man their factories and offices. Employers need to provide lactation rooms and many other facilities under Article 130 ( formerly 132 ) of the Labor Code.

There are mandatory facilities under Article 156 Chapter V, Book III of the Code for women working at night shifts. Under Article 158 of the Code, the law mandates that management should provide assurance that there are options open to women workers at night.

The employers may invent reasons not to hire female workers and avoid a charge of discrimination on the basis of gender. Thus, women workers would again be losing job opportunities. It is practically next to impossible to find any employer guilty of discrimination against female workers. They would never admit that women applicants are disqualified on the basis of gender alone. They can always invent other deciding factors. Again, such a circumstance would turn out a blessing to the union and a big problem to the employer.

There should be a total review of our benefits so that we can avoid such a situation of incongruity. Prowomen legislation should uphold and protect the rights of women, and not work to defeat the rights and interests of female employees. ■

---

Atty. Josephus B. Jimenez served as an Undersecretary of Labor and Employment from January 2002 to 2005 and is a faculty member of the School of Law.

The Red Chronicles | 33

comics

INSERT TITLE HERE

double kill

34 | The Red Chronicles

BY EJ CLEMEÑA

BY HERA YDULZURA

RJB

R O M U L O J A C O M E BAC U L& I O ATTORNEYS AT LAW

Unit 805 South Center Tower, 2206 Market St, Madrigal Business Park Alabang, Muntinlupa City 178 E-mail: info@rjblawfirm.com Land line: (02) 587-6099 Globe: 0917-569-4212

jerome martin

ADVINCULA COUNCILOR

In Memoriam DEAN WILLARD RIANO 1950 - 2019

“We are a different breed, and you have to be proud of it whether you pass the Bar or not. Because you are degrees ahead from those who have not completed their law courses. Lahat ba ng tao kaya maging law degree holder?” -Dean Willard Riano He is sui generis.

A defender of the legal profession. A passionate educator and mentor. A distinguished Bar reviewer. A well-celebrated author of numerous law books. And of course, a remarkable lawyer. Indeed, Dean Riano is truly an epitome of excellence in the legal profession and a true lover of law.

But there is more to his legal brilliance. He is a kind and a genuine person. He encourages everyone around him to be a better version of themselves. He truly

cares for every students and Bar reviewee he meets on a daily basis. He has this unending love and patience to all those who need his help.

And now that his battle in life and in court have adjourned, may we forever remember all his teachings in law and in life. Let us make him proud by being the best lawyer that we can be.

Lolo-Dean would always say, “Be proud of yourselves. Not everyone can be a law degree holder.”

Now as we say goodbye to him, we say, “We are proud of you. Not everyone can be a Dean Riano because, you are a sui generis, a class of your own.”

Highly Revered Dean Cueva may be strict and fierce at the start of the semester but as it ends, the students understand that it roots from her passion and love of the law. She sees each student as her own and enjoys them most in parlor games during class parties.

She sincerely believes that there is more to life than law and her advice and wisdom transcends the four corners of the room.

No presence can be likened to that of Dean Cueva’s and her lessons reverberate within. She may have finished the race but her teachings will be remembered forever.

An epitome of zeal and passion. A model of a strong woman. An exceptional leader. A quintessence of a loving dean. These are all Dean Cueva. And for these, we are all forever grateful Dean. ■

DEAN eulogia cueva 1953 - 2019

36 | The Red Chronicles

SOL WELCOMES THREE AWE-INSPIRING PROFESSORS The family of San Beda College Alabang - School of Law faculty grows bigger as it welcomed three new professors in school year 20182019.

Atty. Rosalinda E. BeltranKawada She earned her law degree in San Beda University in 1993 where she served as Chairman of Alumni Relations Committee of Student Council, Secretary of the SBC Paralegal Aid Committee, and both a member in San Beda Law Chorale and SBC Centralized Bar Operations.

Describing herself as a diligent student who never went to class unprepared, she mentioned that she struggled to come out of her shell, and in learning to accept that law school is not easy, as it consisted of a commixture of good and awful days.

Eventually, she would learn to live through those days.

Atty. Beltran is teaching Legal Philosophy and Human Rights.

She shares that she is a reasonable professor, “I try not to be scary but I do not tolerate excuses. I try to guide my students but they know that they will not pass my class if they do not deserve it”. She advises her students not to take shortcuts, to study their lessons, memorize, and read the cases in full text. Also, to always remember that preparation for the Bar starts as soon as you enter law school.

By ANNELYSE ANDAL

Justice Ma. Theresa V. MendozaArcega Justice Arcega is a product of San Beda University. In 2016, she took her oath before the Supreme Court as an Associate Justice of Sandiganbayan Fifth Division. This division is known for convicting former First Lady and current Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos of seven counts of graft.

Prior to this, she served as an Executive Judge of RTC in Malolos City, Bulacan. She was also a vice president in the RTC division in the Philippine Women Judges Association (PWJA). Justice Arcega co-authored two books on Legal and Judicial Ethics, and on Persons and Family Relations with Atty. David Robert Aquino.

At present, Justice Arcega teaches Legal Forms and Practice Court wherein her students describe her as a professor who might appear to be intimidating as she is one of the associate justices of the Sandiganbayan. However, when you get to learn under her tutelage, you will discover that she is a magnanimous professor as she would always inculcate lessons that are very practical and helpful for the Bar. Atty. Carlos Roman L. Uybarreta Atty. Uybarreta took up law in San Beda University. He worked as a Legislative Staff Officer V, and Committee Legal Officer of

the Committee on Public Order and Security at the House of Representatives. He also worked as an associate lawyer at the Arcinas and Arcinas Law Offices, and as the Head of Litigation at Asia Trust Development Bank. After which, he ventured into solo practice and focused on civil and criminal litigation until he became the Junior Partner of the law firm of Pajarillo Uybarreta & Uybarreta Attorneys in 1999.

He is a member of the House of Representatives under 1-Care Partylist, and is currently serving as a vice chairman of the House Committee on Energy. Some of his notable contributions in the House are the newly proposed Philippine Immigration Act, and the Act Prescribing an Urgent, Comprehensive and Integrated Land-Based Traffic Management Policy to Effectively Address the Traffic Congestion Crisis.

At present, he is teaching Administrative Law and other political law subjects. As a professor, he is described as very kind and considerate. He is respected by his students who are very grateful for his guidance because he would consistently push them beyond their perceived limitations. They view his teaching method as somewhat challenging, but at the same time, fulfilling as Atty. Uybarreta encourages them to give their best every meeting. ■ The Red Chronicles | 37

Against the odds

A tale of the Bedan Compassion to the children of Marawi

By DEAN ULPIANO SARMIENTO III Photo courtesy of LAIRA MANANKIL

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” -John 16:33 Peace The idea was borne from a humble desire to contribute, even in a small and simple way, to the peacebuilding efforts in Marawi.

On December 10, 2017, a fund-raising Christmas concert was organized by the dynamic Student Law Government (SLG) of San Beda College Alabang School of Law to benefit the children of Marawi who were most affected by the recent war in their area. Concert performers were student talents and the Hail Mary the Queen Children’s Choir – all gracious in their willingness to be of help. A total [of] more than FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS (PhP 500,000.00) was raised through the outpouring generosity of the San Beda Community; proceeds were allotted for purchasing much needed supplies and materials for the schoolchildren and their families.

Due to security and scheduling reasons, representatives from San Beda were not able to turnover donations as soon as they had originally hoped. It took time to arrange the travel to Marawi, to see, speak, and be with the children for whom they had dedicated much effort.

Finally on December 10, 2018, exactly a year after the concert, a contingent of twenty-three consisting of teachers, staff, and student-volunteers from San Beda travelled to Amai Pakpak Central Elementary School of Marawi City, and reached out to a thousand Grades 1 and 2 students.

38 | The Red Chronicles

It was through close coordination with Mayan Saidamen (Bedan alumna, Batch 2014 and candidate for mayor of Marawi City) that logistics and other details for the SBC Marawi Project were arranged. In Manila, it was through the collaborative effort of current SLG President Laira Manankil with past President Laurs Mendoza, as well as chairperson of concert committee Ryan Cancio, along with other incumbent SLG officers and student-volunteers that the tedious work of purchasing and packing 1,000 school bags was accomplished. They came up with a total of 36 balikbayan boxes each weighing about 35 kg, filled with bags and supplies, ready to be shipped out about a week before SBC Team’s actual flight.

Trouble A freight forwarder was contracted to fly the donations to Cagayan de Oro (CDO) and then transported them via land to Marawi. For four whole days, the cargo remained at the airport terminal awaiting transfer. On the eve of the SBC Team’s flight to CDO, the same forwarder apologized as they were no longer able to find a flight to take the donations to Mindanao; there were simply too many wanting to do the same thing, to send gifts to their loved ones in time for Christmas.

Still determined to push through despite initial trouble at the terminal, it was decided that each of the 23 SBC Marawi Team members take at most 40 kg each as carry-on baggage on their flight the next day. Atty. Jun Cadugo arranged for the last-minute purchase of baggage allowance for each of the team members, incurring additional costs amounting to almost Php 35,000.

Late in the afternoon of the same day, the airline informed the team that they allow check-in baggage of a maximum of 20kg per piece; the 40kg allowance had to be divided in two. With less than 24 hours away from the team’s flight, 10 student-volunteers quickly responded to

the call on social media to repack the boxes. They worked from 8pm to 12m.n., with just enough time before the Marawi Team left for the airport at dawn.

As odds seemed against them right from the beginning, trouble did not end there.

A daunting question arose: how then would they transport the goods from CDO to Marawi, a good twohour drive away? And right before leaving for CDO, the team discovered that 15 boxes could no longer be loaded onto their plane. All hopes of getting the goods to the children of Marawi on time was turning bleak.

Taking heart Through the back-and-forth of these setbacks and problem-solving, the team remained calm and fervent in prayer. For each decision and the very sudden changes in many of the team’s plans, the blessing of enlightenment was requested. As the Marawi Team took heart, God did not at all fail to see them through. In His awesome providence, He added grace upon grace upon grace as delightful surprises throughout the trip.

Shula Cadugo, wife of Atty. Jun, was relentless in her search for a way to transport the remaining 15 boxes from Manila to CDO. She contacted yet another forwarder simply via the internet, who gave assurance that the cargo would make it by Sunday, just in time for the team’s road travel to Marawi on Monday. Thankfully, the forwarder followed through and kept his word as the remaining boxes were flown in as promised!

Mariam Sali, among the volunteers of the SBC Marawi Team, took a chance at reaching out to fellow Muslim and law student Ayman Ramil Maquiling for help. Ramil’s family was based in Iligan City and owned a construction firm that operated in the area. Without hesitation and even on extremely short notice, Ramil arranged for a truck to transport the cargo from CDO direct to the school in

Marawi. The SBC Marawi Team formed an assembly line passing and loading each of the boxes onto the truck, working literally hand-in-hand, together.

Overcoming On the morning of Monday, December 10, all boxes were ready and the 23 mighty members of the SBC Team felt more determined than ever to finally be with the children of Marawi. After a tiring road trip, the group was welcomed by a basketball court filled with so many young children in their uniforms, some girls wearing their hijabs, waiting patiently in line since the early morning. These were students who had no opportunity to attend any of their classes for an entire year; the school they regarded as their second home was ground zero during the war where gunfight was the worst.

Overwhelmed with emotions of gratitude, relief, and for some, unbelief of finally being able to physically be with the children for that half day, many of the SBC Marawi Team members were moved to tears. They handed out school bags filled with supplies to each of the young students who thanked them with smiles and laughter.

It is no exaggeration that God’s presence was indeed very much felt that morning, as it was throughout the trip and the painstaking preparations made beforehand. No distance or cultural difference or difficulty could dampen the hopes of those involved in the Marawi Project.

The trip of the SBC Team had become a testament of how God still enables us to overcome. Even as there is trouble, He gives us the grace and strength to take heart.

In turn, we shall find and help build true peace wherever we are called.

St. Philip Neri once said, “If you wish to go to extremes, let it be in sweetness, patience, humility, and charity.” ■ The Red Chronicles | 39

NOW TRENDING :

#QQRs

By JENICA E.S. TI

As the 2019 Bar Examination is merely months away, graduating law school students have commenced to explore their options for review, particularly centers and books that would best provide an efficient, speedy, and comprehensive material for their bar preparations. And while there are various outstanding centers and materials both within and outside of Metro Manila, Ceballos Bar Trends assures its barristers that, by relying on statistics, not only will they pass the bar, they can also top it with flying colors.

“QQR, QQR!” In the halls of St. Maur’s Building, you might have heard this distinctive chant. This is because Ceballos Bar Trends have commenced in offering their 2019 Edition of Quick Quick Reviewers, QQRs for brevity, to all interested law students and practitioners.

Last 16th of February 2019 in St. Maur’s Auditorium, the San Beda College Alabang - School of Law (SBCA-SOL) community had the privilege of joining in the book launch and signing of QQRs 2019 Edition: Civil Law and Taxation Law with TRAIN LAW. Dean Poncevic M. Ceballos, graced the event, with SBCA-SOL’s highly esteemed faculty members, Atty. Nicasio Cabaneiro and Atty. Myra Angeli A. Gallardo-Batungbakal; co-author in Taxation Law, and co-editor in Civil Law, respectively.

After an exceptionally solemn prayer and singing of the National Anthem held by our very own SBCA Chorale, hosts Mr. Dick Martinez and Mr. Dominic Marquez opened the floor for Atty. Jun Cadugo, who had a few words from Dean Ulpiano “Ulan” Sarmiento III. In the words of Dean Ulan, the vocation of the co-authors and editors of QQRs 2019 Edition may be akin to the Multiplication of the Loaves, as with only one loaf of bread, Jesus was able to spread and feed a multitude.

Atty. Cabaneiro, CPA and lawyer, humbly shared that he assisted in compiling amendments with Dean Ceballos, as he has the luxury of time ever since retiring from his extensive practice of Taxation and Corporate Law in January 2007, which notably lasted for forty-three years.

Admitting to the fact that Taxation is a very complicated subject, Atty. Cabaneiro attests that the mission of the QQRs is to simplify topics, which shall result in law students, or just about anyone, to love Taxation albeit the legal jargons. Now a law professor, pre-bar reviewer, and resource speaker for different institutions, corporations, and associations all over the metro, he guarantees that the QQRs have potential to serve not only barristers who are about to top the bar, but to students and practitioners alike 40 | The Red Chronicles

who might need to refresh their memory of the laws on Taxation, among other laws included in the QQRs. Atty. Batungbakal reminded everyone that, with proper time management, the bar review preparations shall be divided in two weeks and two days for each exam. Having to undergo eight exams during the Bar in November, she recommends to study smart and comprehensively.

Keeping those in mind, she offers the QQRs, as early as now, as an investment to help manage your time. The said material guarantees to cover every detail of the laws in easy to understand visual and strategic aids, such as the use of cartoons and comics, one-liners, salient provisions, and diagrams. Not only a partner at the Batungbakal Law Office and an ADR practitioner, Atty. Batungbakal is also a fierce educator and an advocate for academic excellence; a similar flair as to what the QQRs provide.

Dean Ceballos, a fellow Bedan, implored law students not to read full text cases, adhering to Marie Kondo’s principle that less is more. Rather, he suggests that students act smart and efficiently by focusing on materials that give honest and scientific interpretations of what may be asked during the Bar examinations. He also took into consideration how students and most barristers answer, and pointed out a fatal flaw – either the answers were too long or were not straight to the point. The QQRs provide one-sentence answers, which are preferred during the Bar examinations, sifting out the irrelevant facts and arguments from the relevant keywords that examiners look out for.

The president of Ceballos Bar Trends, Inc., Dean Ceballos spearheaded mock Bar exams in several venues in various law schools. Hiring an actuary, among other professionals, the goal of Ceballos Bar Trends, Inc. was to find out if there was a pattern of questions or topics being asked in the Bar examinations over the years. With promising results and backed up by scientific data, Dean Ceballos is proud to announce that the QQRs are the first of its kind.

He said, “QQRs are your Waze, [sic] create new roads and bridges for us. Nobody created Bar Trending until QQRs came up.”

The event is not complete without special performances by the SBCA Chorale, a special duet by Ms. Kaidee GarciaNatividad and Mr. Joshua Ardiente, and Ms. Nicole Angangco. Before officially closing the event, the authors gave away two (2) QQRs 2019 Edition on Political Law and Labor Law as raffle prizes to Mr. Ronne Uy and Ms. Jenica Ti. Signing of the QQRs and more photo opportunities came afterwards. ■

Are the

kids

alright?

House Bill No. 8858 and the Amendment to the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act

By LEANDRO NADAL

They say the summer months were the worst. When the humidity spiked, and the electric fans just wouldn’t cut it, a collection of arms and heads would cram into any available space their grated windows would allow. If you drove along the street at a specific time in the day, you would see them. “Nagpapahangin lang kuya”, one would often tell me.

By “they”, I refer to the children placed inside the youth center located along J.P. Rizal Avenue, Makati City. Housing children who were either picked up and detained for minor offenses or were defendants in court, the building that served as a youth center was a common enough two-storey structure tucked in between two empty commercial buildings.

Its façade used to be painted with a pinkish beige; after Abby Binay won as mayor in the 2016 local elections however, the powers that be gave it a nice powder blue finish—the color scheme the second female mayor of the city used during the campaign.

In 2010, I found myself inside the youth center shadowing a social worker as part of my requirement for one of my undergraduate class. Given the proximity of the youth center from where I lived, I would often pass by the building. It’s been 9 years since and I remember not a single name of the employees in the center nor the children. I do remember how cramped the center was, with the first floor serving a multi-function role of reception area,

office space, and group therapy room. I remember the paint peeling off the wall. I remember seeing on my first day, a mother crying in front of her son unable to do anything for him.

I’ve been thinking about this experience more frequently in the past three months than in the years that followed my brief time with the youth center. Earlier this year, a significant legislative push was seen in the House of Representatives which culminated in the passage of House Bill No. 8858.

Seeking to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR), the bill has been widely criticized by legislators, religious groups, experts in the field of child development, international groups, and even by the reigning Miss Universe.

Many conversations, some heated others not, both in real life and on social media sprung up—all revolving around the question of whether or not minors should be held criminally responsible.

Under the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006[1], the current law which the bill seeks to amend, the law considers a child below the age of 15 who commits a crime exempt from criminal liability. Nevertheless, that child—now considered a “child in conflict with the law” (CICL)—will still have to undergo an intervention program which is generally supervised by the local social welfare and development officer. The same exemption applies should the child be older than 15 but not yet 18 years of age. Should the child act with discernment however, he or she will instead undergo a diversion program. With the passage of House Bill No. 8858, Congress hopes to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility 15 years old to 12 years old.

Lawmakers on both sides of the issue point to opposing viewpoints as grounds either for their support of the measure or opposition to it.

Proponents of the measure insist that H.B. 8858 will address criminality among the youth, including their exploitation by criminal syndicates. In 2018 alone, the PNP recorded 11,324 crime incidents

[1]

As amended by RA 10630

42 | The Red Chronicles

that involved minors. Davao del Norte 1st District Representative Pantaleon Alvarez and Capiz 2nd District Representative Fredenil Castro, co-authors of an earlier bill that was consolidated into H.B. 8858, explain that the Juvenile Justice Act “pampers youth offenders who commit crimes knowing they can get away with it”.

Conversely, opposition lawmakers insist that the measure is anti-poor and a band-aid solution to an otherwise complex issue. Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate says the measure will “limit opportunities for children in conflict with the law (CICL)”. While Alliance of Concerned Teachers Representative Antonio Tinio calls the bill “an admission by this administration of its failure to protect and advance children’s rights”.

Experts in the field of child development, children’s rights advocates, including international organizations have also voiced their opposition to H.B. 8858. Organizations such as the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP) explained that based on current scientific research in adolescent development and juvenile delinquency, children differ significantly from adults in terms of decisionmaking, propensity to engage in risky behavior, impulse control, identity development, and overall maturity. These factors, according to the PAP, indicate that they are “less capable than adults to behave in accordance with what they may discern or know to be right versus wrong action”. Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Rights, on the other hand, noted that barely 2% of all crimes reported to the PNP were committed by children. In crimes where children were the perpetrators, close to 80% were crimes against property. In fact of the 11,324 crime incidents reported in 2018, 6,535 cases involved theft while 2,471 involved robbery. Even UNICEF equates the proposed measure as an act of violence against children. In a statement by UNICEF representative to the Philippines Lotta Sylwander, “CICLs are already victims of circumstance, mostly

because of poverty and exploitation by adult crime syndicates.”

To oppose H.B. 8858 would be an intuitive decision. In a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations, majority of Filipinos agree that the current MACR of 15 should instead be upheld.

Clearly, the proposal makes for an unpopular social policy. However, using this standard alone, can we immediately call the measure an exercise in bad policy-making?

Apart from the contentious provision found in H.B. 8858, the measure introduces salient amendments to the current juvenile justice system, specifically: 1. Creation, management, and operation of child-caring institutions otherwise known as Bahay Pag-asa are transferred from the local government units to the DSWD; 2. Parents or persons exercising custody over CICLs are also mandated to undergo intervention programs which include parenting and counselling seminars; 3. Parents or persons exercising custody over CICLs who fail to undergo these mandatory intervention programs, save for lawful cause, shall be subject to imprisonment for at least 30 days but not more than 6 months; 4. Persons found to have exploited children in the commission of a crime, abused their authority over a child, or induced or coerced a child to commit a crime shall be punished either by reclusion temporal or perpetua, depending on the penalty associated with the crime committed; and 5. Courts are mandated to impose a penalty of two degrees lower than that prescribed for crimes committed by a child in conflict with the law.

Added to this, H.B. 8858 still maintains the importance of intervention and diversion in the process of rehabilitating CICLs.

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Among all the amendments introduced by H.B. 8858, it is perhaps the re-alignment of Bahay Pag-asas from LGUs to the DSWD that holds much promise.

The common argument among those that oppose H.B. 8858 is that Congress should focus instead on the proper implementation and enforcement of the current Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act rather than passing a measure which would increase the strain on the current system.

Under the current law, Bahay Pag-asas must be built in all 81 provinces and 33 highly-urbanized cities. While the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC), the government agency tasked with ensuring the implementation of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, can only shoulder P5 million in the construction of a Bahay Pag-asa, the rest being funded by the LGU concerned, with the current law requiring LGUs to allot 1% from their internal revenue allotment specifically for the construction of these centers. In a Senate hearing last January however, JJWC Executive Director Tricia Oco admitted that there are only 63 facilities nationwide. The Child Rights Network, an alliance of organizations and agencies that advocates for legislative reform in children’s rights, pegged that the figures are lower, claiming that only 55 facilities are operational. Further, the current law requires that each of the 114 Bahay Pag-asas maintain a facility called Intensive Juvenile Intervention and Support Center or IJISC. It is in that center where CICLs are actually made to undergo a multi-disciplinary intervention program. In the same Senate hearing, Executive Director Oco however admitted that no IJISC has been built inside any of the Bahay Pag-asas currently operating.

So vital are the Bahay Pag-asas in the process of rehabilitation, one would think LGUs would be more conscious of the role they play. However, the facts on the ground reveal otherwise. In Metro Manila alone, with 17 LGUs mandated to operate a Bahay Pag-asa, according to the JJWC only two have been accredited by the DSWD as having passed its standards for operation. Further, in 2017 only 33% of LGUs have allocated in their internal revenue allotment the necessary funds for the construction of Bahay Pag-asas in their community.

While a good first step in the right direction, any positive expectation would be tempered by the

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fact that the Commission on Audit discovered, for the same fiscal year of 2017, 301 LGUs misused their development fund, 126 of which spent P987 million for programs and projects not classified as a priority while the remaining 175 LGUs allocated P612 million for expenditures “not related to the implementation of development programs and projects.” Compounding this, an additional 516 LGUs didn’t even spend their development fund due either to delayed implementation or nonimplementation of development projects. Worse still, 26 LGUs made disbursements amounting to P271 million which were not supported with complete documentary requirements. Given the important role the law rests upon LGUs in the rehabilitation process of CICLs compared to the execution of their responsibility, Senator Franklin Drilon, when asked by reporters after a Senate hearing on the Juvenile Justice Law, opined “Do the LGUs even know their obligations under the current law?”

With facilities lacking around the country, the situation is even bleaker for Bahay Pag-asas already in operation. Noting the conditions of these institutions in the same January Senate hearing, JJWC Executive Director Oco said that some have “subhuman conditions”. Quoting Oco, “Some [Bahay Pag-asas] lack the minimum staff requirement; they even lack food for children. Some we saw were worse than prisons. They don’t have programs, beds, and cabinets.” Take for example Tanglaw Pagasa Rehabilitation Center in Malolos, Bulacan. At full capacity, it can only hold up to 40 CICLs. As recent as February 2019, the facility is housing 138 children. Overcrowding is such an issue that there is an abundance of anecdotal cases where repeat offenders would lie about their age so that they can avoid being placed in Bahay Pag-asas.

Aside from overcrowding, Bahay Pag-asas also face a shortage of social workers. According to JJWC guidelines, Bahay Pag-asas should have a ratio of one social worker for every 25 CICLs. According to data gathered by the Inquirer, Bahay Pag-asas in Caloocan, Manila, Makati, and Pasig have at least one social worker handling anywhere from 34 to 56 CICLs. This disproportion may even prove detrimental to CICLs undergoing rehabilitation.

According to Camille Yusay, a psychologist of

“

...should we choose to hold young children criminally responsible— be they 9, 12 or 15—that choice carries with it the corresponding duty to ensure that they be given as many avenues as possible with which they may improve, better themselves, and reform their identity into productive members of society.

”

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“...by focusing on the environment in which a child is raised, his or her family, and their community with proper guidance and sustained and adequate support from the government—the key factor in the whole process of rehabilitation and reintegration of CICLs...”

the Ateneo de Manila University and is currently a rehabilitation interventionist for communities affected by the war on drugs, not having enough properly trained social workers may lead to a considerable amount of CICLs not being listened to, catered, or processed. Should that happen, Ms. Yusay continued, “The possible consequence would be is that the effectivity and validity of the intervention program can be called into question-did it actually intend to do what it is supposed to do, did it change the behavior it sought to change?”

Yet despite overwhelming odds to the contrary, the current juvenile justice system has in fact rehabilitated a number of CICLs. In Valenzuela City’s Bahay Pag-asa, of the 550 children processed from 2013 to 2018, 449 children were successfully reintegrated back into their communities. Despite having a capacity of only 50 children with actual occupancy almost double that amount, with strong support from the local government unit, the facility’s effectivity hasn’t yet buckled from the strain. With regard to CICLs actually sentenced by the court, hope still remains. Speaking with Corrections Officers [2]

Ronalyn D. Jabat and Norma R. De Castro from the Bureau of Corrections’ Assessment Rehabilitation Program Development and Monitoring Division, 7 out of 10 of the CICLs transferred into their custody were able to successfully complete their intervention and diversion programs. While being incarcerated one CICL was even able to accomplish an undergraduate degree. But while both Jabat and De Castro underscore the importance of having a multi-disciplinary rehabilitation program, it’s success or failure still largely depends on the willingness of the CICL involved.

By re-aligning the responsibility of creating, operating, and managing Bahay Pag-asas from the LGU to the DSWD, would H.B. 8858 improve the overall effectiveness of the juvenile justice system? In a 2015[2] report published by UNICEF which evaluated the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs in youth facilities in the Philippines, it found that weak commitment by the LGUs was one of the leading causes which negatively affects rehabilitation and reintegration of CICLs. It also found that regional rehabilitation youth centers

https://www.unicef.org/evaldatabase/files/Philippines_2015-004_Final_Report.pdf

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funded and managed by the DSWD exclusively were better equipped in dealing with CICLs compared to Bahay Pag-asas.

Given all the aforementioned, is H.B. 8858 an exercise in bad policy-making? Yes and no. While the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which the Philippines is a signatory, fixes no specific age as to the minimum age of criminal responsibility, General Comment No. 10 of the Office of the High Commissioner states that the absolute minimum age of criminal liability should be at 12 years of age. Further, while the State has indeed a legitimate interest to address juvenile delinquency, H.B. 8858 does little in tackling straight on the root causes of the issue such as poverty and lack of education. It cannot be stressed enough that majority of crimes committed by minors involve crimes against property, with theft as the leading crime committed. Lastly, the current state of Bahay Pag-asas around the country highlights the need for government to commit to the proper execution and administration of the juvenile justice system in order to produce significant lasting results.

Even Corrections Officers Jabat and De Castro readily admit that by lowering only the MACR, without building more Bahay Pag-asas with proper diversion and intervention programs in place, would only break the back of an already strained system.

Having a frontline role in the administration of juvenile justice, it is their considerable view that by focusing on the environment in which a child is raised, his or her family, and their community with proper guidance and sustained and adequate support from the government—the key factor in the whole process of rehabilitation and reintegration of CICLs—would they see far less CICLs come through their facility.

In sum, should we choose to hold young children criminally responsible—be they 9, 12 or 15—that choice carries with it the corresponding duty to ensure that they be given as many avenues as possible with which they can improve, better themselves, and reform their identity into productive members of society. To do anything less would be criminal. ■

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o p t r i o n u r C

HOW TO GET AWAY WITH

By ANNELYSE ANDAL & JUAN MIGUEL LOPEZ

In previous years, cases have been filed in the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan, against former and incumbent members of the Congress. Recently, the Court has promulgated two cases which are considered as two of the country’s most controversial corruption scandals involving public officers, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Imelda Marcos. Said decisions have sparked clamor and mixed reactions as the public questioned the credibility and trust reposed to the Judiciary since the accused government officials are either exonerated, set free, or about to be re-elected.

People vs. Marcos She had never run anything larger than a house, nor handled sums bigger than a wife’s budget; she now manages complex of big scale projects, raises and lays out moneys that run into millions.

-Nick Joaquin on Imelda Marcos, Reportage on the Marcoses (1981)

Indeed, Imelda was not there “merely to decorate the stage with her presence.” Throughout the decades of her husband’s presidency, she played a pivotal role in wielding the power they shared.

She was also appointed into various powerful government positions during the late president’s decades-long rule. Despite being overthrown by the People Power Revolution of 1986, exiled in the United States, and facing criminal charges here in the country and abroad, she remains to be an influential political figure. Up to present time—indomitable, as it may seem, in the Filipino political landscape.

Sandiganbayan decision November 9th of 2018 saw the promulgation of her conviction by the Sandiganbayan for seven counts of graft related to private organizations formed in Switzerland during her incumbency from

1968 to 1986 and was held guilty for violation of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), Section 3(h) in relation to Article IX, Section 8 of the 1973 Constitution. The criminal charges involved seven Swiss foundations, which were used to siphon government funds during her time as a minister of human settlements, Metro Manila governor, and member of the Interim Batasang Pambansa—all throughout her husband’s regime.

It is quite ironic that the Sandiganbayan, which was created by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1486 –issued by the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.— is the same court that convicted the strongman’s beloved wife Former First Lady Imelda Marcos. However, the decision still remains to be far-fetched from being the end of the line for the Iron Butterfly.

Bail, Due process, and the Marcoses After 1986, despite the odds stacked against the Marcoses, due process was still strictly observed by the courts. It was this same principle of due process that led to the dismissal of one of the three graft cases against Imelda Marcos—the two were dismissed due to insufficiency of evidence.

The information in Criminal Case No. 19225 (the case that involved Asian Reliability Company, Inc., and Dynetics) failed to allege clearly and accurately the elements of the crime charged. Hence, the failure of the prosecution to do so in the aforementioned case necessarily resulted to the dismissal in her favor.

By December 5, 2018, the former first lady was allowed to post bail. It was earlier clarified by the same court as well as by the Ombudsman lead prosecutor that because graft is a bailable case, she can have provisional liberty during the pendency of her appeal of the conviction.

Under the Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure, bail is discretionary “upon conviction by the Regional Trial Court of an offense not punishable by death, reclusion perpetua, or life imprisonment.”

Furthermore, if the penalty of imprisonment imposed exceeds six years, bail is also discretionary provided the absence of the above-mentioned circumstances. For Mrs. Marcos who was judged for the indeterminate penalty of imprisonment from six years and one month as minimum to eleven years as maximum for each case, bail is granted as a discretion.

The Sandiganbayan allowed Marcos to appeal either through a motion for reconsideration before the said court or through a notice of appeal directly before the Supreme Court.

As of now, it’s impossible not to perceive that she maintains the confidence that she will be acquitted in the high court. The political climate favors the Marcoses, considering that President

Duterte stated that he owes a debt of gratitude to no less than Imelda’s daughter Imee Marcos. Interestingly, his father Vicente was a Marcos loyalist and Cabinet member, while Soledad, his mother, is known as the leader of the Davao Anti-Marcos dictatorship movement and was even asked to be an officer-in-charge vice mayor of Davao City by Corazon Aquino. Hence, it is not fair to conclude hastily that the Dutertes have been totally on the Marcos side. However, the presidential daughter Sara Duterte has been bolstering the campaign of the dictator’s daughter Imee Marcos to the Senate. Her brother, Paolo Duterte, also openly supported the other Marcos in his bid for the vice presidency.

It is also important to note that her first acquittal from criminal charges against her after appeal was way back in 1991—during the presidency of Corazon Aquino.

Although now that the Marcoses of the North have been forging ties with the Dutertes of the South, the judgment in the Supreme Court can still be against Imelda Marcos.

Or it can also be that despite being unseated from power, she remains to be Imelda—the formidable, especially so when a hero’s burial was given to her late husband Ferdinand—the dictator.

People vs. Revilla In 2014, the Office of the Ombudsman filed before the Sandiganbayan an information for plunder, defined and penalized under Republic Act No. 709, against the former senator, Ramon “Bong” B. Revilla Jr., with coaccused, Richard Abdon Cambe, then Director III at the Office of Revilla, and Janet Napoles, for allegedly receiving kickbacks or commissions amounting to at least P224 million in consideration of Revilla’s endorsements of fictitious non-governmental organizations linked to Napoles.

Voting 3-2, the Sandiganbayan First Division rendered its verdict on December 07, 2018, acquitting Revilla of plunder charges, after being detained for more than 4 years.

In the decision penned by Associate Justice GeraldineEcong, the Court found both Cambe and Napoles guilty of plunder and are sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua while Revilla was acquitted due to failure of the prosecution to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The accused are also held solidarily and jointly liable to return to the National Treasury the amount of P124,500 million.

Failure to Prove Guilt Beyond Reasonable Doubt In summary, the Court ruled that Cambe and Napoles had conspired with each other so that they will benefit from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

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However, there is no clear proof that would establish beyond reasonable doubt that Revilla is involved.

The decision stated that whistleblowers Benhur Luy, Marina Sula, Merlina Sunas, and Mary Arlene Baltazar convincingly testified stating that they were able to perform the acts that would execute the plan to convert the PDAF into commissions instead of funding projects.

As to Revilla’s defense, it was held that the only evidence which strongly links his involvement in the scheme was his signature in the endorsements of the NGOs to the Implementing Agencies, the Memoranda of Agreement, and eventually, the confirmation letter to the Commission of Audit, which he was able to sufficiently disprove on the ground of forgery. The defense presented Desiderio Pagui, a document examiner, who testified that the purported signatures found on the documents appear to be pointedly different from the standard signatures of Revilla.

Cambe’s guilt does not equate to that of Revilla’s Cambe is Revilla’s former staff, and was allegedly his bagman in the pork barrel scheme. Interestingly, the Court held that the fact that Cambe had been under Revilla’s employment for several years does not prove that he was authorized to transact on Revilla’s behalf, and that such relationship should not be given value to establish Revilla’s involvement. The prosecution has presented numerous witnesses who have testified with certainty that Cambe actively participated in the multi-million peso PDAF scam, and that it was him who directly transacted from project listing to the receipt of the kickbacks. However, it was not sufficiently established that he carried out such task for and in behalf of Revilla.

Commission of the crime without Revilla’s aide Lifted from the same decision, it was discussed that, “The Court fails to see the hand of Revilla guiding Cambe and Napoles in the scheme to receive kickbacks or commissions from such projects. The fact that the lawmaker requested for the release of his PDAF and endorsed the NGO to the Implementing Agency of the project funded by the PDAF, if indeed he made such endorsement considering that his signature was forged, does not lead a logical person to assume that he knows that his co-accused are making money from the project and he is part of the scheme.”

In other words, circumstantial evidence presented in this case failed to pass the test of moral certainty necessary to warrant Revilla’s conviction.

Civil liability despite acquittal The dispositive portion of the decision states,

“Pursuant to Article 100 of the Revised Penal Code, accused are held solidarily and jointly liable to return to the National Treasury the amount of P124,500 million.”

There was confusion as to Revilla’s civil liability, since the Court collectively used the term “accused”. The prosecution, in its motion for execution of judgment filed before the Sandiganbayan, pointed out that Revilla’s acquittal was based merely on reasonable doubt and not due to the absolute failure of the prosecution to prove his guilt--- thereby making him still civilly liable despite his exoneration.

Acquittal does not free an accused from civil liability, and the court may still compel the accused to pay civil damages despite the same since Art. 100 of the Revised Penal Code does not provide that only those who are criminally liable for a felony are civilly liable. In an interview, Deputy Special Prosecutor Manuel Soriano mentioned that, “had the court wanted to exclude Revilla, it could have simply named Cambe and Napoles alone were liable and it would not have used the collective term “accused” without exception and distinction.”

The dissent The decision was disagreed by Associate Justice Efren Dela Cruz, the original ponente of the case, and Associate Justice Maria Teresa Gomez-Estoesta.

“One need only turn a discerning eye, and not look the other way,” Gomez-Estoeta stated as she strongly started her dissenting opinion. She explained that the defense of denial in the guise of forgery was given credence but to a great fault. She raised therein that the accused’s concealment and unexplained wealth pursuant to the Sections 7 and 8 of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act by having unexplained deposits to the accused’s bank accounts from 2004 to 2010, and cash assets which are not declared in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.

Dela Cruz, on the other hand, found it “hard to believe that this scam of such magnitude was confined only within the realm of Napoles and Cambe to the exclusion of Revilla.” By designating Cambe as his authorized representative, the prosecution’s allegation that Cambe operated under his authority was proven. He also said that as a seasoned senator, “he is not naïve to allow Napoles and Cambe to solely steer the course of a PDAF”.

Another point raised in the dissent was that while it was true that the testimonies of the whistleblowers were not potent to establish that Cambe was authorized by Revilla, there is sufficient evidence to prove that Revilla greatly benefitted from the scam. The fact that the Anti-Money Laundering Council found convincing indications that Revilla accumulated ill-gotten wealth could be reasonably

traced to the money given by Luy to Cambe. This is one of the strongest pieces of evidence of the prosecution which was never addressed nor was attempted to be debunked by the defense.

Who was the main plunderer?

After his acquittal, Revilla acquired temporary freedom as he was allowed by the Court to post bail for P480,000. Meanwhile, the former senator faces 16 counts of graft for allegedly allocating his P517 million pork barrel to the bogus NGOs of Napoles that led to undue injury of the government. He is also set out to run for the upcoming Senatorial bid.

From all the foregoing, plunder was basically designed to penalize corrupt public officials and private individuals who have conspired with them in the commission of the crime. In the grand scheme of things, it is quite questionable that no public official was identified and convicted as the main plunderer.

In a scandal this big, and considering the monetary loss that the government has suffered, one might question if the ground raised was enough to form an acquittal.

As Duterte’s anti-corruption campaign continues, it is alarming, if not terrifying, to think that the Court has tilted the scale of justice in favor of big fishes as they are set free, while smaller ones are being held accountable on their behalf.

Corrupted Correlation Analyzing these cases, similarity lies on the scheme used to raid the national treasury by creating bogus NGOs and foundations while the Marcos family plundered billions of dollars through the creation of numerous dummy foundations in several Swiss bank accounts. At present, the Court is now proceeding against both to recover the sums of money illegally acquired.

After 16 years of legal battle, the Court has proven that it is capable of ruling against the powerful and the elite by convicting Marcos. However, while both of them are granted provisional release, both have shown their continued interest in serving the public, as Revilla’s innocence is now perceived as an opportunity to boost his chances in being re-elected in the Senate, while Marcos remains a fully-functioning member of the Congress, being the incumbent governor of Ilocos.

With the pendency of the cases against Revilla, the non-arrest of Marcos, and the persistent pursuit against graft and corruption, the Filipino people remains hopeful that the Court, in performance of its sworn oath to administer justice, would constantly uphold the rule of law and not pervert it to favor the political elites. ■

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TRAIN: Excise or Excess?

By DICK MARTINEZ

As defined by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, excise tax is a tax on the production, sale or consumption of a commodity in a country. These commodities include alcohol, tobacco, petroleum products, automobiles, and sweetened beverages. The excise tax on these commodities are collected not from the consumer but from the manufacturers and producers, however, they may be passed to consumer as part of the selling price. There are two kinds of excise tax, first there is the specific tax which is based on a physical measurement of the commodity, and second there is the ad valorem tax which is based on the selling price or value of the commodity.

One of the biggest commodities in the world is petroleum. An increase in petroleum prices will have the effect of increasing the prices of other commodities. Under the TRAIN Law, there is a steady tax increase on petroleum products in order to address the billions of revenue which could have been collected since 1997, the year when the excise tax on fuel was last adjusted as reported by the Department of Finance. On top of the goal to increase revenues, the government views this increase as a means to tax dirty fuel correctly in order to address environmental and health concerns. While an increase on excise tax on fuel will raise the prices of commodities, the government believes that such increase would be minimal and temporary. According to the report of the Department of Finance, history tells us that an increase in fuel prices only temporarily strains the economy of a country, and through the steady increase imposed by the TRAIN Law, inflation would be more manageable resulting in a better economy.

As to the increase in excise tax on automobiles, the TRAIN Law has simplified the

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imposed rates while retaining the fact that lower-priced cars are taxed at lower rates while more expensive cars are taxed at higher rates. Although the new tax rates are double or even more than double the pre-existing rates, the government is positive that the change remains to be manageable, especially for the consumer when viewed side-by-side with the changes in personal income tax rates.

Perhaps one of the notable changes implemented by the TRAIN Law on excise tax would be on alcohol, tobacco, and sweetened beverages. These products are deemed as undesirable due to the fact that they are detrimental to one’s health. The Department of Health believes that the increase on excise tax on these undesirable products will lead consumers to make healthier choices, raise public awareness as to their harms, and encourage the industry to become healthier. It is noted that these products cause harm and disease to many of our fellow Filipino people and that the increase would not only deter consumption but also provide revenue in order to fund the country’s health programs better.

Although the increase in excise taxes seem to be more beneficial than harmful, many still detest the changes due to various reasons. One of which is the imposition of higher priced goods, making it harder for the consumer to keep up with the demands of everyday living. This is a hardship most Filipinos face everyday that should not be overlooked.

Another is that the need for more revenue is being used as a sweeping justification to raise the tax rates. The need for revenue is questioned due to the reality of corruption. It is argued that there is no need for more revenue, that the money is there, it’s just not being allocated correctly or that it has fallen to the wrong hands. In fact, in the recent Harapan 2019: The ABS-CBN Senatorial Town Hall Debate it was raised by Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares that “Billions are spent on roads that lead to nowhere, billions are spent on bridges where there are no rivers. We should divert those funds. Remove the tax and direct these funds to social services.”

The question now is if the excise tax rates imposed by the TRAIN Law are too much.

Maybe they are, maybe the government is wrong to impose more tax rather than re-evaluate where existing funds are going. Maybe the new tax schemes in place should not justify why excise tax has been and will continue to be increasing. Maybe the government shouldn’t impose higher taxes on certain products in order to keep our fellow countrymen from consuming products they have the legal right to. Is it too much? Maybe it is. Then again, what if the changes do bring about a better economy? What if it does increase the overall health of our fellow Filipinos? What if we just got used to the idea that these products should be more readily available and accessible? What if we’ve been taking them for granted? Only time will tell. Maybe we should give it a chance. ■

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RA No. 112321:

Amendments to the archaic BP Blg. 68

By KARL MICHAEL CARVAJAL

OLD

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Banks; Trust companies; Insurance companies; Public utilities; Building and loan associations (Sec. 6, CC)

1. Any number of natural persons.

2. Minimum of five, maximum of fifteen.

3. Majority are residents of the Philippines.

revised

Who may not issue “No parvalue” shares

Addition to list: 1. Pre-need companies; 2. Corporations authorized to obtain or access funds from the public.

(Sec. 6, RCC)

Incorporators

1. Any person, partnership, association or corporation.

2. Minimum requirement removed.

3. Majority no longer required to be resident of the Philippines.

1. A corporation shall exist for a period not exceeding fifty (50) years from the date of incorporation unless sooner dissolved or unless said period is extended.

2. Extension is within 5 years prior to expiry of term.

Corporate Term

At least 25% of the authorized capital stock must be subscribed and at least 25% of the subscribed capital should be paid at the time of incorporation. (Sec. 14)

Minimum capital stock requirement

Favorable recommendation not required for pre-need companies, NSSLA’s, pawnshops, and other financial intermediaries.

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Corporate Term

1. Perpetual existence unless otherwise provided (Sec. 11) 2. If with specific term, Extension is within 3 years prior to expiry of term.

3. A corporation whose term has expired may apply for its revival.

1. No Minimum Capital Stock required. (Sec. 13) 2. Removal of the minimum subscribed and paid-in capital.

Favorable recommendation of the appropriate government agency is required for the following: 1. Banks, banking and quasi-banking institution; Preneed Companies 2. Insurance and trust companies, 3. NSSLA’s, pawnshops, and other financial intermediaries

The Revised Corporation Code was signed into law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte on February 20, 2019, and published in the Official Gazette on Feb. 21, 2019. Following our laws, it officially took effect last March 8, 2019. With that said, we prepared a comparative chart to differentiate the provisions of the old Code from the amendments presented under the Revised Corporation Code.

OLD 1. The specific purpose or purposes for which the corporation is being incorporated. If more than one stated purpose, the AOI incorporation shall state which is the primary purpose and which is/are the secondary purpose or purposes: Provided, That a non-stock corporation may not include a purpose which would change or contradict its nature as such; 2. The place where the principal office of the corporation is to be located, which must be within the Philippines; 3. The term for which the corporation is to exist; 4. The names, nationalities, and residences of the incorporators; 5. The number of directors or trustees, which shall not be less than five nor more than fifteen; 6. The names, nationalities, and residences of persons who shall act as directors or trustees until the first regular directors or trustees are duly elected and qualified in accordance with this Code; 7. If it be a stock corporation, the amount of its authorized capital stock in lawful money of the Philippines, the number of shares into which it is divided, and in case the share are par value shares, the par value of each, the names, nationalities, and residences of the original subscribers, and the amount subscribed and paid by each on his subscription, and if some or all of the shares are without par value, such fact must be stated; 8. If it be a non-stock corporation, the amount of its capital, the names, nationalities, and residences of the contributors and the amount contributed by each; and 9. Such other matters as are not inconsistent with law and which the incorporators may deem necessary and convenient.

Not allowed if: The proposed name is identical or deceptively or confusingly similar to that of any existing corporation to any other name already protected by law patently deceptive, confusing or contrary to existing laws.

revised

Contents of Articles of Incorporation (AOI)

Corporate Name

1. The Revised Code allows for an arbitration agreement to be provided in the articles of incorporation (AOI) or by-laws of a corporation 2. Electronic Filing with the SEC allowed.

1. SEC may summarily order the corporation to immediately cease and desist from using its name if it finds that the corporate name is: a) Not distinguishable from a name already reserved or registered for the use of another corporation; b) Already protected by law; c) Contrary to law, rules and regulations (Sec. 17) 2. Removal of signage, marks, advertisements, labels, prints, and other effects bearing such corporate name (Sec. 17); 3. SEC may hold the corporation administratively, civilly, and criminally liable if the corporation fails to comply.

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OLD

1. Revoked at the end of the 2-year period 2. If commenced, suspension or revocation of franchise

1. Trustees - 1 year 2. Directors – 1 Year

revised

Non-use of corporate charter

Term of office of Board Members

Independent Directors

At all elections of directors or trustees, there must be present, either in person or by representative authorized to act by written proxy, the owners of a majority of the outstanding capital stock, or if there be no capital stock, a majority of the members entitled to vote.

Term of office of Board Members

Non-use of corporate charter

Non-holding of election

1. Convicted by final judgment of an offense punishable by imprisonment for a period exceeding six (6) years 2. Violation of this Code committed within five (5) years prior to the date of his election or appointment.

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Disqualification of Officers

1. Revoked at the end of the 5-year period 2. If commenced but becomes inoperative, SEC may place it under delinquent status 3. Two years to resume operation.

1. Directors – 1 Year 2. Trustees – 3 Years

1. Corporations covered by “The Securities Regulation Code” 2. Banks 3. Quasi-Banks 4. NSSLAs 5. Pawnshops 6. Corporations engaged in money service business 7. Pre-need companies 8. Trust and Insurance companies 9. Other financial intermediaries 10. Corporations vested with public interest.

Voting by stockholders in absentia now allowed.

1. The Treasurer be a resident of the Philippines 2. Corporations vested with public interest are now required to elect a compliance officer.

1. Shall be reported to the SEC within 30 days from the date of scheduled election. Report shall specify a new date for the election, which shall not be later that 60 days from scheduled election.

2. SEC may summarily order that an election be held Additional DQs: 1. Violating the Securities Regulation Code 2. Administratively liable for an offense involving fraudulent acts 3. By a foreign court or equivalent regulatory authority for acts, violations or misconduct similar to those enumerated.

OLD

revised

Any director or trustee of a corporation may be removed from office by a vote of the stockholders holding or representing at least two-thirds (2/3) of the outstanding capital stock, or if the corporation be a non-stock corporation, by a vote of at least twothirds (2/3) of the members entitled to vote

Removal of Directors/ Trustees

May be filled by the vote of at least a majority of the remaining directors or trustees, if still constituting a quorum

Vacancy In The Board

Emergency Board

Compensation

A contract of the corporation with one or more of its directors or trustees or officers is voidable

1. SEC can cause removal even if DQ was discovered subsequent to an election.

2. Removal not a prejudice to other sanctions that the SEC may impose.

1. Filling up vacancies in the board of directors should now be made no later than 45 days from the vacancy; 2. If due to term expiration, election shall be held on the day of such expiration at a meeting called for that purpose; 3. If arising from removal, on the same day of the meeting authorizing the removal, and which fact must be stated in the agenda and notice of the hearing.

1. When emergency action is necessary, the vacancy may be temporarily filled from among the officers by unanimous vote of the remaining directors.

2. The authority shall only be limited to the necessary emergency action and should cease upon termination of the emergency or election of replacement, whichever comes earlier.

3. The SEC should be notified as well within three days from the emergency designation.

1. Directors and Trustees shall not participate in the determination of their own per diems or compensation.

2. If vested with public interest, the corporation shall submit to their shareholder and the SEC, an annual report of the total compensation of each of their directors or trustees.

Self-Dealing Contracts

Directors or trustees or officers or of their spouse or relatives up to the 4th civil degree of consanguinity or affinity

Compensation

The Board may create special committees of temporary or permanent nature and determine the member’s term, composition, compensation, powers, and responsibilities.

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What have the

Romans ever done for us?

By KARL MICHAEL CARVAJAL

Infrastructure refers to the fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or other area, including the services and facilities necessary for its economy to function.[1] Part of it is engineering and construction. In 2017, President Duterte initiated the Build, Build, Build Program. The aim of the program is the acceleration of infrastructure and development of industries which “will yield robust growth across the archipelago, create jobs and uplift the lives of Filipinos.”[2] South Luzon has a lion’s share in the program and we will discuss some of them here.

NCR

cavite The Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAEX) CALAEX is an ongoing project of the DPWH. It is a four-lane 45.29 km closed-system tolled expressway connecting CAVITEX and SLEX. The concession period for the entire expressway is thirty-five years including five years design and construction. The project will start from CAVITEX in Kawit, Cavite, and end at the SLEX-Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna. As promising as the project is, it is one that isn’t exempted from any problems or issues. Among the issues of the CALAEX is a property of the Philippine National PoliceSAF located in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. While the groundbreaking was held on June 19, 2017, the MOA for the PNP-SAF property was signed only on February 23, 2018, which might be a cause of the delay in the project. The Environmental Compliance Certificate for the Laguna side was issued by the DENR on March 14, 2013, while the Cavite side was issued on July 18, 2018. As of January 2019, it was reported that the construction on the Laguna segment was 25% accomplished.

[1]

O’Sullivan, Arthur; Sheffrin, Steven M. (2003). Economics: Principles in Action. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. p. 474.

[2]

http://www.build.gov.ph/

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C5 South Link Project It is a toll road project seamless expressway connections between R1 Coastal/Expressway and C5 Road. It will connect the major business districts in Makati and Taguig area to Cavite/Parañaque/Las Piñas. Its goal is to ease traffic city congestion and provide faster and efficient regional movement of people and goods. It comprises of 5 segments, namely; R1 Interchange to Sucat, Sucat Interchange to SLEX, Merville to SLEX/C5, E. Rodriguez to Merville, Sucat to E. Rodriguez. Currently, the Right-ofWay acquisition is ongoing.

laguna

batangas

Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas Expressway (CTBEX) CTBEX is an unsolicited proposed plan and alignment submitted by the MPCALA Holdings that will link CALAEX at Silang East Interchange to Tagaytay City, and will ultimately end at Nasugbu, Batangas. It is a 50.31 km tollway that will consist of a two-by-two lane carriageway traversing mostly the rural areas of Cavite and Nasugbu in Batangas. The private sector submitted the proposal on July 7, 2017, which proposal was determined completed on December 5, 2017.

An issue arose regarding a conflict of alignment with the Tagaytay Bypass Road. Accordingly, the proponent agreed to coordinate with Cavite to harmonize CTBEX with the Bypass road. In the Original Proponent Status Letter, where it states that the proponent is the recognized proponent and that no other proposal is more advantageous, was issued by the Department on July 26, 2018.

The project was then endorsed to NEDA-ICC last January 10, 2019. ■ The Red Chronicles | 59

The Woman Behind the Work

By DICK MARTINEZ Photos courtesy of MHEL PECHERA

Throughout herstory, women have ventured in this earth like the reeds in a popular children’s tale of The Oak Tree and the Reeds. The oak tree, visually stronger, boasts that it stands upright through currents and calamities. And while it may never be seen to bend in fear, it is uprooted in a stormy night. However, the reeds, while undoubtedly bending to the slightest breeze, would never break. Women, in all walks of life, are hardwired for resiliency amidst discrimination, stereotypes, and the effects of glass ceiling. Never truly breaking, she allows challenges to move her, but never defeat her essence, as she is unstoppable. Last March, the world commemorated International Women’s Month, as we celebrated not only the triumphs of women, but also the ability of women to move with storms, and not against them.

Imelda “Mhel” Pechera is an epitome of a woman who possesses the resilience a bedan woman can emulate.“Mhel” is a multi-awarded woman of today. Not only has she been recognized for her beauty and sense of fashion, being Manila’s Best Dressed Awardee of 2016, Ruper Jacinto’s Fubulous VII Inner Coverladies of 2016, and 2017-2018 Philippine Best Dressed Ambassador for Life, she has also been recognized in the business world, having been awarded Women’s Journal Outstanding Women 2017, and as a mother, being the Model Mom Awardee 2016.

Behind all the prestigious awards mentioned above and many others, when asked what more Mhel Pechera was able to achieve at such a young age, she is proud to say that she is currently the Charter President of Ayala Amity Centennial Lions Club, the President Elect of Rotary Club of Makati Century City 2019, and the President and CEO of Iship Logipack Inc., a Filipino-Japanese manufacturing company catering to the packaging and logistic needs of the major manufacturing companies in the Philippines.

Iship Logipack Inc. was started by Mhel and her late husband. She considers hardwork, discipline, and determination to be the winning combination that gave her the ability to learn and adapt to reach the success her company has reached today. For Mhel, Iship Logipack Inc. is not only a business, it is a family. She wants the company to flourish, not only to provide a good life for her own children but to help ensure the bright future of her employees, all of whom she has come to consider an extension of her family.

As a recognized widely successful woman, Mhel believes she is able to say she has more than what she needs, but having the opportunity to achieve more in life, she has come to the understanding that success is not how much financial gain you have achieved but how many people you have developed and helped. She teaches her children that you should never ever look down on anybody unless you are helping them to get up. For her, everybody deserves equal opportunity in life and it is our duty as children of God to help our fellow men in times of need.

In achieving all that she hopes to, Mhel is guilty of at times compromising her health; having to sacrifice rest, sleep, and exercise. She believes the secret to balancing a busy life is to teach, train, delegate, and trust. Fortunately, the support of her family and the competence of her extended family in Iship, gives her the assurance that she can count on them in juggling everything on her plate. As much as possible, Mhel tries to take care of her body by going to the gym, running, hiking, playing golf, and travelling. She recognizes that the body is God’s temple, and if she doesn’t take care of herself first, she wouldn’t be able to take care of her family, her business, and her staff.

Mhel shared the most important lessons she can impart with the youth of today. First, love yourself. For her, you could never really love others until you learn to accept who you really are. Second, to always try to improve yourself and learn new things everyday. She believes that the “you – today” should be an improved version of the “you – yesterday”, and the “you – tomorrow” should be an improved version of the “you – today”. Third would be to follow your heart and what makes you happy, to live life to the fullest without regrets. If you follow your heart and do it right, once is enough. And lastly, is to have a good relationship with your family, loved ones, and the Lord Almighty. ■

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"Challenge Accepted"

BEDAN Political Candidates

By CHEZKA CELIS Photo by PAUL NIKKO DEGOLLADO Contributed photo of DIAZ and ADVINCULA

Looking at previous elections, it is interesting to note that there is always a contending politician who is a lawyer. The premium that society puts to the legal profession may be one of the reasons why lawyers are being elected into public office. In terms of training, it is undeniable that law school is difficult, and requires a certain degree of competence and intelligence. Law school sharpens one’s verbal and written communication, critical thinking, and decision-making skills. The brain-wrecking recitations and exams will really stretch one’s brain. The pressure and seemingly endless readings will test one’s dedication and mental toughness. Fortunately, the knowledge of law also serves as an advantage, because the duties of an elected government official include the implementation or legislation of laws.

Even before becoming lawyers, there are law students who engage into politics—be it in a barangay, municipal, or city level. In last year’s barangay elections, there are law students from San Beda College Alabang who were elected as SK Chairman or Barangay Councilors. This May elections, there are Bedans who took up the challenge. Some of them are: Jerome Advincula, Mai Maligaya Mangudadatu, and Alexson Diaz.

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MAI MALIGAYA MANGUDADATU

Mai Maligaya Mangudadatu is running for City Councilor in the 1st District of Muntinlupa City. As a wife of the incumbent governor of Maguindanao, she had hands-on experience in supporting and implementing various projects that cater to the indigent communities there. Her advocacy includes women empowerment, mental health, and equal opportunities to all. If elected, she will prioritize gender and development projects in the indigent communities in Muntinlupa City.

Mai said that having a background in law is an advantage over the other candidates, because her knowledge in law will guide her in drafting ordinances that will benefit and better the lives of the people in Muntinlupa. She is also thankful to San Beda College Alabang for equipping her with the necessary skills and values to face this challenge.

Guided by the core values of prayer, work, peace, community, service, and excellence, she said that the school holistically prepared her in this endeavor.

ALEXSON DIAZ

Alexson Diaz is also running for the position of City Councilor in the 1st District of Muntinlupa City under the team of Mayor Jimmy Fresnedi. Last barangay elections, he was elected Barangay councilor garnering the highest number of votes of 28,660. Alexson’s pilot project which was a livelihood program (PutoMaking Demonstration) was held in Purok 7 Barangay Poblacion to help the citizens to earn a living even when they are at home. Utilizing social media as means to connect with his constituents, Alexson informs Muntinlupa citizens regarding traffic advisories, class suspensions, and hearings on local regulations through Facebook posts.

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Jerome Martin R. Advincula, a second year law student, is running for the position of City Councilor in the 1st District of Pasay City. He is vying for his second term as Pasay City Councilor. In 2007 to 2010, he was the SK Chairman of Barangay 26, Zone 04 of the same city. His projects focused on sports development of the youth to develop camaraderie, while at the same time, keeping them away from vices. In 2013 to 2016, he was elected as a Barangay Councilor in the same barangay. Moreover, Advincula, a registered nurse, focused on improving the health of the senior citizens in his barangay by conducting

health awareness programs such as “Bantay Presyon” and “Sugar Tsek”. Awarded as Number One Kagawad, he also became the OIC Barangay Captain from February to May 2015 when their Barangay Captain took a leave of absence.

In 2016, as the City Council’s Chairman of Peace and Order, he worked closely with first responders and police forces to improve the safety of the people in his city. He also passed several resolutions focusing on environmental protection such as the reduction of plastic waste in Pasay. He said that if elected again, he will further promote the improvement of basic services; most notably, free health services for the people. He will also continue the programs he already started such as the Feeding Program, Free Haircut Program, Sports Development Program, Health Awareness Program, and Medical Assistance Program; providing free wheelchairs, medicines, and nebulizers.

He also wants to continue providing sports equipment, and to give other forms of assistance such as those which defray funeral expenses for indigent families.

As a law student, he said that law school has undoubtedly given him a significant edge. As city councilor, his job requires drafting local legislation.

Having a background in law ensures that the people of Pasay are getting well-crafted legislation. Through San Beda law school, he met new people who helped and inspired him to do well in his job. The values that the school imparted to him make him a better person. Ora et labora — “San Beda has taught me about trusting in prayer and work to get the job done,” he said.

JEROME MARTIN R. ADVINCULA

Politics is not for everyone. However, with the perfect balance of passion, knowledge, and commitment to public service, politics may be an effective platform to fulfill one’s advocacy, and forward the concerns of the marginalized sector. It can be used as a voice for the minority. It’s never too late to make a difference, and these three Bedan political candidates stood up—challenge accepted! ■ 64 | The Red Chronicles

POLYCHROMATIC

MINDS

The Unfolding of MH Law

By NIÑO AREVELO, KAITLIN KEITH SIERRA & JENICA E.S. TI

IRRs of MH Law Finally Released Last January 22, 2019, the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 11036, otherwise known as the Mental Health Act (IRRs), was approved and signed through the Department of Health (DOH) Secretary, Francisco T. Duque, III. The IRRs are meant to establish guidelines in implementing RA 11036 which was signed into law on the 21st of June, 2018. Now, the key provisions of the law are supplied with adequate rules to be observed as to the manner of its application.

In its Declaration of Policy (Sec.2), it was embodied that the State shall adhere to its obligations to several legislations and international conventions including the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the recognition of our Magna Carta for Disabled Persons.

The objectives (Sec.3) of the IRRs comprise of the strengthening of effective leadership and governance for mental health, establishing a national mental health care system, protection of rights and freedoms of persons with mental health conditions, reinforcement of information system for mental health, integrating mental health care in the basic health services, and promoting mental health in educational institutions, workplace, and communities. Accordingly, in order to facilitate a stronger effort on forming mental health care system, public and private health facilities are also mandated to create their respective Internal Review Boards. Its functions involve reviewing cases involving treatment of service users.

One of the salient provisions of these regulations is under Section 8 thereof where the DOH is tasked to develop guidelines relating to obtaining and documenting informed consent to treatment of service users. The said guidelines are expected to observe the principles of voluntarism, competency, disclosure, understanding, and decision. However, the aforementioned are without exceptions – it is provided that the rule on informed consent may not be applied during psychiatric or neurologic emergencies, or when there is impairment or temporary loss of decisionmaking capacity on the part of a service user.

The concept of advance directive was also introduced.

It is stated that “A service user may set out his or her preference in relation through a signed, dated, and notarized advance directive executed for the purpose.”

(Sec. 10) During the lobbying of the Philippine Mental Health Bill, many advocates emphasized on the importance of starting at the most basic units of the government in spreading mental health awareness,

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and currently, RA 11036, through its IRRs, requires that responsive primary mental health services shall be developed particularly in cities, municipalities, and barangays. Furthermore, Local Government Units, through their health offices, are directed to make quarterly reports to the Philippine Mental Health Council through the DOH. Solons, advocates, and medical professionals all contribute in increasing public awareness with regard to the essence of mental health – and the release and approval of these IRRs mark another milestone to a stigma-free and mental health-friendly society that many sought to build in pursuance of the right of every Filipino to a quality mental well-being.

Reinforcing Information System through Public Awareness Gone are the days where the word ‘depression’ was understood as a feeling, rather than a diagnosis.

However, the traditionally wayward and loose usage of this term is still apparent in older generations, as reinforcement of necessary approaches for public awareness is still in its initial flight.

Maria, whose real name shall remain undisclosed, has been diagnosed with clinical depression, a common and serious mood disorder where usual symptoms include persistent sadness, hopelessness, and/or anhedonia lasting for at least two weeks that may persist for months or even years depending on its severity; as compared to a feeling of sadness which may last for only a short period of time.

Early detection is key to a more effective and speedy treatment, which is why it is crucial to correctly diagnose depression during its early stages. It is imperative to have a mindset that depression is one of the many mental conditions and disorders under psychopathology, which may include the study of individuals with mental, emotional, and even physical and chronic pain. Thus, while merely feeling sad is considered a normal behavior that is socially acceptable or conforming to the standards of society, symptoms

relating to depression are not.

The accepted definition of abnormality/ psychological disorder, as provided in the fifth edition of American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5, for brevity), describes behavioral, psychological or biological dysfunctions that are unexpected in their cultural context, and associated with present distress and impairment in functioning, or increased risk of suffering, death, pain, or any impairment causing deviant and unusual behaviors, or danger.

This means that while some might associate their melancholy as depression due to a death or loss of a loved one or thing, this is a socially and culturally acceptable response – with sadness being a normal behavior, and not a candidate for psychopathological disorders, such as depression. Although this is a general rule, it is still possible for depression to occur in the abovementioned circumstances, depending on the diagnosis of a licensed psychologist or clinician.

Moreover, symptoms of depression must not be due to another medical condition or a result of substance abuse.

“The signs can be observable if you know the person well, and you know that he or she is not normally like that”, Maria further shares, “‘Di ko paglabas ng bahay for weeks at yo’ng pag iwas ko sa any form of communication from anyone outside of our house.

Yo’ng pag increase ng appetite ko. Yo’ng pag iba ng sleeping behavior”. Maria reminisces that she would fake her laughs to put up a jovial front – an act that some undiagnosed or diagnosed people would do to prevent detection and harsh judgment.

The culture of studying in law school is known for its high levels of stress, doses of panic attacks, and anxiety-inducing encounters – a trend that has become socially acceptable in the halls of School of Law, where any detection of mental health illnesses may prove to be difficult. Truly, being approachable in law school is easier said than done, as we all have our off-days. Maria assures those who want to be of assistance that a simple assurance of being there for a diagnosed individual is

of great help. Moreover, while the company of peers may expunge feelings of loneliness, Maria notes, “At the same time, I would want the (sic) people to respect the space I wanted”. She added, “saying okay lang ‘yan, kakayanin mo ‘yan, is not advisable as well. A person with depression loses the capacity to see a good outlook into the future… for him or her that’s hard to believe. Plus, ini-invalidate mo pa feelings niya kasi ginagamit mo sarili mo as reference to how he or she can also get through his or her situation”.

There is a need to stress the importance of proper and accurate diagnosis and treatment, and the prohibition to loosely use terminologies relating to these disorders because treatments may cause serious and irreversible side effects to a misdiagnosed patient. It is always best to consult with a professional such as the School of Law’s very own counselor, Sylvia C. Atienza, if you, or your loved ones, believe that you need further assistance in dealing with your problems. Outside school, hospital and medical institutions provide for in-house clinical and counseling psychologists and psychiatrists, who are licensed to diagnose and treat those suffering from any mental health issue. ■ References: Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2014). Abnormal psychology (6 th ed.).

NY: McGraw-Hill Barlow, D. H. & Durand, V. M. (2015). Abnormal psychology: An integrative approach (7 th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning Oltmanns, T. F. & Emery R. E. (2012). Abnormal psychology (7 th ed.). USA: Pearson Education

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BUDGET-FRIENDLY OUTINGS

All Over the Metro

By KATHERINE LIM Photos by PAUL NIKKO DEGOLLADO, CEASAR ENTILA & JANNA SANTOTOME

It can be difficult to allow oneself days off from our books, work, and every other more pressing errands.

But taking time to decompress and rediscover life outside law school might just be the key to keeping your stress to a minimum and your motivation high.

We visited different corners of the Metro to find activities that are fun, affordable, and of course, educational.

A mix of decades-old and brand new, each location we visited offered a unique experience; the best part being that all are very budget-friendly.

01

Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wild Life

The park, which has been around since 1954, is now under the care of the Biodiversity Management Bureau, and is under the coverage of the Extended National Integrated Protected Areas Act. At first glance, it looks fairly plain and somewhat barren but there actually lies a treasure inside in the form of the Wildlife Rescue Center.

Several of the animals housed there are endangered species collected from illegal trade, which are expected to be released back into wild habitats after rehabilitation.

It is fascinating to see different species up close and personal. Although the conditions of the park facilities and animal cages could be improved, nevertheless, it is a great, inexpensive opportunity to learn more about the state of wildlife protection.

Among the species housed at the rescue center are the Pinker’s Hawk eagle, the Rufus hornbill, the Burmese python, and the Luzon monitor lizard.

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TIPS • There isn’t much cloud cover from the trees so it is best to bring umbrellas or hats.

• Since the wildlife are caged, catching a good glimpse of them is tricky. If you are interested, it is nice to have mobile data ready to Google a little more information on the spot.

IS IT WORTH THE TRIP? Sure! If you are looking to take young children out for a big park experience, or simply looking for some greenery in the middle of the city, this is an excellent place to have a picnic, go jogging, go biking, or have a mini photoshoot.

Entrance Fee: 15 PHP for students (don’t forget to bring your student ID) 30 PHP for adults 45 PHP for parking fee

02

SULok cafe

This kitschy, small restaurant has been up and running for two years now. A few meters away from Pinto Museum, it is the perfect budgetfriendly stopover for brunch, merienda or a post-museum feast. With only five tables indoors and a few tables outdoors, it has a cozy ambience with a modern feel. They offer a mix of Filipino fusion food and western fare.

Fish Tacos (PHP 185) Flavorful, crispy tacos Tuyo Mushroom Pasta (PHP 170) A dish that is great for those who prefer salty fare

Adobo Flakes on Rice (PHP 110) A simple, but satisfying, and super sulit dish Sausage Bagizza (PHP 180) A fun take on the regular sandwich, this combines French baguette and pizza.

TIP: Weekends are extra busy at the restaurant and with limited seating, waiting times can be much longer.

IS IT WORTH THE TRIP? Yes! Sulok Cafe is worth a stop, especially if you are in the area, or have other activities planned nearby.

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pinto museum The Pinto Art Museum packs a major punch in the category of budget-friendly outings. It has been a social media favorite for several years owing to its IG-worthy aesthetic and perfect white-walled backdrop.

Pinto is located at Sierra Madre St, Antipolo on a 1.3 hectare lot of varying terrain. The grounds alone are enough reason to visit, but it also has six different galleries, a pool, several gardens and an indoor theatre.

Karnabal by Salingpusa Karnabal, the central piece in the museum’s main gallery is overwhelming both in its size and its depth.

According to Andy Orencio, the resident guide, Karnabal was commissioned by the museum owner, Dr. Joven Cuanang in 1992 and was completed on the premises, by a group of artists called Salingpusa.

Darna, a Philippine superheroine looks out to the west, a clown is hearing a confession, a blindfolded figure

luneta park Just off of the main park at Luneta are two themed areas the Japanese Garden and the Chinese Garden.

The Chinese Garden features a unique Wisdom Walk which is a short curved walkway with Chinese proverbs on each post along the path.

The Japanese Garden, although smaller in size, also boasts of a gong, a Japanesestyle bridge and bonsai trees.

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03

spins a wheel of fortune. With each symbol, questions were asked: how do we value religious rituals as opposed to religious virtues? Where do we look to for influence?

Who controls our fate?

Listening to the story behind each work was uplifting despite the heaviness of it all because it invited us to some time of introspection.

TIPS • Set out at least 3 hours in this museum to allow for breaks and photoshoots.

• Artwork can be better appreciated with the help of their resident guide.

Entrance Fee: 100 PHP for students or seniors, no ID, no discount) • 200 PHP regular price •

04

couples on dates, positive energy abounds making this a great option if you’re looking to lift your spirits.

Located across the road from our National Museum, the park is also a great last stop before winding down for the day.

TIP: A late afternoon visit to the park is ideal since it is cooler, and the view of the sunset is fantastic.

binondo food tour

05

DIY Binondo Food Tour is a frequent online search so we tried it out for ourselves to help you make the most out of the experience.

We arrived right after mall opening hours when the queue to enter the parking lot at Lucky Chinatown mall was extremely long.

TIP: The guard requests to hold your car keys because of the need to double-park.

We walked toward New Po Heng Lumpia found in a small alley.

The fresh lumpia is their signature dish and costs 75 PHP. We took it to go, and enjoyed it at our next stopTasty Dumplings.

There we ordered a plate of Kuchay dumplings, some mantao, and a meat dish.

We headed to Shanghai Fried

Siopao after. We purchased steaming hot siopao buns, also to-go. The fried portion is the filling which is delicious.

We chanced upon Shopper’s Mart on Ongpin Street that offered sweet Yakult slushies. The ice-cold drink at PHP 80 was definitely worth it.

Lastly, we visited Sincerity Chicken where we ordered their famous Sincerity buttered fried chicken (PHP 360), fried oyster cake (PHP 240), and kikiam (PHP 60).

The chicken was extremely flavorful, creamy, peppery malinamnam. The fried oyster cake was a unique dish and the kikiam was made with fresh meat and ingredients. ■

Cinematheque Centre Manila

A few steps away from Taft Ave, Cinematheque Centre is tucked away on a quiet street. We learned that they hold film festivals regularly where admission is either free or at a reduced cost (while it is dependent on the film, it may run at around PHP 100).

Most recently, Japan Film Week was held at the Centre from February 13 - March 15, where seven different Japanese films were screened.

At the same time, the Phenomenal Film Festival also ran at the same venue from February 25 - February 29, featuring international indie

films. Admission to all films was free.

The Cinematheque Centre regularly updates their Facebook page with screening schedules and upcoming events.

With movie tickets being upwards of PHP 300 nowadays, the Cinematheque Centre is a great activity for those looking to watch oneof-a-kind indie films on a budget.

TIP: Since the theatres are relatively small, free screenings may fill up quickly so it is best to arrive early for a better chance of scoring a ticket.

MUSEO NG MUNTINLUPA

06 07

Right in our own backyard is something to watch out for: Museo ng Muntinlupa officially opened to the public last March 26.

The museum is located in Barangay Tunasan, Muntinlupa and tours may be booked by emailing them at info@museongmuntinlupa.com. ■ The Red Chronicles | 71

APRIL 2019

volume 2 issue 2