Opinion TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO
Why blame Bautista? BEFORE the past year ended, Social Weather Stations came out with a survey that said eight out of 10 Filipinos lived in fear that they or their friends could be the next in President Duterte’s war on illegal drugs. This clearly shows a climate of fear prevailing in the country! But now comes another survey that says eight out of 10 Filipinos trust and approve of the President. Aren’t these surveys contradictory? How can people trust the President and yet live in fear at the same time? I am not an expert, but I know that survey results depend on the questions themselves. This is why I think there must be a law governing surveys. Aside from the results, survey takers should also publish the actual questions they asked the respondents. *** The so-called Comeleaks, where information on some 55-million voters were hacked in March last year, again made newspaper headlines a couple of weeks ago. Actually, it was on December 29, 2016 that the Commission on Elections received the National Privacy Commission decision saying it had violated the Data Privacy Act of 2012. It also said that Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista committed a criminal act. Because of this decision there was talk that the chairman could be impeached if he is found guilty. But why indict the Comelec for the hacking of its Web site when it was the victim? And why single out the chairman when the agency is composed of seven commissioners? It is a collegial body and the chairman merely implements its decisions. Records show that in the wake of data breach and hacking as a worldwide phenomenon, the Comelec was already following generally accepted standards and international best practices with regard to technologyrelated activities and services. Records also show that in preparation for the May 2016 elections, specifically to prevent security breaches, the Comelec created a Task Force specifically to look into the website breach, designate Comelec resource persons to the NPC, instruct the executive director to comply with the reportorial requirements of the Data Privacy Act, and finally create and maintain a Voter Care Center. In other words, the Comelec en banc showed good faith to the NPC by filing compliance reports as early as May 2015 with the assistance of the Department of Science and Technology- Information and Communications Technology Office, in coordination with the National Bureau of Investigation. What strikes me as strange is that
the NPC says Chairman Bautista has sole responsibility for the data breach. But while these are important topics, they are best left to information technology experts. The Comelec is, after all, managed by seven lawyers. I thus ask these questions on the logic of the NPC decision. If the IT specialists in Comelec are not found liable under the Data Privacy Act, what more the officials who merely oversee their work? So, if as Chairmam Bautista asks, there is a breach of the Supreme Court’s web site, will Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno be liable? *** Santa Banana, here we go again! Last year, amid President bloody war against illegal drugs, Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa also vowed to go after illegal gambling operators nationwide. They knew that drug lords are also gambling lords. According to findings, illegal gambling is as pervasive and deeply rooted as illegal drugs. It has likewise corrupted local and national officials. Now we again hear the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government saying they would go after the illegal gamblers who deprive the government of much needed revenue. The Philippine Charity Sweepst akes Office’s SmallTown Lottery was supposed to replace illegal gambling, but now it is as corrupt as ever. Gambling operators are so brazen that in many localities, the winnings are broadcast three times a day. I am told parish priests get donations from such activities.
This is best left to information technology experts.
*** Last year, President Duterte tagged businessman Roberto V. Ongpin as an oligarch that must be destroyed. Ongpin resigned as chairman of PhilWeb. But Ongpin is no oligarch. In fact, he was persecuted for years by the Aquino administration. Now Ongpin is pushing through with his plan for a state-of-the-art rehabilitation center in Atimonan, Quezon. It will be supported by the Balesin Island Club. Atimonan also has the big advantage of being reachable by land from Manila. My gulay, if all those affluent Filipinos mentioned in Forbes Magazine would just do the same, we would have more than enough rehabilitation centers. Bobby was my student at Ateneo High School. I am proud to have been his teacher. He is a businessman who believes in giving back to society and sharing his gifts to people.
When... From A4 and the Bicolana junk-bond heiress go back a ways, when they joined forces in the 2013 elections to raise money in the US for Robredo’s first go at politics despite Philippine election laws that prohibit such overseas fund-raising, according to a suit filed against the current Vice President that continues to languish before the Commission on Elections. And because of their shared Yellowness, both women are routinely suspected of plotting to bring down Duterte’s government. In response, Duterte has exposed Lewis as “a certain financier, a rich woman who married a black and is now a millionaire... planning to do massive demonstrations.” As for Robredo, Duterte had a subordinate direct the vice president to stop attending Cabinet meetings as overall head of the government housing sector, allegedly for joining oust-Duterte protests. The prohibition forced the resignation of the vice president. Both have repeatedly denied Duterte’s allegations. But as the current #LeniLeaks brouhaha shows, their denials don’t really have to be true. They just have to somehow sound that way to their target constituency of Yellows. Even every Filipino uninfected with the Yellow virus can only shake his head in disbelief at the breathtaking audacity of their lies.
Gifts... From A4 the peace and the silence that he had always left me.” In reading and rereading these lines, weighed down by the death of the poor and anxiety for what may happen in the world and in our country, I was given the gift of peace by Fr. Roque. Fr. Thomas Green, SJ, my professor in philosophy of science and philosophy of language, knew how to help women and men find peace. In addition to being a philosopher, he was a spiritual master, directed many aspiring priests in San Jose Seminary. He also wrote several books. From “When the Well Runs Dry,” I share this text: “The life of prayer is perhaps the most
mysterious dimension of all human experience. We come to be at home with a God we cannot see. We discover that is it only by giving ourselves away totally that we come to truly possess ourselves, that we are most free when most surrendered. We begin to realize that light is darkness and darkness light. We become lost in a trackless desert —and then, if we persevere despite our disorientation, we begin to realize that it is only in being lost, in losing ourselves, that we are found. The whole of our life, and not just our prayer life, becomes a paradox, an apparent contradiction concealing and revealing a deeper truth, because we begin to realize that we must live as we pray. The darkness, giving, surrender, and being lost
TUESDAY, JANUARY 10 , 2017
A5
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Why the Reds hate Marcos HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA (Part 2) DESPITE their failure to subvert the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos in 1971, the local communists retained their obsession with overthrowing Marcos and installing a communist state in the Philippines, one subservient to Peking (the old name of today’s Beijing). By the end of 1971, the name of Commander Dante (Bernabe Buscayno in real life) was dutifully invoked by the local armed communist cadres who were collectively called the New People’s Army (NPA). July 1972 was a turning point for the communists. A sea vessel called the MV Karagatan anchored off Digoyo Point in Palanan, Isabela was accosted by the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Brigade. The ship carried firearms and ammunition obtained from Peking and meant for distribution to the CPPNPA cadres. This incident infuriated Marcos, who lost no time in announcing it to the news media. Word spread that Marcos was considering resorting to martial law to curb the threat to national security. Red leaders, however, downplayed the threat. They were in for a big surprise. On Sept. 23, 1972, President Marcos announced on national television that two days earlier, he issued Proclamation No. 1081 by which he placed the entire country under martial law. Marcos emphasized that martial law was not a military takeover, but a measure to save the Republic from the com-
munist insurgency threatening it. With martial law in force, soldiers from the Philippine Constabulary then headed by General Fidel Ramos arrested suspected enemies of the state, including leaders and key figures in the local communist movement. Overnight, the violent anti-government rallies organized by the reds in the national capital ceased to exist. The ensuing peace and order during the first six months of martial law made many citizens appreciate the new political situation. Motorists obeyed traffic regulations, and pedestrians crossed only at pedestrian lanes. A nationwide curfew forced philandering husbands to come home earlier than usual. The televised execution by musketry of Lim Seng, a convicted drug lord, put an abrupt end to the drug menace. This radical change in the national situation proved to be unsettling for the communists. Almost overnight, the reds lost their appeal to attract followers and became irrelevant. Only the die-hard cadres remained committed to the rebel movement. Those who evaded arrest moved around incognito, or fled to the mountains. The martial law dragnet eventually led to the arrest and incarceration of Sison, Corpus, Buscayno and other red leaders. Their capture further damaged the local communist movement. Since the communist insurgency in the Philippines in mid-1972 was an extraordinary menace, it required an extraordinary solution. President Marcos found the solution in martial law, and utilized that solution. It was a bold, unprecedented move a weak president would not have resorted to. In fine, if the Philippines had been
led by a weak president back then, the country would have inevitably fallen to the communists, like what happened to South Vietnam in 1975. There may have been abuses committed by the military establishment during martial law, but that does not erase the fact that martial law aborted the communists’ plan to create a communist state in the Philippines. This is the main reason why the communists hate Marcos. Further adding to the hatred the communists have for President Marcos is the decision of the latter to open diplomatic ties between the Philippines and Communist China a few years after the proclamation of martial law. This move inevitably forced Peking to see Marcos in a more favorable light, and discouraged troublemakers in Peking’s communist politburo from openly supporting their comrades in the Philippines. At that time, Peking needed international support for its one-China policy and it could not afford rattling its new ties wih Manila. That’s another reason why the reds hate Marcos. In addressing the problem of communist insurgency in the country, Marcos did not confine himself to a military solution. He also waved the olive branch and gave amnesty to rebels who were willing to renounce their rebellion and rejoin the mainstream of Philippine society. Many of them returned to their old jobs in the academe, and in noted private establishments. That’s another reason why the communists dislike Marcos. The assassination of Ninoy Aquino at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport in August 1983 was exploited by the communists. By blaming Marcos for the death of Ninoy, the reds hoped to revive the anti-Marcos sentiment
they peddled to the people, before the proclamation of martial law ended their dream of a communist regime in the Philippines. Their plan backfired when Marcos created the Agrava Fact-Finding Board to investigate the Aquino assassination. The creation of the Agrava Board was not much of a concession in view of the military’s claim that a communist gunman killed Ninoy, but it was enough to once again delay the local communist timetable for subverting the government. By 1984, the local communist movement was running out of strategies in its campaign to project itself as the only alternative of the Filipino people to a government under President Marcos. One-third of the seats in the Batasang Pambansa were held by the political opposition party UNIDO headed by Salvador “Doy” Laurel, but the UNIDO was staunchly anticommunist. Moreover, the communists’ boycott of the May 1984 parliamentary elections effectively excluded them from the political mainstream. A final chance at avoiding political oblivion for the communists came during the so-called “People Power” revolt in February 1986. President Marcos could have allowed the use of force to disperse the crowds gathered at EDSA in Quezon City, but he refused to do so. To avoid needless bloodshed, Marcos relinquished power peacefully. Had Marcos chosen to fight it out, a civil war could have ensued, one which the communists could have used for seizing power once and for all. Up to the end, Marcos foiled the communists. That’s one more reason why they hate Marcos.
MAIL MATTERS
Civil Service clarifies issues raised by Fr. Aquino THIS refers to Fr. Ranhilio Aquino's article in the opinion section entitled "Negativing academic freedom" published in the Nov. 25, 2016 issue of the Manila Standard. Allow us to clarify some issues raised by Fr. Aquino in said article, particularly the following: Curtailing the right of a university to determine who should teach on the pretext of enforcing civil service rules. In this instance, Fr. Aquino said that the Supreme Court has been no less vigilant in defending academic freedom by reminding the Civil Service Commission (CSC), particularly in the UP vs. CSC case in 2001, that not even on the pretext of enforcing civil service rules may CSC curtail the right of a university to determine who should teach. The CSC would like to stress that it did not intend to curtail academic freedom in said case. There was a technical issue which certain UP personnel themselves wanted the Commission to resolve. A certain professor went on a two-year leave of absence while on assignment in another institution. When the two-year leave of absence was about to expire, he requested for an extension of another year. This was disapproved by UP officials concerned with a warning that he would be dropped from the rolls if he failed to report for work. The professor failed to report for work and came back only after almost five years of absence without leave. At first, UP told him to re-apply. When he sought reconsideration, he was allowed to report back to work considering that there was no record that UP officially dropped him from the rolls. Two members of the Academic Personnel Committee of the Agricultural
Credit Corporation Inc. (ACCI) of UP Los Baños where he was particularly assigned, brought the matter to the CSC. The Commission has no other recourse but to resolve the matter based on Civil Service rules which are applicable to all government officials and employees including those in the state universities and colleges (SUCs) like the UP. The Commission ruled that the professor was considered dropped from the rolls pursuant to Section 33, Rule XVI of the Revised Civil Service Rules which was the existing rate at that time. However, since his case is non-disciplinary, he can be reappointed to any vacant position subject to existing Civil Service law and rules. Section 33, Rule XVI of the Revised Civil Service Rules specifically provides automatic separation from the service if an employee fails to return to work after the expiration of the allowed maximum period of one year leave without pay. The case was brought before the Court of Appeals which ruled in favor of CSC's decision. The Supreme Court, however, ruled otherwise considering that UP did not officially drop him from the rolls. The CSC would like to emphasize that the ruling made in the aforementioned case would not serve as a prohibition to actions that are taken or made by CSC in the exercise of its mandate. It is basic in law and in jurisprudence that Decisions of the Supreme Court apply in a case to case basis and the burden to prove whether the acts of CSC is ultra vires is on the person/entity alleging the same. 2. "... the Civil Service Commission that chimes in - often-
times very distractingly - into university life. Many who, by purely academic standards, are well-regarded in their own fields of specialization, recognized by academe and renowned by scholarly circles are spurned by the Civil Service Commission, denied rank, title and salary, because of missing on one or the other silly bureaucratic requisite." This is bothering but it is a baseless and unfounded statement. Nevertheless, the CSC would like to look at this as an occasion to clarify its mandate. While the Commission fully respects and supports the right of state universities and colleges to exercise academic freedom, it is also firm in its constitutional mandate as the central human resource agency of the government to uphold the merit and fitness principle, adopt measures to promote morale, efficiency, integrity, responsiveness, progressiveness and courtesy in the civil service, integrate a human resources development programs for all levels and ranks, and institutionalize a management climate conducive to public accountability. Further, in keeping true to its mandate, the Commission likewise upholds the prerogative of the appointing authority of SUCs to select and appoint their officials and employees pursuant to the doctrine laid down by the Supreme Court in the case of Luego vs. CSC (G.R. No. L- 69137, August 5,1986). As to qualification standards, the CSC simply sets the minimum and basic requirements of positions in the government as it has always encouraged government agencies, including SUCs, to set higher standards for particular positions if deemed necessary. In
SUCs, this is particularly manifested in CSC Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 19, s. 2005 (Model Merit System for Faculty Members of State Universities and Colleges and Local Colleges and Universities) which was developed in consultation with the Philippine Association of State Colleges and Universities (PASCU) and the Association of Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU). In 2012, this CSC amended MC No. 19, s. 2005 by promulgating MC No. 10, s. 2012 (Educational Requirement for Faculty Positions in State Universities and Colleges and Local Colleges and Universities). Then in 2013, CSC MC No. 17, s. 2013 (Qualification Standards for Faculty Positions/ Ranks in State Universities and Colleges and Local Colleges and Universities) to implement the Memorandum of Agreement between CSC and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) allowing SUCs and LCUs to modify their qualification standards provided in the two previous MCs. From the foregoing, CSC would like to emphasize that promotion of its constitutional mandate to implement Civil Service laws and rules which cover all government officials and employees, including those in SUCs and LCUs, should never be considered as a stumbling block in the exercise of academic freedom nor distraction in the operations of SUCs and LCUs but rather a safeguard to ensure that the merit and fitness principle is promoted in the entire bureaucracy, free from partiality and bias of the appointing authority.
cannot be restricted to one hour a day, which we we call “our time for prayer.” The Lord refuses to be a compartmentalized God; we come to realize that “my work is my prayer,” but in an entirely different and much deeper sense than that in which the phrase is usually uttered today.” Later in the same book, Fr. Tom writes about this darkness again: “When we begin to realize that the darkness is light, and that ever so slowly the Lord of love is fashioning in us the eyes to see, the dominant motif of our prayer becomes gratitude —gratitude even, and perhaps especially for the trials which have previously caused us misery, since we now realize that it is precisely through these trials that the Lord is fashioning in us
the resurrection person. And our greatest joy, our greatest expression of gratitude, is to be able to share with others the good news which we have learned: ‘We are writing this to you so that our joy may be complete!’ (1 Jn 1:14)” From Fr. Green, I received the gift of hope, of assurance that all will be well, that this darkness that we may be experiencing will not only pass but it is light, that the trials before us are transforming us to be, in Green’s words, resurrection persons. Finally, Fr. Francis Reilly SJ, professor of metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of religion, gives me the gift of faith that anchors both peace and hope. In his book “A Quiet God,” subtitled as “quiet words especially for searchers,” Fr. Reilly
explores the various ways of proving the existence of God through rational discourse. Among others, he reflects on how evil could co-exist with a kind and powerful God. Fr. Frank asserts, among others, that “moral evil in the world is our work, not God’s, and that his plan is to give us a share in his own freedom so that we can freely choose to some extent what the world will be like.” At the end of A Quiet God, Fr. Frank writes: “Even in calling us God is quiet. He does not shout but speaks softly through others, through the situations which we face with alert intelligence, through his revealed word, but he does enable us to find him in acts of intelligence and freedom.” In a letter to those
who have difficulty in believing in God, Fr. Reilly is encouraging: “He calls personally to us, trying to persuade us to admit him into our lives. God, we can discover, takes the initiative in making himself present to us and we experience his presence in his word. Believing therefore has a very personal quality to it, and the God who invites us personally to accept himself and his word is one who comes to us gently and with total respect.” Peace, hope and faith. To all my readers, I pray that you too will receive this New Year these gifts of my Magi—from my three philosophy professors, all wise and holy men of God.
ALICIA DELA ROSA-BALA Chairperson, Civil Service Commission
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