Category: Malaya

Scary cop

Ellen Leave a comment

Marantan: bloodied hands. Thanks to Philippine Star for photo.

Police officers are supposed to protect life and property.

Their being armed is supposed to protect citizens from lawless elements. It goes without saying that they should have a high value for life and respect for human rights.

That’s why we hope and pray that Police Supt. Hansel Marantan is an exception in the police force.

Consider his notorious record:

On Nov. 7, 2005, operatives of the national police Traffic Management Group killed Francis Xavier Manzano, Anton Cu-Unjieng and Brian Anthony Dulay while inside a maroon Nissan Exalta at the Ortigas Business District in Pasig City.

Police said they were suspected members of the Valle Verde car theft gang and that they were under surveillance for sometime before that fateful day when they were stopped at a checkpoint. Police said the three opened fire at them.

Their claim would have passed if not for UNTV crew who happened to be there and took video of what turned out to be cold-blooded murder.

The UNTV video showed police operatives shooting at the suspects at close range, brutally pumping bullets from M-16 rifles at the wounded, and the dead.

Video also showed police operatives planting pieces of evidences like handguns and fake car plates in the crime scene.

One of the police officers involved was Senior Inspector Hansel Marantan. Initially, they were suspended in response to public outcry. It didn’t take long before they were re-instated to their posts.

The families of the victims filed murder charges which was downgraded to homicide.

Meanwhile, the officers involved continued to rise in their career. That’s why Marantan is now Police Superintendent.

That’s despite the fact that on Dec. 5, 2008, he was again involved in the brutal shooting of a

Alfonso de Vera, 53, and his 7-year old daughter, Lia Allana at United Parañaque Subdivision 4 in Parañaque.

If Marantan and company still tried to justify the 2005 massacre as a legitimate police operation against a car-jacking syndicate (which families of the victims deny), there was no way that they could cook up a justification for the murders of De Vera and his daughter.

De Vera was a returning seaman and he was on his way to fetch his wife in Pasay City. It turned out that the policemen mistook his car, Isuzu Crosswind SUV, for a getaway vehicle of Waray-Waray and Ozamiz gangs which they were running after.

De Vera tried to plead with the police officers who mercilessly gunned him down. His vehicle had 80 bullet holes.

What kind of training do these policemen have?

We hope and pray that authorities get to the bottom not only of the Jan. 6 Atimonan massacre but also the past incidents involving Marantan.

Police officers are supposed to give citizens a feeling of safety. We don’t feel safe with Marantan. We are scared.

Urgent call for gun control

Ellen Leave a comment

As always, we need to be violently jolted to do what is needed to be done. Whether the three recent incidents are harrowing enough for our authorities and lawmakers to move remain to be seen.

Bodies strewn after the gunbattle.

Last Sunday, 13 people died in a gun battle in Atimonan, Quezon. The reports get uglier as the root of the shootout or rubout is being uncovered. Three of those killed were members of the Philippine National Police and another three had identification cards of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Reports said the killings have something to do with jueteng.

Reports said authorities recovered from the vehicles 11 .45 ca. pistols, a 9 mm pistol, an M14 rifle and an M16 carbine.

Last Friday, a defeated candidate for barangay captain, Ronald Bae, went on a rampage with his .45 cal. Gun in Kawit, Cavite killing eight people including a pregnant woman, two children and a taho vendor who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Despite repeated reminders that it is prohibited to fire guns to celebrate New Year, there were still victims of stray bullets. The lives of Ranjelo Nimer and Nicole Ella were all cut short in their childhood because there are people, devoid of sense and conscience.

One of the 20 bills related to gun control pending in Congress is Senate Bill #13 authored by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV filed in 2010.

Titled “Gun Control Act of 2010”, the bill calls for tighter gun control and stiffer penalties for unlawful possession, acquisition and disposition of firearms particularly by public officials whether in civilian or in military, police or law enforcement service.

Trillanes: knows the menace of loose firearms

A former member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the misuse of arms has always been a concern of Trillanes.

It will be recalled that one of the issues they raised when he and more than 300 officers and soldiers rebelled against Gloria Arroyo on July 27, 2003 in what was known as the Oakwood Mutiny was the sale of AFP firearms to enemies of the government.

Those were the very same weapons that were killing them, they deplored the irregularity.

In Trillanes’ bill, the Philippines National Police is mandated to create a “Firearms and Ammunitions Database” which shall also include ballistic records of all firearms in the possession of private individuals, legal entities and government agencies to prevent these firearms from being used in crime or falling into the wrong hands.”

The bill also requires that “All firearms in the government arsenal of the Armed Forces of the Philippines shall, without exception, be registered in the Firearms and Explosives Division of the PNP.”

A penalty of life imprisonment shall be imposed on violators who are members of the AFP,PNP or any government employee or official, whether elective of appointive.

The current outcry is good. But we can’t help echo the song of Peter, Paul and Mary:
“Yes, how many deaths will it take till he knows, That too many people have died ?”

We hope the answer will not just be blown by the wind.

Amended petition vs Cybercrime law underscores unconstitutionality of libel

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Anti-Cybercrime law rally at Supreme Court Oct 2012. Photo by Mario Ignacio of VERA Files.

Last week, we amended our petition against the Cybercrimes Prevention Act of 2012 (R.A 10175) to have it declared wholly as unconstitutional.

Please click here for:

Amended Petition

“We” refers to our group VERA Files and fellow petitioners namely Davao-based radio broadcaster radio broadcaster Alexander Adonis, lawyers/bloggers Harry Roque, Romel Bagares, and Gilbert Andres, legal officer of Media Defense Southeast Asia.

Our earlier petition filed last Sept 28 asked the Court to declare only the provision of the Cybercrimes Prevention Law on libel as being unconstitutional. In our amended petition, we asked the Supreme Court to expressly declare Art. 355 of the Revised Penal Code providing for the crime of libel also to be unconstitutional.

As explained by our lawyers, Harry Roque and Romel Bagares of The Center for International Law and the Southeast Asia Media Defense, “We’ve had to clarify that pursuant to the View of the UN Human Rights Committee in Adonis vs. Republic of the Philippines, libel under the Revised Penal Code is contrary to freedom of expression. In its annual report this year on the Philippines, the UN Human Rights Committee also decried that instead of complying with this view and repeal Art 355 of the RPC, the Philippines even expanded the coverage of libel through the Cybercrime Prevention Act.”

Roque said, “It is important to have both libel under the RPC and under the new law be declared as illegal. Prior to the amended petition, the petition only asked the Court to indirectly declare the ordinary crime of libel as unconstitutional by implication. Since Art. 355 was reproduced by way of reference in the definition of electronic libel with the additional element that it should have been published electronically, it is incumbent for the Court to also consider the issue of whether ordinary libel is constitutional. The amended petition was necessary since the law does not favor implied declarations of unconstitutionality.”

Our petition is one of the 15 filed against the Cybercrime law signed by President Aquino on Sept. 13, 2012. The Supreme Court issued a 120-day temporary restraining order on the implementation of the law that has generated widespread concern on its effect on basic freedoms. The High Court has scheduled oral arguments on Jan. 15.

Our petition stressed on the human rights issue of the law especially the provision on libel. Our co-petitioner Adonis was imprisoned for three years after he was convicted for libel in a suit filed by former House Speaker Prospero Nograles.

Nograles brought the suit against Adonis in 2001 over a radio report citing newspaper accounts that the congressman was seen running naked in a Manila hotel shortly after the husband of a woman he was allegedly having an affair with caught them in bed.

Adonis was sentenced to four years and six months in prison.

With the help of Atty. Roque, he questioned his imprisonment for libel as a violation of his right to free expression and brought it to the UN Human Rights Committee, which declared that criminal libel in the Philippines conflicts with the country’s obligations under Art. 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

According to the United Nations, Philippine criminal libel is contrary to Art. 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights because it is disproportionate to the ends that it seeks, that is, the protection of privacy of private individuals; and that there are an alternative in the form of civil libel.

Roque said those whose right to privacy may be violated by the media after criminal libel is declared unconstitutional or repealed by a law of Congress can still have recourse to a civil case for damages and recourse to the media’s self-regulating mechanisms such as the Philippine Press Institute for the print media and the Kapisanan ng Brodkasters ng Pilipinas for radio and television.

Our petition against the Cybercrime Prevention Act is the only petition that challenges the constitutionality of libel law in the country. Roque said: “We’re excited to argue this issue since we believe that there are now changed circumstances to warrant a reversal of previous Supreme Court decisions upholding the legality of libel. Some of these include our ratification of the ICCPR itself and the View of the UN Human Rights Committee.”

Meet an honest person

Ellen Leave a comment

Update: Jason texted me yesterday that All Around Services and Merchandising renewed his job contract. He was so thankful and happy.

Jason Miranda

I finally met the guy who found my cell phone and turned it over the Customer Service of Southmall. He is truly admirable.

Jason Miranda, 25, a janitor employed with All Around Services and Merchandising Corporation, services provider to companies, is assigned at Southmall in Las Pinas.

He said he found my cell phone on the floor near Counter 20 in the Supermarket. It must have fallen off my bag when I stooped to pick up the grocery paper bag that I dropped. I thought I was a victim of a pickpocket much more so because I returned to Counter 20 when I discovered that my phone was gone and the cashier said no phone was left there.

This happened about 3 pm of Dec. 19.

Jason said he immediately turned over my cellphone to the Customer Service of Southmall Supermarket. A lady called me up Friday morning, Dec. 21, to inform me that they have my cell phone. She said they looked at my phone directory and found my residential landline. She also said someone attempted to claim the phone but couldn’t give the number when they asked him. It just shows that as there are good people like Jason, there are also bad elements quick to seize opportunities to profit from the misfortune of others.

When I claimed my phone, Jason had already left for home . When I returned Saturday, it was his day-off.

Finally last Wednesday we were able to meet. We talked for a while and I learned that his contract with All Around Services is only up to Dec. 31, 2012. He is worried that his services may not be renewed because he had been tardy a number of times.

I asked him the reason for his tardiness which, I told him, is a bad working habit. He said he lives in Taguig and there are a lot of things that he had to attend to. But he said, if he is given a chance to continue working, he will not be late any more.”Ipinapangako ko po hindi na ako mali-late.”

“Medyo malayo po ang bahay pero masaya po ako sa work ko (I live far from work but I’m happy with my work.)” he said.

I volunteered to talk to the Human Resource manager of All Around, Che Pesigan, who explained that like all other contractual workers, Jason’s services are for a certain period. But it may be renewed. MAY.

Pesigan said they stress the importance of honesty to all their employees and they are glad that Jason practiced it.

Jason said they are eight brothers and sisters and he is a co-breadwinner in the family with his father. He is single. “Gusto ko muna tumulong sa mga magulang ko at mga kapatid (I want to help my parents and my brothers and sisters.),” he said. He said he is sending a pamangkin (niece/nephew) to school.

What Jason did proves that poverty is not an excuse to be dishonest. What he did re-affirms one’s faith in the goodness of man.
***
Another nice aside to this story: before I got my cell phone back, a friend, upon learning that I lost my Blackberry, gave me one. I’m keeping it as a spare. Thank you very much.
***
Everyone I have told that my lost cell phone was returned said it’s a “miracle” these days when incidents of theft are common occurrences.

Edna Ledesma shared her experience with pickpockets in Southmall:

“I came across your article through someone’s post in Facebook. I just want to let you know how lucky you are to have gotten your cellphone back, because I had 2 unfortunate experiences at SM Southmall.

“Sometime last year, I went to Southmall with my granddaughter. After opening my bag for the security check at the entrance, we rode the escalator to the third floor. We went to Toy Kingdom to look around, and then proceeded to the Food Court to buy some French fries. When I reached into my bag for my wallet, it was not there! That was only about 15 to 20 minutes since we arrived at the mall, and the only places we had been to were the security check, the escalator, and Toy Kingdom. I decided to go home right away, and check if I left my wallet at home. Unfortunately, it was not there.

So I started calling the banks and credit card companies where I had accounts with to inform them that the cards were lost. I also called the security of Southmall to check if anyone had returned the wallet. I was hoping that whoever it was who got it would leave the cards and IDs and just get the cash. However, I got a negative answer. So I had to get a new driver’s license, SSS ID, senior citizen’s card, credit cards (at P400 each!) and ATM cards. What a hassle!

“Then early this year, I was at the Ladies Shoes department of SM Southmall when someone sent me a message on my cellphone. So I took it out of my bag to read the message. After reading it, I put back the cellphone in my bag, and went around looking at the shoe displays. About ten minutes later, I checked my bag to get my cellphone, and surprise – it had disappeared! I didn’t bother to report the loss to the SM Security.

“So you see, after these two experiences, I really think you are soooooo lucky!”

Meet an honest person

Ellen Leave a comment

Jason Miranda: the guy who found my cellphone

I finally met the guy who found my cell phone and turned it over the Customer Service of Southmall. He is truly admirable.

Jason Miranda, 25, a janitor employed with All Around Services and Merchandising Corporation, services provider to companies, is assigned at Southmall in Las Pinas.

He said he found my cell phone on the floor near Counter 20 in the Supermarket. It must have fallen off my bag when I stooped to pick up the grocery paper bag that I dropped. I thought I was a victim of a pickpocket much more so because I returned to Counter 20 when I discovered that my phone was gone and the cashier said no phone was left there.

This happened about 3 pm of Dec. 19.

Jason said he immediately turned over my cellphone to the Customer Service of Southmall Supermarket. A lady called me up Friday morning, Dec. 21, to inform me that they have my cell phone. She said they looked at my phone directory and found my residential landline. She also said someone attempted to claim the phone but couldn’t give the number when they asked him. It just shows that as there are good people like Jason, there are also bad elements quick to seize opportunities to profit from the misfortune of others.

When I claimed my phone, Jason had already left for home . When I returned Saturday, it was his day-off.
Finally last Wednesday we were able to meet. We talked for a while and I learned that his contract with All Around Services is only up to Dec. 31, 2012. He is worried that his services may not be renewed because he had been tardy a number of times.

I asked him the reason for his tardiness which, I told him, is a bad working habit. He said he lives in Taguig and there are a lot of things that he had to attend to. But he said, if he is given a chance to continue working, he will not be late any more. ““Ipinapangako ko po hindi na ako mali-late.”

“Medyo malayo po ang bahay pero masaya po ako sa work ko. Gusto ko pa magpatuloy magtrabaho dito. (I live far from work but I’m happy with my work. I want to continue working here.)” he said.

I volunteered to talk to the Human Resource manager of All Around Services, Che Pesigan, who explained that like all other contractual workers, Jason’s services are for a certain period. But it may be renewed. MAY.

Pesigan said they stress the importance of honesty to all their employees and they are glad that Jason practiced it.

Jason said they are eight brothers and sisters and he is a co-breadwinner in the family with his father, who is also a janitor. He is single. “Gusto ko muna tumulong sa mga magulang ko at mga kapatid (I want to help my parents and my brothers and sisters.),” he said. He said he is sending a pamangkin (niece/nephew) to school.

What Jason did proves that poverty is not an excuse to be dishonest. What he did re-affirms one’s faith in the goodness of man.
***
Another nice aside to this story: before I got my cell phone back, a friend, upon learning that I lost my Blackberry, gave me one. I’m keeping it as a spare. Thank you very much.
***
Everyone I have told that my lost cell phone was returned said it’s a “miracle” these days when incidents of theft are common occurrences.

Edna Ledesma shared her experience with pickpockets in Southmall:

“I came across your article through someone’s post in Facebook. I just want to let you know how lucky you are to have gotten your cellphone back, because I had 2 unfortunate experiences at SM Southmall.

“Sometime last year, I went to Southmall with my granddaughter. After opening my bag for the security check at the entrance, we rode the escalator to the third floor. We went to Toy Kingdom to look around, and then proceeded to the Food Court to buy some French fries. When I reached into my bag for my wallet, it was not there! That was only about 15 to 20 minutes since we arrived at the mall, and the only places we had been to were the security check, the escalator, and Toy Kingdom. I decided to go home right away, and check if I left my wallet at home. Unfortunately, it was not there. So I started calling the banks and credit card companies where I had accounts with to inform them that the cards were lost. I also called the security of Southmall to check if anyone had returned the wallet. I was hoping that whoever it was who got it would leave the cards and IDs and just get the cash. However, I got a negative answer. So I had to get a new driver’s license, SSS ID, senior citizen’s card, credit cards (at P400 each!) and ATM cards. What a hassle!

“Then early this year, I was at the Ladies Shoes department of SM Southmall when someone sent me a message on my cellphone. So I took it out of my bag to read the message. After reading it, I put back the cellphone in my bag, and went around looking at the shoe displays. About ten minutes later, I checked my bag to get my cellphone, and surprise – it had disappeared! I didn’t bother to report the loss to the SM Security.

“So you see, after these two experiences, I really think you are soooooo lucky!”