MARCOS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GIVEN A HERO'S BURIAL

By Bayawanon

Under the rules of statutory construction. a Municipal Law would always reign supreme over International Law if there is a conflict between the two.
It is very clear that if the provisions of the International Law on Human Rights shall be followed which the then Philippine dictator Ferdinand Augustus Edralin Marcos, Sr. had violated then the same would not be given a hero's burial since he would then be classified as a human rights violator and not a hero.

Under the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Regulation G-161-373, the then strongman Marcos is qualified to be given a hero's burial since he met all of the qualifications like being a former head of state, a medal of and valor awardee and a former soldier, but does he has any of the disqualifications?

Basing on the facts given, there would be a legal issue that we would tackle here, and the issue is this ... is there a conflict between International Law and Municipal Law in this case at hand? My answer would then be in the negative since there is no conflict between both International and Municipal Laws in this regard since the AFP Regulation G-161-373 would not be considered as a law but only a mere military regulation. For the same regulation to be given a TEETH it should have passed both the two chambers of congress (House of Senate and House of Representatives) and became a law for it to be considered as one.

For this reason there is no conflict between both International and Municipal Laws here, since in the first place the subject military regulation by the Armed Forces of the Philippines would not be considered a law in this regard, and it is very clear like the sun rises in the east and sets in the west that the former deposed national leader had committed atrocities against the people against the International Law on Human Rights.

Because the subject military regulation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines would not be considered a statute and under International Law on Human Rights it is but fitting that any dictator, strongman or human rights violator should not be given a hero's burial for the same would constitute a mockery of justice.
As to the issue on whether or not he was not dishonorably discharged as a soldier, my answer is in the AFFIRMATIVE since as a former president he was the commander in chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, thus technically he was a soldier during the time that he was taken out of power by the sovereign Filipino in EDSA sometimes on January, 1986 and such a happening would even be considered MORE THAN a dishonorable discharge from military service.

By virtue of the foregoing premises, it is my humble view that Ferdinand Augustus Edralin Marcos, Sr. is ineligible to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani for he does not deserved the honor of being a hero since giving a hero's burial to the undeserved would mean an affront and insult the the human rights victims in particular and to JUSTICE in general.

CAN THERE BE HEALING?

By Bayawanon

His Excellency Rodrigo Roa Duterte reasoned out that there can be healing among the divided Filipinos if the then strongman Ferdinand Edralin Marcos of Batac be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Can there be really healing when the people are still divided? Nine Supreme Court justices, almost the same justices who were appointed by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo an ally of Duterte who absolved Arroyo from the case of plunder, ruled in favor of Marcos' burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Days after the rendition of the highest tribunal of its decision and without waiting for the result of the Motion for Reconsideration filed by the petitioners, the Marcos family decided for the interment of their patriarch at the Heroes' Cemetery just recently. The people protested as a result and the protests are simply sprouting from the different places of the country. The question now is this ... is this the HEALING that President Duterte would like us to see?

Now, it is for the people to judge whether or not our President Rodrigo Roa Duterte had discerned with all his heart, mind and soul regarding his decision to bury Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. If the people feel like the president committed a grave abuse of his discretion as the supreme leader of the country in his decision to order the interment of Marcos in the hallowed grounds of the heroes' final resting place, then let there be a gargantuan protest against him to reconsider his decision to bury Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani for a dictator does not deserve any honor from the people he had betrayed.

In connection to this, I hope and pray that the good president will always consult the people in cases like these, for failure to consult the people in national issues as gigantic as this would mean uselessness on the part of the people of electing their supreme national leader who they feel like their hero who would save them from the abyss of hopelessness.

FORGIVENESS AND JUSTICE ARE TWO DIFFERENT VIRTUES

By Bayawanon

FORGIVENESS and JUSTICE are two different virtues, the human rights victims may have moved on and have FORGIVEN Ferdinand Edralin Marcos for the atrocities he had committed during his reign as virtual strongman of the Philippines for twenty (20) years, but there must be JUSTICE, and I believe that denying him to be buried at the LIBINGAN NG MGA BAYANI is part of justice, after all he is not a hero.

Yes as Christians, we must and should forgive our enemies but it does not mean that we don't have to seek for retribution of the violations of our enemies. Our legal system was founded by our authorities to seek and find justice, why not make use of it? Majority of our historians would tell us that indeed Marcos had sinned against the Filipino people, as Christians we are mandated by the teachings of the church to forgive, but does that mean that we have to simply let him go for the faults he had committed against the people?

The Filipino people cannot let him go to jail since after three (3) years he left office by way of that "PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION' he died, can you let a dead man go to court and face the criminal charges filed against him when he was still alive? Because of this JUSTICE is very elusive for the human rights victims. Now, the government had decide to give him a hero's burial and indeed he was successfully buried by supporters two days ago, is this the JUSTICE that the human rights victims are waiting from the government?

It is true that Marcos can be qualified to be given a HERO'S BURIAL on three grounds to wit: 1) That he was a President; 2)That he was a soldier and 3) That he was a Medal of Valor Awardee, but these facts were superseded by a supervening event and that is the human rights violations he committed in his incumbency as the undisputed national leader of the Philippines specifically from 1972-1986. On those years plenty were killed and plenty went missing because of political reasons and he was responsible for those happenings for it happened because of his MARTIAL RULE, now can the burial of Marcos would give JUSTICE to the victims of human rights or would simply give honor to his family who is asking it for years?

CRITICISMS ARE CHALLENGES TO DO BETTER

By Bayawanon

When David challenged Goliath to fight him, everyone in his camp was raising his eyebrows for they believe that it was impossible for the former to beat the latter, however the future King of Israel in the person of the diminutive David easily defeated Goliath with his sling shot. David had proven his critics wrong because he took the criticisms as a challenge in doing and fighting better against the giant from Philistine.

Bill Clinton was accused of sexual offenses when he was Governor of Arkansas and as President of the United States of America. He was impeached by the members of the United States House of Representatives but was acquitted by the U.S. Senators, and after his two terms as president he left a very healthy economy in the tune of 1.3 trillion dollars surplus national budget.
These examples would be a good guide for the current Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to succeed as a national leader and to effectively function as such despite the many criticisms he is facing at this juncture in the Philippine Political arena.

Such success stories can also be a good model for everyone of us who are struggling in our daily lives as politicians, servant-leaders, ordinary government employees, ordinary citizens, etc. to do better in the midst of criticisms and adversities. Anyone must not be onion skinned regarding the tests of criticisms for it would instead season and strengthen you to be a better person.

I hope that our good national leader His Excellency Rodrigo Roa Duterte would do a David and/or a Clinton, take the criticisms of his detractors lightly and use it as tools for him to deliver the expectations of the people who voted and supported him and not be short tempered, indecisive because of criticisms, otherwise he would fall in the pages of the annals of history as a lame duck president or a paper tiger supreme leader of the Philippine islands.

DON'T BEFRIEND A TYRANT

By Bayawanon

In some ways China is already democratizing, thanks to that failed 1989 Tiananmen Square people power uprising which resulted to the massacre of hundreds if not thousands of young students who were just clamoring for change. After that failed Tiananmen cry, the Chinese Communist Government improved its service regarding the delivery of the basic goods and services to the people, the citizens are given the right to travel by the government and many of them have already indulged in business. The effective governance has somehow silenced the critics and dissidents of the government. Another rationale why the would be oppositionists won't question the government is the fear of reprisal and the possibility of another bloody massacre in exchange of freedom.

Because of the lifting of the prohibition to travel of the Chinese socialist-communist government to its citizens, the massive industrialization of the same and the government's condonation of business activities of its citizens, some of us would assume that China is now in the process of democratization.

Is China now a democratic country? My answer is in the negative on three grounds to wit: 1) The Chinese government does not observe press freedom; 2) There is only one political party in the country which is the Communist Party of China and 3) There is a glaring suppression of religious freedom in the red state. Because of these, I can still safely claim that China is still a communist-socialist country.

So why would the Philippines befriend China when in truth and in fact it is still a communist country? Will the Philippines not weigh the advantages and disadvantages it may get from China? I believe that the mending of fences between the two countries would do great favor to the collossal country and would do more harm to the Philippines since through the passage of many Chinese in the Philippines, the latter may not effectively check the entrant Chinese communist agents who may eventually aid their ill equipped Filipino counterparts, and if that happens the communist insurgency may continue in the Philippines.

As China grows stronger, eventually becoming a geopolitical hegemon and a world super power, it starts to flex its muscles not just in the West Philippine Sea nee' South China Sea. She starts to own islands not belonging to her from the islands proximate to Japan to the Paracels, to the Spratlys down to the Natuna island of Indonesia thereby owning almost all of the West Philippine Sea and part of the Sea of Japan. In connection to these, the supreme leader of our state, the president of the Philippines should think over his decision to coalesce with this hegemon since the same is purely a WORLD TYRANT which is a threat to democracy and universal peace.

CHINA-PHILIPPINE ALLIANCE IS INSANE

By Bayawanon

The Philippines is actually crossing her Rubicon by way of the representation of probably the most popular Filipino president in Philippine history, His Excellency Rodrigo Duterte when the latter has declared that he is going to leave the United States of America, the Philippines' biggest ally to the limbo of oblivion, because of this there will be a realignment of international political alliances between America, the Philippines and China which I believe would be catastrophic on the Philippine side, since I believe the Philippines' decision to leave her alliance with U. S. and side with China wold be inimical to the interest of the Philippines.

I believe that the new China-Philippine Alliance has five disadvantages to the Philippine side to wit:

1) The DRUG PROBLEM the Philippines is facing may not be solved since most of the exporters of drugs to the Philippines are usually Chinese who may have easy access to the Philippine soil if the China-Philippine Alliance would soon be finalized;

2) The territorial claims of the Philippines regarding the Spratlys may probably be abandoned by the same since the Philippines would then be under the Chinese influence,and for the former to continue good relations with China the same may probably give way to the latter in order for the Philippines to secure good favors from China;

3) Chinese businessmen may proliferate in the Philippines if the alliance between China and Philippines would push through, and that would result to the disadvantage of the Filipino entrepreneurs since the Chinese businessmen can easily come to the Philippines and be a competitor against the Filipinos in the field of commerce which would clearly contravene to the FILIPINO FIRST POLICY an economic policy of the then President Carlos P. Garcia;

4) China as a communist country may transform the Philippines as its satellite state and may transform the Philippines as a communist country in the future. As we all know COMMUNISM prohibits free enterprise, freedom to travel, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, private ownership, etc. and these factors would probably affect our ideals and aspirations as a democratic country and people.

5) The United States of America our biggest ally may abandon the Philippines, because of this the Mutual Defense Treaty between the U.S. and the Philippines may be abrogated by the former and the latter may not received military or economic succor from the U.S. Just imagine that the long standing relations of the United States and the Philippines has been strong through the test of tough times for the past (118) one hundred eighteen years and this friendship may be averted because of the impending entente between China and the Philippines.

In conjunction to these, I am appealing to the supreme leader of the Republic of the Philippines the President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to reconsider his decision to abandon the Philippines' friendship with the United States of America and coalesce with China for the disadvantages of the same outweigh its advantages. I hope and pray that he would heed this appeal for the greater glory of the greatest number of people who inhabit the "Pearl of the Orient", the Republic of the Philippines. So be it.

POLITICAL INSANITY

By Bayawanon

The Philippines is now suffering from too much POLITICAL INSANITY. Imagine the people do not know how to chose good leaders anymore, they can easily be swayed by candidates who would promise them that CHANGE IS REALLY COMING. Now the one that they have voted in office is the very first one to destroy DEMOCRACY in the name of so-called change.

Everybody knows that there is a prevalence of human rights abuses by the State by virtue of killings outside legal procedures and judicial proceedings. People do not care and instead some of them would even tell us that those being killed do not have the right to live since they are undesirable citizens of the country because they are dreaded criminals, drug addicts, drug pushers etc. and the approval rating of the main architect of the human rights abuses in the country is still sky high despite his blunders in economic and foreign policies. He ordered the burial of the former human rights violator himself for the same to be buried at he National Heroes' Cemetery which was eventually permitted by the highest court of the Philippines, the Supreme Court.

Is this the change the people are waiting and asking for from the new national leadership of the Philippines? If the answer is in the negative then it is now high time for the people to think twice and go for the GENUINE CHANGE.
John Locke would tell us in his Political Theory he would dub as "The Social Contract Theory", in this thesis he would mentally condition us that the leaders have the duty to lead us in the right manner and as followers we have to follow them. He would continually politically educate us that the governed and the rulers have that "social contract", that it is incumbent on the leaders to lead the citizens in the right way, since if the same would be hostile, harmful and destructive to the people, the latter have the right to revolt against their leaders.

In conjunction to this, I hope and pray that this scenario would not happen since I love the land of my birth. I don't want a revolution against THE AGENT OF CHANGE, since in a revolution there would be collateral damages, I instead pray that the AGENT OF CHANGE himself be enlightened that what he is doing now is no longer good and healthy for Philippine democracy and I hope further that the people who catapulted him into power would have that political correctness in every time they have to go in polling places come election time.

If the people would get enlightened and would become thinking electors in every election they would join, then political insanity on the part of the FILIPINO can be averted but at the very juncture of the present political page we are facing, I believe that we are still in a stage of POLITICAL INSANITY.

DEAD LETTER EXECUTIVE ORDER?

By Bayawanon

Almost after assumption from office as president of the republic, His Excellency Rodrigo Roa Duterte issued an executive order making true his promise for the passage of the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION, however such executive order is only effective regarding the ambit of the Executive Department only. Be that as it may, such an act is very commendable since it would pave the way for the total transparency of the Philippine bureacracy granting that Congress would pass such a law in due time.

After the issuance of the said executive order, Congress entertained the possibility of the passage of the FOI BILL and after committee hearings, one of the houses of congress (the House of Representatives I believe) has recommended that the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION be passed as a law but with one hundred sixty six (166) exceptions. This development clearly negates the executive order of the president, since the same would not be considered as a law, and the law that is supposed to be passed has many exceptions which would clearly render its spirit ineffectual.

I hope that this development can be corrected by the good president since he is the sole head of the so-called "super majority" in both the House of Senate and the House of Representatives. The president can lobby before both houses of congress to limit the exceptions to few things only through his Presidential Legislative Adviser so as to make the proposed Freedom of Information Bill being envisioned by the majority of the citizens come into fruition so as toi unmasked irregularities in all government institutions, entities, subsidiaries and departments.

As expected the members of the House of Senate and the House of Representatives who have something to protect, for personal purposes make some provisos which may suit to their individual ends, and this must be corrected for it may render the executive order of the respected president regarding the Freedom of Information nugatory if not a DEAD LETTER EXECUTIVE ORDER.