SC to 2013 Bar examinees: No incorrect English, please

 News
Aug 092013
 
SC to 2013 Bar examinees: No incorrect English, please

It almost goes without saying, but the highest court in the land still included it among its tips and guidelines to those who would take the 2013 Bar examinations this October. No carabao English, please. “In many instances, incorrect English is more serious as a problem than the lack of precise knowledge of law, and has been the cause of high failure rates,” the Supreme Court noted as it urged the examinees to polish their English as much as their knowledge of laws. The proper use of English is just one of the guidelines and tips given by the high court to hopeful law graduates who would be taking the mostly-essay type Bar exams at the University of Santo Tomas. In its “Guide and Rules of Conduct to the 2013 Bar Examinations,” the Supreme Court provided Bar examinees pointers on how best to approach the examination, believed to be the most difficult among licensure examinations. “This Guide contains as well the rules that every Bar examinee should observe in his/her conduct during for the examinations for its orderly implementation, taking into account, not only the interests of the Bar examinees, but of the University hosting the examinations, the Bar personnel conducting the examinations, and the public at large,” the SC said. The SC said that since the Bar exam is 80 percent essay type and only 20 percent multiple-choice-question type, “time planning and pacing are essential.” “As a rule, five to six words per line significantly contribute to readability” of Read More …

Supreme Court extends order stopping RH law

 News
Jul 152013
 
Supreme Court extends order stopping RH law

(UPDATED 1:00 p.m.) – In a close vote, Supreme Court justices on Tuesday extended indefinitely the status quo ante order (SQAO) stopping the implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law. The SC imposed a status quo ante order on the law last March, delaying its implementation. The order was supposed to expire on July 17 but the high court extend it on Tuesday. The SC Public Information Office said the justices voted 8-7 to extend the status quo ante (Latin for “the way things were before”) order against the health measure. “SC, voting 8-7, ordered SQAO in RH Law extended until further orders effective immediately,” the SC PIO said. The status quo ante order directs the parties to observe the status or situation before the implementation of the RH law. The controversial law mandates the government to use public to distribute contraceptives, deploy midwives, and teach sex education in elementary among others. The extension came a day before the original 120-day SQA order, issued on March 19, was to expire on Wednesday. In the original SQA order, the justices voted 10-5. The five who dissented in the earlier voting were Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, and Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Mariano del Castillo, Estela Perlas-Bernabe and Marvic Leonen. The second round of oral arguments on the controversial law is scheduled for July 23, when petitioners are expected to continue presenting their arguments against the law, enacted by President Benigno Aquino III in December 2012. During the first day of Read More …

Justices say Supreme Court cannot settle medical issues in RH Law

 News
Jul 092013
 
Justices say Supreme Court cannot settle medical issues in RH Law

CJ Sereno, 13 justices start oral arguments on RH law. Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno (far center) and other Supreme Court justices hear the oral arguments on the Reproductive Health law on Tuesday, July 9. The SC in March suspended the implementation of the RH law, pending a resolution of the 15 petitions against it. Six ‘intervenors’ supporting the law have been allowed by the SC to take part in the debates. Of the 15 magistrates, only Associate Justice Arturo Brion was not present during the oral arguments. Danny Pata Several Supreme Court justices, including Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, agreed that the high court does not seem to be the right forum – at least for now – to contest the controversial Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law. In interpellating lawyer Maria Concepcion Noche, one of the legal counsel for the petitioners, Sereno went as far as saying that if she were to be asked, the high court might have no choice but to exercise “judicial restraint” on the 15 petitions assailing the law. “Are we in a position to supplant moves of Congress on a policy decision?” Sereno asked on the first day of oral arguments on the RH Law’s constitutionality. “Can we say this is a better way? We are limited. First because we are unelected and because we have already defined nets and bounds.” The Supreme Court imposed a status quo ante order on the law last March, delaying its implementation. The order expires on July 17, Read More …

CBCP readies for RH battle before SC, Villegas vows fight for church beliefs

 News
Jul 082013
 
CBCP readies for RH battle before SC, Villegas vows fight for church beliefs

The new leader of the Catholic bishops in the Philippines said Monday they will continue to fight for their church beliefs, including their reasons for opposing the Reproductive Health law.  Incoming Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas stressed this as several lawyers of the 14 anti-RH law petitions attended a Mass in Manila Monday, the eve of the arguments before the Supreme Court. He said it is the Church’s duty to fight for its stand on various issues. “We are NOT social troublemakers.  We are CONSCIENCE troublemakers,” he said with his Twitter account. “We are not a lobby group.  We are not rally organizers.  We are not another NGO.  We are Christ’s followers,” he said in another tweet. Anti-RH activities In a separate article posted on the CBCP news site early Tuesday, Catholic bishops invoked God’s blessings and guidance for lawyers who will argue against the RH law before the Supreme Court. On Tuesday, the anti-RH law lawyers and petitioners are to attend a Mass at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora de Guia in Ermita, Manila at 9 a.m. “Our first support for the SC process will be a Mass and a prayer vigil because that is our first priority. Our first contribution is to show to the world that prayer has power to change the world,” said Villegas. He added there will be a prayer vigil and a Mass “because we believe in the Church that the Mass can change and Read More …

Militant groups ask SC to stop US war games

 News
Jul 022013
 
Militant groups ask SC to stop US war games

By Christine O. AvendañoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 3:18 am | Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013 lipino students burn a mock US flag during a rally in Manila on Tuesday, July 2, 2013. Militant groups on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to stop the United States from holding war games in the country, as well as from making port calls, following the damage wrought in the Tubbataha protected area by one of its Navy warships, the USS Guardian, when it ran aground in January. AP PHOTO/AARON FAVILA MANILA, Philippines—Militant groups on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to stop the United States from holding war games in the country, as well as from making port calls, following the damage wrought in the Tubbataha protected area by one of its Navy warships, the USS Guardian, when it ran aground in January. Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), Kalikasan and other groups filed an urgent motion for a temporary environmental protection order (Tepo) in the high court. In April, they asked for a writ of “kalikasan” on the same case against the US government for the damage in Tubbataha. In an 87-page petition, the groups sought for an ex-parte Tepo or a writ of kalikasan aimed at ordering the respondents led by Scott Swift, commander of the US 7th Fleet, and Mark Rice, commanding officer of the Guardian, “to stop port calls and military exercises in the absence of clear environmental guidelines, duties and liability schemes for breaches of those duties.” The Guardian ran aground in Tubbataha on Read More …

Two justices embroiled in controversies face JBC for top Sandiganbayan post

 News
Jun 202013
 
Two justices embroiled in controversies face JBC for top Sandiganbayan post

Two Sandiganbayan justices who have been embroiled in controversies—one for a widely publicized case and the other in a citizenship row—on Friday faced the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) for their bid to become the next highest official of the anti-graft court. During her interview, Sandiganbayan Justice Teresita Diaz-Baldos of the Second Division stood by her controversial decision to approve the plea bargain agreement of retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, saying it was better than having him acquitted. Garcia was accused of pocketing P303 million while still in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. On March 16, 2010, the Sandiganbayan approved the Ombudsman’s request for Garcia to enter into a plea bargaining agreement that would allow Garcia to plead guilty to two lesser offenses, return around half of what he allegedly stole from government coffers, and post bail. In her JBC interview, Baldos said she thinks the government should be more careful in releasing to the public copies of statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth, saying these can be used to harrass public officials. “There should be guidance in maintaining the confidentiality of these public documents,” Baldos stressed. Citizenship controversy Next to be interviewed was Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Gregory Ong, who earlier became the subject of a citizenship controversy, with Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio questioning Ong’s Filipino citizenship before the Supreme Court due to his Chinese roots. Ong was originally appointed by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, but his appointment was rejected by Read More …

Chamber of Mines files SC motion to nullify Hontiveros petition

 Economy
Jun 202013
 
Chamber of Mines files SC motion to nullify Hontiveros petition

MANILA, Philippines – The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) filed yesterday a motion before the Supreme Court seeking to nullify the petitions filed by former Akbayan partylist Risa Hontiveros and others challenging the constitutionality of revenue-sharing provisions in the Mining Act of 1995. In a statement, the group said it is represented by former Chief Justice Reynato Puno and former Supreme Court Associate Justice Vicente Mendoza. In the petition, which was filed at 3 p.m. last Wednesday, COMP is arguing that the Supreme Court has already decided on the constitutionality of the Mining Act in the landmark La Bugal-B’laan vs. Ramos case in 2004, a decision penned by former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban. “COMP is joining its member respondents in asking that the petitions filed by former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros and others in March 2008 against Sections 80 and 81 of Republic Act 7942, or the Mining Act, be dismissed,” COMP said. COMP argued that since the La Bugal ruling – the longest in Supreme Court history which took six years for the high tribunal to deliberate on – there has been no material change in the circumstances of the Philippine mining industry. “There is no compelling reason for the high tribunal to abandon its previous ruling,” COMP said in its motion. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In their petition, Hontiveros, along with Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casino and others argued that the revenue sharing provision is disadvantageous to the government. Sec. 80 Read More …

Buhay party-list gets 3rd seat, Magdalo its 2nd

 News
Jun 202013
 
Buhay party-list gets 3rd seat, Magdalo its 2nd

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has given back to Buhay and Magdalo party-list groups the seats that were initially taken from them as a result of a Supreme Court order regarding the cases of two disqualified party-list groups.   Buhay was initially guaranteed three seats at the House of Representatives after garnering more than two percent of total votes in the May 13 elections. Magdalo, on the other hand, has two seats. The Comelec, however, took one seat each from the two groups after the Supreme Court ordered the poll body to reserve two seats for Senior Citizens and one seat for Abang Lingkod party-lists, which have pending appeals before the high court. For its third nominee, Buhay will have William Irwin Tieng, whose family owns Solar Entertainment Group, while for Magdalo it would be Francisco Ashley Acedillo, a former Cebu City representative who was involved in the November 2007 Manila Peninsula siege. The other nominees who were not in danger of losing their seats are Mariano Michael Velarde, son of El Shaddai founder Mike Velarde, and former Environment secretary Lito Atienza for Buhay; and Gary Alejano, who was also involved in the Manila Pen siege, for Magdalo. The party-list system is a proportional mode of representation in Congress, which means the number of seats is based on the number of votes per party-list. Party-lists that got two percent of total votes cast are guaranteed a seat. Those that got more than two percent may get additional seats, based on Read More …

Comelec revises protest rules, allows ballot images as evidence

 News
Jun 202013
 
Comelec revises protest rules, allows ballot images as evidence

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has revised its rules on protest cases to allow the using of ballot images as primary evidence. Poll chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said Thursday this would be cheaper than using the paper ballots—which will have to be shipped from the protested precincts and stored at the Comelec warehouse in Cabuyao, Laguna—for manual recount. “Ang matagal noon ‘yung retrieval of ballot boxes and then ang storage,” Brillantes said. “Ngayon you can dispense from all these by simply choosing decryption. You now waive the physical examination of the ballot.” The Comelec so far has received 69 poll cases in connection with the May 13 midterm elections. Every ballot-reading Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine has a removable storage device that stores an image of every ballot inserted by the voters. According to Resolution No. 9720, which amends Resolution No. 8804, “the protestant may… waive the recount of the paper ballots and instead resort to either the decryption and recount of the ballot images.” The protested and counter-protested precincts should be at most 20 percent of total number of precincts “to best illustrate the merits of the protest,” the amended resolution states. Meanwhile, another option for protestants is to “read the rejected ballots only of the entire protested or counter-protested precincts,” the Comelec’s new rules said. The rejected ballots, stored in envelopes after being spoiled, do not have PCOS images. “It’s very possible that these rejected ballots can determine the intent of the voter,” Brillantes said.    For Read More …

A year later, Congress still undecided on who should be sent to JBC

 News
Jun 202013
 
A year later, Congress still undecided on who should be sent to JBC

Congress has yet to decide on who between Sen. Francis Escudero and Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. would represent the legislative branch in the Judicial and Bar Council. The impasse remains almost one year after the Supreme Court has ruled with finality that only one representative, and not two as traditionally observed, should represent Congress in the JBC. Neither Tupaz nor Escudero showed up during Thursday’s JBC interviews of candidates for the vacant presiding justice post at the Sandiganbayan. “They have not resolved with definitiveness as to who will represent. Kasi in accordance with the SC decision which has become final and executory, there will only be one who should represent Congress,” said lawyer Jose Mejia, JBC regular member for the academe. Mejia, however, added that he received information that Tupas and Escudero are already “working it out… to resolve the matter sooner or later.” Asked if the JBC could intervene in deciding who should represent Congress, Mejia said: “It would have to be between them. They should decide themselves.” Mejia said that as a result of the SC ruling, the required majority votes for a candidate to qualify on a JBC shortlist went down from five to four. Mejia said even without a Congress representative, the JBC can still proceed with voting, so long as there is a quorum and the members can muster a majority of four votes. The Supreme Court in July 17 last year sided with a petition by former Solicitor General Francisco Chavez, who questioned Read More …

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