Perfectly Legal*

Legal. Naaayon sa batas. Ilan ito sa mga halimbawa:

1. Legal ang pag-upo ni Palparan sa Kongreso kahit na may batayan ang akusasyon na imbwelto sya sa pagkawala ng mga UP students na sina Sherlyn Cadapan at Karen Empeno. Mayroon ding bakas ng dugo nina Eddie Gumanoy at Eden Marcellana ang kanyang mga kamay.

Sherlyn Cadapan at Karen Empeno, nawawala pa rin!

Layunin ng Party List na magkaroon ng representasyon sa Kongreso ang mga marginalized na sektor ng lipunan. Si Palparan ay magiging kinatawan Bantay, ang Party List ng mga "True Marcos Loyalists". Siya ay magiging boses diumano ng "sectors engaged in security and peace and order concerns”. Hindi ba't ito na mismo ang mga tauhan ng gobyernong kung tawagin ay Pulis at Militar. Ah, oo, kailangang magkaroon ng mga mambabatas mula sa sektor na ito, hindi kasi sila nabibigyan ng prayoridad.

Palparan, Berdugo!

2. Kaugnay nito, legal din ang pagdaragdag ng isa pang Arroyo sa Kongreso. Isa sa mga bagong Party List Representative si Lourdes Arroyo, hipag ni Gloria mismo. Sabi ng Malakanyang, legal nga rin ang pagkakaroon ng dalawang Cayetano sa Senado...so anong problema?

3. Wala pa raw namang naghahain ng Cetificate of Candidacy kaya legal din ang mga personal ads ng mga aspiring tumakbo. Hindi naman kasi ata obvious kung ano ang pinopromote ng ads na ito. Masagot kaya nila nang buong linaw kung saan nagmumula ang pondo para sa airtime ng mga ito?

4. Legal ang pang-aarestong ginawa sa mga kapatid ni Trina Etong, asawa ng broadcaster na si Ted Failon. At uulitin ko ang sintemyento ng nakararami, laluna niyong mga nakapanood ng video footage ng panghuhuli: kung kay Ted Failon nagagawa ito ng awtoridad, paano pa sa mga mamamayang walang suporta ng ABS-CBN, gaya ko, halimbawa.

5. And finally, legal ang pwersahang pakikipagtalik sa mga babaeng hindi naman tunay na "demure provinciana lass". Ayon sa Court of Appeals, ang rape ay maaari ring tawaging "spontaneous, unplanned romantic episode" kung saan kasalanan mo pang napagsamantalahan ka dahil sa iyong "indecorous behavior".

they've set the rapist free

Legal ang pumatay ng tao, ang nepotismo, ang pangmalakasang pangangampanya maski hindi ito napapanahon, ang pangdarahas at ang panggagahasa.

Hindi lahat ng legal tama, hindi lahat ng ilegal ay masama.

*Nasambit ito ng aming VP noong nakipag-usap sya sa team namin noong nakaraang araw. Tungkol ito sa forced overtime sa aming department noong holy week. Sabi nya, "Although it's perfectly legal, we will not do (10-hour shifts) again." Hindi umano "convenient" para sa mga agent ang ganoong set-up kaya hindi na uulitin pa. Gayunman, hindi rin babayaran ang OT na iyon.

March 2009

A few days are left before the third month ends.

On a more personal, "chummy" thought, I have treasured March as my family's birthmonth: my Dad, Mom and siblings were born on the 1st two weeks of this month. Likewise, and more importantly, March is celebrated as the Women's month.

This year, March has been filled with significant agitating events.

Here's what made March 2009 different:

March 1 - My sister, Wena's birthday
March 4 - My Tita Luz's birthday
March 4 - Rebelyn Pitao left home for work and never returned
March 5 - My brother Ryan's birthday
March 5 - Rebelyn was found dead in an irrigation ditch
March 6 - Francis M passed away
March 7 - Eraserheads Reunion Concert (I really needed to include this)
March 8 - International Women's Day
March 11 - My mother's birthday
March 12- Nicole signed the controversial sworn statement
March 14 - My father's birthday
March 14 - Rebelyn's burial march
March 17- Nicole's statement was published by the PDI, along with her real name and picture
March 19 - Jalosjos, a convicted rapist sentenced to two life terms, was released from the Bilibid prison after serving only 13 years
March 24 - VJ Rubio, a former Philippine Collegian staff, was killed for reasons yet unknown


What an irony this has been: 3 major issues pertaining to violence against women are highlighted this month. And we have a woman president who tolerates and coddles the perpetrators.

Let us not condemn Nicole

This past couple of days, Nicole's affidavit has graced the news a few many times. Opinions have been drawn that it just feels right to write about it. After all, I have been reading a lot of derogatory statements about Nicole already, and it is sad to say the least.

I feel bad for Nicole. I stand by my statement that she remains the victim. She has been judged long before the guilty verdict came out a few years back. It has been a long and hard struggle for her. Sya na nga ang ginahasa, kailangan pa nyang patunayan ito sa harap nang korte at nang buong bansa. This has been the dilemma of rape victims, having talked to a few myself. Then, there are those who just keep the crime to themselves. But that is a different story altogether. What made this case all the more controversial is the person who raped Nicole. Who is Daniel Smith?

All we have to know is that he is a member of the most powerful Armed Forces in the world, worse, he is protected by an onerous treaty: the Visiting Forces Agreement. He is detained at the US Embassy, not really having a rough time. As the case unfolded, the defense painted a picture of Nicole as a woman with loose morals. A whore. They claimed that the sex that took place was consensual. Ginusto mo naman eh, pero ngayon, nagrereklamo ka. Imagine the pain this woman endured for years.

Nicole has her reasons why she gave up. Who are we to castigate her? If I, or anyone else, was in her shoes, can I go through the same ordeal: weathering the tough cross-examination, media scrutiny and the tremendous pressure put on her by the US and RP governments? Would it be very hard to understand why she wanted to move on, why she wanted to go somewhere where she hopes no one would recognize her as the woman raped by the US serviceman?

She was judged then and is still being judged now. Let us not condemn Nicole. Let her be.