The government says they’re both.

But under the present state of the law, they cannot be charged with rebellion and still stand trial for murder. Murder, and all other incidental crimes related to rebellion, will be subsumed in the latter charge. And while the Penal Code allows separate prosecutions for either murder or rebellion, rebels cannot be charged for both where the indictment alleges that the former has been committed in furtherance of or in connection with the latter.

The Ampatuans can literally get away with murder if they know how.

However, most people know them to be just plain murderous cutthroats.

So what happens now ? Read the rest of this entry »

So martial law in Maguindanao has been lifted. It was just a very clever ruse all along. It hate to say it, but the entire exercise was masterfully done. Practically the entire country has been outfoxed yet again by GMA and her gang. It would now appear that the main objective of the week-long declaration of military rule in the province was to neutralize the still-formidable Ampatuan forces accused of carrying out mass killings to keep the clan in power. And it looks to have worked. It has been reported that at least a total of 529 people involved in an alleged rebellion (the primary ground for declaring martial law), including key Ampatuan family members, leaders and supporters, have been placed under military or police custody. All with little or no bloodshed.

Arroyo knew that the proclamation of martial law had no factual basis and would have eventually been exposed as a sham, if not by Congress, then by the Supreme Court. Hence, the immediate lifting which now renders all the challenges hurled at it moot and academic.

Of course, much of the hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth were entirely justified. Nobody really knows what Arroyo has up her sleeve. Read the rest of this entry »

Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard bearer Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro has been quoted as saying that he will run a “positive campaign.” No mud-slinging and black propaganda. Presumably, this means no dirty tricks, no “dag-dag bawas”. This is what he says and he may actually mean it. Whether this will actually come to pass is another matter, contingent on a number of factors, like how desperate the administration is to have its candidate win.

For whatever reason I can’t explain, I believe he’s sincere. He looks and sounds like a decent and upright fellow. He was a year or two younger than me in law school and although we were never friends, or even acquaintances, he came across as quiet and self-effacing. Brilliant academically. He was certainly not political, as politics was defined in U.P. during the 80’s, despite his formidable political pedigree.

But going by the recent surveys, his chance of becoming president by votes alone ranges from slim to nil. According to Pulse Asia, 79% of the respondents said they would “surely not vote for” (43 percent) and “probably not vote for” (36 percent) a presidential candidate endorsed by Ms Arroyo. The widely-perceived and well-founded “kiss of death” from GMA. Read the rest of this entry »

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has announced her candidacy for a congressional seat in the 2nd District of Pampanga, to no one’s great surprise. She needs to stay in power by some machination if she is to withstand the legal and political challenges she will face as soon as she steps down from the presidency in May. It’s a matter of survival and one can readily understand her motives if not her morals. It’s unprecedented to slide down from the highest elective post in the land to a be a congressperson but it’s the only constitutionally-open door to her at this point. Such a move is entirely consistent with her character of shameless audacity. Read the rest of this entry »

As of now.

Ask yourself, how well do you know him ? His advocacies ? What issues are he passionate about ? Like me, I suspect that most people would draw a blank when asked about Noynoy Aquino, apart from the fact that he is the only son of Ninoy and Cory Aquino.

Noynoy himself, and his handlers, have not been shy about playing the Ninoy-Cory card. Says Liberal Party 2010 campaign manager Florencio “Butch” Abad: “Senator Aquino will not turn his back on the legacy of his parents”. In a press conference prior to his going on a weekend retreat do seek divine guidance for his political plans, Noynoy said “yes” when asked if he would carry on the fight started by his parents. What this “fight” is all about in concrete terms, he does not say although he can be rather smug about his legacy. Says he: “We enjoy popular support all these years because we reflect the interest of freedom-loving Filipinos.”

But if his main selling point is his parentage, wouldn’t we be better off with Kris Aquino, who is undoubtedly more popular and has lived a more drama-filled life than her bland and balding brother ? It would certainly make for a more interesting campaign, at the very least. Read the rest of this entry »