Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

OFW's Drive the Philippines' Foreign Policy as Soft Power

The OFW program is undoubtedly a brain drain program which robs the Philippines of its best and brightest. No rational nation would encourage its workers to leave the nation. But not is all as it seems as the DFA recently made clear.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1217840

Diaspora, or the spreading of Filipinos across the globe along with the Filipino culture, is the country's “soft power”, an official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday.

In diplomacy, soft power is the ability of a nation to influence other nations through attraction and persuasion instead of force or intimidation.

"We send our people or they themselves go without government intervention or support. We deploy our workers, beginning 1973 in the oil crisis, caused by the conflict between Israel and their cousin, the Arabs but not just as workers," DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said during his speech at a multi-stakeholder symposium.

He said these Filipinos sent abroad are instruments of the country's foreign policy.

"Oftentimes, especially after Republic Act 8042, our diaspora drives our foreign policy," he added.

According to DFA's latest report to Congress, there are 10,854,592 Filipinos abroad. The Americas host 49.04 percent of the tally; the Asia-Pacific, 22.83 percent; the Middle East, 21.88 percent; Europe 6.03 percent and Africa, 1 percent.

Filipinos experience disasters, calamities, famine, war and pandemic happening in their host countries.

While the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) ensure the welfare of Filipinos abroad, the DFA sees their potential to be leaders -- their capability to be rescuers instead of being only rescuees.

"In such manner, our diaspora becomes not only a group of Filipinos who seek employment abroad, but more than that: they are a great gift of the Filipino nation to all peoples on earth, and our contribution to world peace and harmony," he added.

To establish a framework of the RA 9148 implementation abroad, de Vega said the DFA could work with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, the DMW, Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of National Defense, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, and the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency.

That is an absolutely incredible admission. It should not be forgotten that Philippine citizenship is by blood or "jus sanguis." That means the children of OFWs born abroad are Filipino citizens and are "are instruments of the country's foreign policy."  It's a ridiculous policy as anyone related to a Filipino citizen can become a Filipino citizen despite never having set foot in the Philippines. 

So, how exactly does this soft power manifest? RA 8042 says:

SEC. 2. Declaration Of Policies

(a) In the pursuit of an independent foreign policy and while considering national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest and the right to self-determination paramount in its relations with other states, the State shall, at all times, uphold the dignity of its citizens whether in country or overseas, in general, and Filipino migrant workers, in particular.

(c) While recognizing the significant contribution of Filipino migrant workers to the national economy through their foreign exchange remittances, the State does not promote overseas employment as a means to sustain economic growth and achieve national development. The existence of the overseas employment program rests solely on the assurance that the dignity and fundamental human rights and freedoms of the Filipino citizens shall not, at any time, be compromised or violated. The State, therefore, shall continuously create local employment opportunities and promote the equitable distribution of wealth and the benefits of development.

These words are very clear that "the State does not promote overseas employment as a means to sustain economic growth and achieve national development. That cannot be any clearer yet what do we see in reality but OFWs sustaining economic growth!? Nay, as a PILLAR of economic growth!

https://www.philstar.com/business/2023/11/25/2313962/

Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will continue to fuel consumption and boost the Philippines’ economic resilience, according to British banking giant HSBC.

Aris Dacanay, economist for ASEAN at HSBC, said OFWs are among the Philippines’ strongest “exports,” providing services and manpower to the rest of the world.

“In return, OFWs earn incomes that are usually better than what they could get back home, and a substantial portion of these incomes is remitted to their households to cover their daily expenses,” he said.

Dacanay said OFW remittances remain a pillar of Philippine economic growth.

“This cycle has strengthened the country’s current account, supported the peso, and fueled consumption to the point where consumption became the economy’s pillar for growth,” he said.

According to Dacanay, remittances have represented around 20 percent of the economy’s current account receipts and around nine percent of gross domestic product (GDP) since 2006.

Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed personal remittances grew by 2.8 percent to $27.24 billion from January to September versus last year’s $23.82 billion.

Of the total, cash remittances coursed through banks rose by 2.8 percent to $24.49 billion from $23.82 billion.

Remittances are the LIFEBLOOD of the consumption-dependent Philippine economy. 

Remittances are considered the lifeblood of the consumption-dependent Philippine economy. Money sent home by overseas Filipinos augment their families’ income here. 

https://www.philstar.com/business/2022/11/15/2223976/remittances-sustain-growth-expats-help-ease-inflations-sting

Now, those are not official government pronouncements but if the rest of the world can see what is so obvious you can bet your bottom dollar or peso the Philippine government knows the score. The government is not seeking to retain workers by raising wages and working conditions. They are elated that more OFWs are leaving the country post-pandemic. In fact, they encourage it by partnering with other countries to ship off healthcare workers among others. 

This is not merely a private working relationship between employer and employee. The government is deeply involved in promoting overseas jobs. 

The rest of the RA 8042 is mostly about protecting workers. 

SEC. 4. Deployment of Migrant Workers – The State shall deploy overseas Filipino workers only in countries where the rights of Filipino migrant workers are protected.

SEC. 5. TERMINATION ORBANONDEPLOYMENT – Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 4 hereof, the government, in pursuit of the national interest or when public welfare so requires, may, at any time, terminate or impose a ban on the deployment of migrant workers.

SEC. 23. ROLE OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. – The following government agencies shall perform the following to promote the welfare and protect the rights of migrant workers and, as far as applicable, all overseas Filipinos:

(a) Department of Foreign Affairs. – The Department, through its home office or foreign posts, shall take priority action its home office or foreign posts, shall take priority action or make representation with the foreign authority concerned to protect the rights of migrant workers and other overseas Filipinos and extend immediate assistance including the repatriation of distressed or beleaguered migrant workers and other overseas Filipinos;

That whole section is outrageous. Filipinos are regularly deployed to countries where they are raped and murdered by their employees. This happens with alarming frequency in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Employment bans on those countries should be permanent but they never are. It is only when a particular case is amplified and causes outrage that the DFA does anything and only for a month or two when the commotion dies down. If they really cared about protecting migrant workers no Filipino would be allowed into countries where they are routinely killed. 

This final section contradicts Section 2 Paragraph c which says "the State does not promote overseas employment as a means to...achieve national development."

SEC. 31. INCENTIVES TO PROFESSIONALS AND OTHER HIGHLY-SKILLED FILIPINOS ABROAD. – Pursuant to the objective of encouraging professionals and other highly-skilled Filipinos abroad especially in the field of science and technology to participate in, and contribute to national development, the government shall provide proper and adequate incentives and programs so as to secure their services in priority development areas of the public and private sectors.

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1995/06/07/republic-act-no-8042-2/

This section says that the government does encourage highly-skilled OFWs to "contribute to national development" by providing them with proper incentives to "secure their services!" That means the government is encouraging workers to go abroad, hone their skills, and return to the Philippines to participate in national development!

I mentioned that people not born in the Philippines but born to Philippine citizens have Philippine citizenship by right of blood. That is VERY important. This is where the real soft power of the Philippines could come into play. Here is a recent example. 

https://usa.inquirer.net/144013/3-fil-am-legal-luminaries-named-superior-court-judges-in-southern-california

California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced the appointment of 16 Superior Court judges, including three Filipino Americans in Southern California.

Appointed as Superior Court judges in Los Angeles County were Cristina Legaspi, a principal deputy county counsel for the Office of the Los Angeles County Counsel, and Lowrie Mendoza, assistant head deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Bryan Clavecilla, a commissioner at the Orange County Superior Court, was named Superior Court judge in the County.

Mendoza has been assistant head deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office since 2023 and has served in several roles there since 2005.

She was a law clerk at the Law Offices of Enrico Mendoza from 2004 to 2005 and at Yuhl, Rhames, Yuhl & Atkinson in 2003.

Mendoza earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School Los Angeles. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Terry A. Green.

Legaspi has served as senior deputy county counsel in the Los Angeles County Counsel’s Office since 1999 and an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law since 2022.

She was an associate at Weissman and Associates from 1998 to 1999 and at Ivie, McNeil and Wyatt in 1998.

Legaspi earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of West Los Angeles School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Monica Bachner.

Clavecilla has served as a commissioner at the Orange County Superior Court and a senior deputy district attorney and assistant head of court at the Orange County District Attorney’s Office Central Justice Center.

Clavecilla earned a Juris Doctor degree from Chapman Law School. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Linda Marks.

Legaspi, Mendoza and Clavecilla have been active as leaders in the Fil-Am community.

Legaspi has served on the Board of Directors of the Philippine American Bar Association (PABA) and the UCLA Pilipino Pipeline Project.

Mendoza is PABA Foundation  director and Clavecilla is a PABA lifetime member.

Founded more than 40 years ago, PABA is the largest local association of Filipino American lawyers in the United States.

Late last year, Gov. Newsom also appointed accomplished Fil-Am lawyer Christine Gonong as a judge in the LA County Superior Court.

As children of Filipino immigrants these people are all Philippine citizens. This is how Philippine soft power is really working through OFWs. They migrate for economic reasons, raise children who are born citizens of the host country and yet retain their Filipino identity and citizenship, and work their way into the higher echelons of power in a foreign land. 

And the Philippine government wants it this way. Rather than build up the Philippines as an industrial and technological powerhouse with livable wages and safe working conditions the fat cats in charge would rather plunder the national coffers, drive away the best and brightest so they can send back dollars and euros to prop up the economy, and let the masses eat cake pretending they are so happy and resilient. But the DFA did not need to tell us this is what they are doing. It is rather obvious to anyone who cares to look. 

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Abby Binay: The Ultimate Toxic Philippine Politician

Makati mayor Abby Binay is a prime example of everything toxic about Philippine politics. She is currently serving her final term as Mayor of Makati and was recently asked about her upcoming plans. 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/1/20/mayor-binay-sees-husband-as-successor-in-makati

Makati City Mayor Abby Binay said she sees her husband Congressman Luis Campos Jr., as her successor in Makati.  

In an ambush interview on Thursday, Jan. 18,  she said she believes that her husband could sustain the upcoming local projects for Makati.

"It's clear. Many more projects need to be done after 2025, there is only one person I can trust to do it and that is none other than my husband," the mayor said.

Binay said she is still giving herself time to plan her next political steps as she serves her last term.

The lady mayor said she may have a decision by March on whether she will run for Taguig mayor in 2025 or not.

She also cited several options that make it difficult for her to decide what to do next.

“I can go national, I can run for Congress, I can run for the Senate, I can run for mayor, I can decide not to run diba, I can become a full-time wife, I can study. So I'm lucky to have such options, so it's a bit difficult to choose what will be or the path we will take,” she said.

Let's break down both of her statements.

"It's clear. Many more projects need to be done after 2025, there is only one person I can trust to do it and that is none other than my husband," the mayor said.

This is truly an atrocious comment illuminating her mindset. Do not forget Abby is a member of the Binay family which, along with the Dutertes, Cayetanos, and Marcoses, is one of the most corrupt political families in the nation. 

Why exactly does she trust ONLY her husband to be Mayor? Because he can complete the projects that SHE has planned for Makati. What a lot of hubris! Only the people can decide who will be the best mayor after her term ends. Surely there are more qualified candidates than her husband who just happens to be a current Congressman. Why would a Congressman want to step down and become Mayor? For the same reason Abby left the House of Representatives to become Mayor...POWER!

Abby is not sure what she will do next but one option is to run for Mayor of Taguig.

The lady mayor said she may have a decision by March on whether she will run for Taguig mayor in 2025 or not.

She also cited several options that make it difficult for her to decide what to do next.

“I can go national, I can run for Congress, I can run for the Senate, I can run for mayor, I can decide not to run diba, I can become a full-time wife, I can study. So I'm lucky to have such options, so it's a bit difficult to choose what will be or the path we will take,” she said.

Why in the world would she want to run for Mayor of Taguig? Again, the answer is POWER. But how could she even run for Mayor of Taguig when she is not a resident of Taguig? In order for her to establish residency she would need to resign from her current position.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1825327/serious-or-not-abby-binays-run-for-taguig-mayor-faces-rough-road

Binay has a “chance” of winning, Dr. Maria Ela Atienza, a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines Diliman, told INQUIRER.net, saying that should she win, she can “break the monopoly of the Cayetanos in Taguig.”

Atienza pointed out that Binay seeking election in Taguig is “entirely possible,” explaining that for members of political dynasties, it is “usual to switch political posts because of the limit imposed on their terms.”

But in her possible bid to win Taguig, having enough votes is not the only thing to consider, with election lawyer Emil Marañon III saying that there are certain qualifications that should be met.

Marañon told INQUIRER.net that should Binay decide to seek Taguig’s highest post, “the most material qualifications [that should be considered], I think, are the ones related to being a registered voter and a resident.”

As stated in the Local Government Code of the Philippines, for someone who has the intention to seek election as mayor of a highly urbanized city, he or she should be:

  • a citizen of the Philippines
  • 23 years old on election day
  • able to read and write Filipino or any other language or dialect
  • a registered voter in the city where he or she intends to be elected
  • a resident of the city for at least one year

It was pointed out by Marañon that the two latter qualifications would require Binay to resign as mayor of Makati, saying that being a resident and registered voter is a “continuing requirement” for an incumbent mayor.

This, as he said if Binay will have her voter registration transferred from Makati to Taguig without first resigning from her post, she can be liable “because she is no longer satisfying the requirement that she should be a registered voter of Makati.”

As for the residency requirement, Marañon said Binay should already be a resident of Taguig by May 2024, however, he said the Comelec has been consistent that one cannot establish a new residence while he or she is an incumbent official.

If she does decide to run for Mayor of Taguig and thus resigns Abby Binay will show beyond all doubt she does not care about the people. The citizens of Makati elected her as Mayor and it is incumbent upon her to fulfill her term. But what does loyalty to the people matter when her family can begin a new reign just a few Barangays away? 

In 2022 the Supreme Court decided with finality that ten Makati Barangays actually belonged to Taguig.

https://mb.com.ph/2022/04/27/sc-affirms-rtc-ruling-for-taguig-city-in-territorial-dispute-with-makati-city/

The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the 2011 Pasig City regional trial court (RTC) ruling which declared the 729-hectare Bonifacio Global City Complex and several barangays in Makati City as owned by Taguig City government.

In a decision released on Wednesday, April 27, the SC ruled that based on historical, documentary, and testimonial evidence, the contested areas fall within the territorial jurisdiction of Taguig City.

The decision, written by Associate Justice Ricardo R. Rosario, declared permanent the 1994 injunction issued by the Pasig City RTC which stopped the Makati City government “from exercising jurisdiction over, making improvements on, or otherwise treating as part of its territory Parcels 3 and 4, Psu 2031, comprising Fort Bonifacio, including the so-called Inner Fort comprising of Barangays Pembo, Comembo, Cembo, South Cembo, West Rembo, East Rembo and Pitogo.”

The Philippine Army headquarters, Navy installation, Marines’ headquarters, Consular area, JUSMAG area, Heritage Park, Libingan ng mga Bayani, AFP Officers Village and the so-called six villages are situated in the said areas.

With Abby as Mayor of Taguig and her husband as Mayor of Makati the Binay family will be in control of a two municipalities. What is there for her to lose? 

As with any election it is the people who will decide her fate. Abby is at least honest enough to state that she is not familiar with Taguig.

"I have yet to decide because this will be a hard and heavy task — running for Taguig — because first of all I am not familiar with the place."

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1820836/to-run-for-mayor-in-taguig-is-an-option-says-abby-binay

But with Taguig now being in possession of 10 former Makati Barangays, which translates to roughly 300,000 people, she might be a shoo-in. 

It's all about power with these families. It is not about the people. If it were about the people then she would not even contemplate running for Mayor of Taguig while having her husband as Mayor of Makati. Truly Abby Binay is the ultimate toxic Philippine politician. 

Wednesday, January 3, 2024

Necrophilia is Legal in the Philippines

Did you know necrophilia is legal in the Philippines? That is to say it's not a crime. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/12/28/this-house-bill-could-finally-criminalize-necrophilia-in-ph

The Philippines currently has no law explicitly criminalizing necrophilia or sexual acts with a corpse, but a bill filed by North Cotabato 3rd district Rep. Ma. Alana Samantha Taliño Santos seeks to change that. 

Santos filed in the current 19th Congress House Bill (HB) No.9598, or the proposed Act defining the crime of cadaver desecration, providing penalties therefor and for other purposes. 

"This bill aims to impose criminal and civil liabiltiies on offenders guilty of desecrating cadavers," read HB No.9598. 

"The penalty of prision mayor shall be imposed upon any person who shall commit the crime of desecration of human cadaver as defined in this Act," it added. 

The measure defines desecration of cadavers as any act committed after the death of a human being, including, but not limited to dismemberment, disfigurement, mutilation, burning, or any act committed to cause the dead body to be devoured, scattered, or dissipated. 

It goes on to provide more specific language for the banned acts, one of them being "having sexual contact or activity with the dead", or necrophilia. 

The Santos bill further lists down the following prohibitions: dumping of cadavers, including infants and fetuses, with the intent of abandoning the cadaver; mutilating the cadaver, including infants and fetuses, except for embalming and medical purposes; destruction of tombs and other private or public burial sites; and taking from the grave the personal property buried with the dead including; but not limited to, the coffin, clothing, and jewelry. 

The bill is also seeking to outlaw the burying the dead, including infants and fetuses, without securing approval and appropriate permits from local health units; selling the cadaver onducting any medical study or experiment on the dead, including infants and fetuses without securing approval and appropriate permit from local health units. 

Santos stressed in her proposed stature that Congress is mandated to give the highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all people to human dignity. 

"The right to human dignity extends to the right of dignity of dead bodies. There have been instances in the past, some of which were highlighted in news reports, of dead bodies being dumped in inappropriate places," she said. 

"In keeping with our mandate to protect and promote human dignity, there is an imperative need to supplement the dearth in laws by penalizing the crime of cadaver desecration as a separate crime," added Santos. 

The measure is pending before the House Committee on Justice.

The quest to criminalize necrophilia extends back at least two decades. In 2006 Senator Manny Villar filed a bill criminalizing necrophilia. 

https://legacy.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2006/1031_villar1.asp

Respect of the dead is the theme of the three bills filed by Senate President Manny Villar. These are Senate Bill (SB) 697 or the Desecration of the Dead Act; SB 2267 Criminalizing and Penalizing Necrophilia or Carnal Knowledge with the Dead; and SB 2298 or An Act Establishing National Cemeteries and Providing for their Administration and Maintenance.

According to Villar, Every year, on All Souls Day, Filipinos pay their respects to their loved ones who have passed on to show that the dead should never be forgotten and their memories should be preserved. However, there are not enough laws that promote respect for the dead. There are still reported incidents of desecration of the dead.

While many preserve the time-honored Filipino tradition of respecting the dead, there are still lawless elements out there who disrespect and desecrate the dead. We should put a stop to their detestable and heinous acts against our dearly departed, adds Villar.

Villar cites on his SB 697 that presently desecration of the dead is not defined and penalized as a crime under the Revised Penal Code. Anyone caught dumping a dead person, unless charged with murder or homicide, would only be guilty of violating the law on the burial of the dead person under the Code of Sanitation, which provides only a penalty of six months imprisonment or a fine of less than P1,000, further cites Villar.

Villars SB 697 proposes the penalty of prision mayor upon any person who shall commit the crime of desecration of the dead which include acts such as dumping of dead person including fetuses, mutilating of the dead, destruction of tombs or public burial sites, having sexual contact or activity with the dead or necrophilia, among others.

Villar recently modified through another bill, SB 2267, the penalty for necrophilia or the crime committed by a person who engages in sexual intercourse with a female corpse. Under the said bill, the penalty for necrophilia shall be reclusion perpetua to death and a fine of P100,000 to P500,000 at the discretion of the court.

Senator Villar refiled this bill in 2011. Senator Estrada also filed a similar bill. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/17260/senate-bill-to-criminalize-necrophilia

Anyone who sexually abuses a living person has at least a chance of being punished as the law provides for it. However, if that someone were to do it to the dead, he will probably get away with it. 

Two senators have filed separate bills criminalizing necrophilia to plug this apparent loophole in the country’s criminal justice system.

The condition is characterized by a “morbid desire to have sexual contact with a dead body, usually of men to perform a sexual act with a dead woman,” according to Mosby’s Medical Dictionary.

Sen. Manuel Villar said the “forcible imposition of manhood … directed against a lifeless female does not make the grisly act any less detestable and heinous.”

“In fact, this vicious bestiality is notoriously offensive and revolting to the feelings of the living even as it grossly desecrates the dead,” he said in explanatory note to his Senate Bill 1297.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who filed SB 505, noted that under the present Revised Penal Code, “only defamation to blacken the memory of one who is dead is criminalized.”

The two bills seek to amend the Revised Penal Code and introduce a provision against necrophilia.

The Senate committee on justice and human rights conducted a preliminary hearing on the bills last month. Sen. Francis Escudero, the committee chair, acknowledged the absence of penalties against necrophilia under existing laws.

He said this was also probably the reason why no such cases have been found to have been reported to the Philippine National Police or the National Bureau of Investigation.

In 2013 Gloria Arroyo revived filed a bill seeking to punish necrophilia.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/453145/arroyo-re-files-bill-seeking-to-punish-necrophilia

Former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo wants stiff penalties for persons who commit necrophilia, or deriving sexual gratification from copulating with corpses, an act that she describes as “grisly and heinous.”

Arroyo and son Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado Arroyo have re-filed their bill to criminalize necrophilia and to punish it with a prohibitive fine and imprisonment.

Necrophilia is not a criminal offense under present laws and at most, desecration of a corpse makes one liable for damages under the Civil Code, according to the Arroyos in an explanatory note.

They said necrophilia should be penalized under the Revised Penal Code.

Their bill defines necrophilia as committing sexual intercourse or anal and/or oral sex with a corpse.

But how often does necrophilia happen? Could Senator Escudero be right in saying the absence of a law criminalizing necrophilia is preventing cases of necrophilia from being reported to the PNP? Perhaps there are no cases of necrophilia to report. Escudero is not being very logical. 

According to funeral home directors in Manila, necrophilia never happens. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2006/11/02/366629/145necrophilia-mere-shop-talk146

Embalmers and funeral managers said yesterday that necrophilia — or the obsession of having sex with the dead — is just shop talk handed down from one generation to another but with no actual basis. 

"Kathang kutsero lang yan (That’s just shop talk)," said Jun Luzona, funeral director of Nacional Funeral homes in Quezon City. 

He was reacting to a bill filed by Senate President Manuel Villar, which seeks life imprisonment for any person who commits necrophilia. 

Luzona said the story about an embalmer raping a dead woman has been circulating since he was a young boy, but for the last 16 years as funeral director, he has never heard an actual case in Metro Manila. 

He said the practice was impossible in their funeral parlor since their embalmers are professionals who passed a licensure exam given by the Department of Health. 

"Siguro sa mga malayong lugar pero sa Metro Manila impossible mangyari yan (Maybe in faraway places it might happen but in Metro Manila it’s impossible)," he said. 

He said they have high respect for the dead and relatives are always on guard during the embalming process. 

"Kwentong kutsero, kathang isip lang yan," agreed Leah de la Cruz of the Cinco Estrella Memorial Chapel on Quirino highway in Quezon City. 

She said in her 20 years as funeral director, she has not heard of a single case of necrophilia in funeral parlors in Metro Manila. 

De la Cruz said the story about embalmers raping a dead woman was circulated as a smear campaign by rival funeral parlors to get more clients. 

"Paninira lang yan (That’s just part of a smear campaign)," she said. 

She said if such a thing happens, relatives would be up in arms against anyone who desecrates their dead. 

Other managers and embalmers who do not want to be named also said that a law penalizing necrophilia is not necessary because such case seldom, if ever, happens. 

They claimed necrophilia is popular in books and movies but in real life it’s just an urban legend –at least, in the Philippines. 

Laws need to address more urgent things than a mere figment of the imagination, a funeral manager lamented.

That article is 20 years old so it may be a bit dated. Has there been an increase in necrophilia throughout the Philippines during that time? Such data is not readily available. 

What if necrophilia is just one of many sexual orientations? One lawmaker suggested as much when the SOGIE bill was being debated. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/11/04/2054562/no-sogie-bill-wont-legalize-necrophilia-pedophilia

The proposed bill that would ban discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE) will not legalize necrophilia and pedophilia.

This is contrary to the suggestion of a resource person from religious group Coalition of Concerned Families during a House hearing on Wednesday that sexual orientation may also encompass necrophilia and pedophilia.

Lawyer Lyndon Caña from the group said that the anti-discrimination bill, also known as the SOGIE Equality Bill, does not put a limit to sexual orientations as it uses the term “LGBTQ+”

The plus is there to denote other sexual orientations and gender identities not encompassed under the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) acronym.

“When will this end? When will the orientation end?” Caña said. “For example, if an old man is attracted to very young children, that’s sexual orientation. That’s pedophilia. So included din ba yan sa fundamental human right? How about those who are sexually attracted to the dead? Necrophilia.”

Unlike being gay, straight or bisexual, necrophilia and pedophilia are not sexual orientations. Both are considered as paraphilic disorders under the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Rep. Geraldine Roman (Bataan) was also enraged at the absurdity of the suggestion linking the LGBTQ+ community to pedophilia and necrophilia.

“How dare you! We are here in the House of Representatives, you will seriously think that we will legislate something that would allow necrophilia and pedophilia?” Roman said.

The SOGIE Equality Bill does not contain any language that would legalize necrophilia or pedophilia.

The SOGIE does not need to legalize necrophilia because it is already legal. If Rep. Roman is incensed that anyone would think that the House would pass a bill legalizing necrophilia, then why can the Congress not pass a bill criminalizing it? And let's not forget that homosexuality was once considered a paraphilia so the arguments in this article and from Rep. Roman against necrophilia being a sexual orientation are quite illogical. The slippery slope is very real. 

Certainly necrophilia is disgusting and anyone who commits such an act would be rightly shunned from decent society. Filipinos make a big to-do over the dead every single year during Undas so they would not stand for such a desecration of the corpse of their loved one. Why then has this bill criminalizing necrophilia never been passed into law? Perhaps the funeral directors in Manila are right. It is a fictitious crime that never happens and there are more urgent things needing attention. 

But filing such a bill does get headlines so there is that.

Monday, November 13, 2023

Philippine Elections Are Violent Because Filipinos Lack Civic Virtue

Like the United States of America the Philippines is a Republic. Practically the whole system of governance was bequeathed to the Philippines by the USA during the colonial period. Why then is the political system in the Philippines so vastly different from the USA? Why, despite the gun and liquor bans during election season, are Philippine elections so incredibly violent? Because Filipinos lack civic virtue.

In The Story of Civilization Book 11 Will Durant writes the following:

https://bawar.net/data0/books/5cb1af64a9e1e/pdf/Durant_Will_-_The_story_of_civilization_11.pdf

He thought of virtue in Montesquieu's sense, as the indispensable basis of a successful republic; without unpurchasable voters and officials democracy would be a sham.

Montesquieu defines virtue thusly in Chapter 5 of In The Spirt of the Laws:

IT is in a republican government that the whole power of education is required. The fear of despotic governments naturally rises of itself amidst threats and punishments: the honour of monarchies is favoured by the passions, and favours them in its turn: but virtue is a self-renunciation, which is ever arduous and painful.

This virtue may be defined the love of the laws and of our country. As such love requires a constant preference of public to private interest, it is the source of all private virtues; for they are nothing more than this very preference itself.

This love is peculiar to democracies. In these alone the government is intrusted to private citizens. Now, government is like every thing else: to preserve it, we must love it.

https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/montesquieu-complete-works-vol-1-the-spirit-of-laws

The influence of Montesquieu on the founders of the United States of America and the framers of the Constitution of the United States would be hard to overstate. Every single one of those men are very clear that only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.

Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters. - Ben Franklin

“Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks, no form of government, can render us secure. To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea. If there be sufficient virtue and intelligence in the community, it will be exercised in the selection of these men; so that we do not depend upon their virtue, or put confidence in our rulers, but in the people who are to choose them.” - James Madison

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable  supports.” - George Washington

https://nccs.net/blogs/articles/only-a-virtuous-people-are-capable-of-freedom

Th big difference between the Philippines and the United States is that the USA is the culmination of 2,000 years of political history beginning with Greece. Americans, Western Europeans in general, fought tooth and nail against emperors, kings, and tyrants to eventually form what has been called the American Experiment of self-governance or as Abraham Lincoln said in his Gettysburg address:

Government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

The Philippines went from thousands of years of tribal leader ship to a colonial monarchy for 300 years and then to being given a republican form of government practically overnight. 

It's no wonder why the USA wanted to give Filipinos time to learn how to govern themselves before handing them the reigns. Teddy Roosevelt issued this stern warning about the dangers of giving the Philippines self-governance too soon:

In our anxiety for the welfare and progress of the Philippines, may be that here and there we have gone too rapidly in giving them local self-government. It is on this side that our error, if any, has been committed. No competent observer, sincerely desirous of finding out the facts and influenced only by a desire for the welfare of the natives, can assert that we have not gone far enough. We have gone to the very verge of safety in hastening the process. To have taken a single step farther or faster in advance would have been folly and weakness, and might well have been crime. We are extremely anxious that the natives shall show the power of governing themselves. We are anxious, first for their sakes, and next, because it relieves us of a great burden. There need not be the slightest fear of our not continuing to give them all the liberty for which they are fit.  
The only fear is lest in our over anxiety we give them a degree of independence for which they are unfit, thereby inviting reaction and disaster. As fast as there is any reasonable hope that in a given district the people can govern themselves, self-government has been given in that district. There is not a locality fitted for self-government which has not received it. But it may well be that in certain cases it will have to be withdrawn because the inhabitants show themselves unfit to exercise it; such instances have already occurred. In other words, there is not the slightest chance of our failing to show a sufficiently humanitarian spirit. The danger comes in the opposite direction.
https://www.infoplease.com/homework-help/us-documents/state-union-address-theodore-roosevelt-december-3-1901
The Philippines finally became independent on July 4th, 1946 and what have we seen since then? We have seen a fulfillment of Manuel Quezon's famous dictum that he would rather "have a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by Americans." He would later expound upon that remark.
It is true, and I am proud of it, that I once said, “I would rather have a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by Americans.” I want to tell you that I have, in my life, made no other remark which went around the world but that. There had been no paper in the United States, including a village paper, which did not print that statement, and I also had seen it printed in many newspapers in Europe. I would rather have a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by any foreigner. I said that once; I say it again, and I will always say it as long as I live.

But that is not an admission that a government run by Filipinos will be a government run like hell. Much less can it be an admission that a government run by Americans or by the people of any other foreign country, for that matter, can ever be a government run like heaven.

We have had four years of our government—the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines—a government run by Filipinos, and I defy anybody, American, foreigner or Filipino, to tell me that ours today is a government run like hell. I should say that this is the best government we have ever had in the Philippines, and I will now enumerate the facts to prove this to you.

This speech was made four years after the enactment of the Commonwealth when the Philippines was making its transition to full independence. Four years is not a time frame by which to judge a nation. The Commonwealth was set up in 1935 which is 88 years ago. What have we seen in that time frame if not a government run like hell with corruption in all levels of government culminating in the disastrous and dictatorial reign of Ferdinand Marcos Sr?

But this is less about political institutions and more about the common man because as the 1987 constitution makes clear:

The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/1987-constitution/

Thus the burden of governance falls squarely on the shoulders of the Filipino people. In idea at least the Philippines is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. 

Going back to Montesquieu can we really say that Filipinos love the laws of the country and put the public interest over their own?

This virtue may be defined the love of the laws and of our country. As such love requires a constant preference of public to private interest, it is the source of all private virtues; for they are nothing more than this very preference itself.

Absolutely not. 

Take a look at the recent local elections. There was vote buying. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1213455

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has disqualified 21 candidates, including 10 who won in the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on Oct. 30.

In a statement late Friday, the poll body said the BSKE bets were disqualified after the First and Second Division found them liable for premature campaigning and vote buying.

"The Commission on Elections has granted motu proprio Petitions for Disqualification against 21 candidates in the October 30, 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections," the statement read.

Of the 10 winning candidates, two are barangay chairpersons, three barangay kagawad (councilors), two SK chairpersons and three SK councilors.

Out of the 11 losing bets, nine ran for SK kagawad and two for barangay kagawad, the Comelec said.

The poll body said there are still 318 pending motu proprio disqualification cases against BSKE candidates. These include 292 disqualification cases for premature/illegal campaigning and 26 for vote-buying and/or vote selling.

Earlier, the Comelec ordered the suspension of the proclamation of winning candidates who have pending disqualification cases.

There was violence with 26 ending up dead. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1213437

The number of validated election-related incidents (ERIs) from the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) has climbed to 96, nearly two weeks after the polls.

In a press conference on Friday, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said there were actually 305 incidents recorded from Aug. 28 to Nov. 9.

Of the total, 13 were undergoing validation while 196 were classified as not related to the Oct. 30 polls.

The confirmed poll-related incidents left at least 26 dead and 96 injured, she added.

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has the most number of validated ERIs at 55, followed by Northern Mindanao with 14; six in Eastern Visayas; five in Cordillera; four in Bicol; three each in Ilocos and Central Visayas; and one each in the National Capital Region, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Soccskargen and Zamboanga Peninsula.

The majority of the verified election-related incidents were shooting, mauling, and physical injury.

On the other hand, the police arrested 2,211 BSKE gun ban violators and confiscated 1,689 firearms.

A total of 2,425 firearms were also deposited to the PNP for safekeeping while 1,785 were surrendered.

The election period for the BSKE will end on Nov. 29.

And as of this writing 5 newly elected officials have been assassinated. 

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/5-newly-elected-brgy-officials-killed-a-week-after-polls

A TOTAL of five newly elected barangay officials were killed a little over a week following the just concluded Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE), the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported.

Of the five victims, two were from villages in North Cotabato, and one each from Pasay City, Davao del Norte, and Pagadian City in Zamboanga.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, PNP spokesperson Colonel Jean Fajardo said they recorded six violent incidents involving newly elected government officials, which two were in Soccsksargen and one each in the National Capital Region, Calabarzon, Northern Mindanao and Davao Region.

Of the six victims, two were newly elected barangay chairmen, while four were barangay councilors.

On Nov. 1, Suharto Antillino was gunned down by a still unidentified suspect shortly after he was proclaimed as among the winning barangay council candidates of Barangay Poblacion in Midsayap town.

Barangay 37, Pasay City Kagawad Lina Camacho was also shot dead while inside the barangay hall on Nov. 6. One of the two suspects was arrested.

On Nov. 7, Barangay Datu Abdul Dadia in Panabo City chairman Paul Albert Saquian was gunned down while driving his car.

On the same day, Barangay Dolores, Antipas, North Cotabato councilman Edmar Perero was also shot dead while on board a tricycle.

The latest victim was newly elected Lapedian, Pagadian City village chief Rodolfo Dacol, who succumbed to a bullet wound in his abdomen on Thursday, Nov. 9.

Fajardo considered the first six incidents as election-related.

Fajardo said they are still monitoring post-election activities and scenarios.

He added that regional directors and field commanders were given the discretion to determine if they would lower their alert status, particularly their security deployments in areas where they see that the situation is still hot especially even after the election.

That is NOT the doings of a virtuous people. 

One has to wonder why there was so much violence over local elections. It comes down to power. Filipinos are clannish and so all the barangays in the nation as well as cities and various fiefdoms are run by families and they will do anything to keep their family in power. 

But this is nothing new. Filipinos have been terrorizing Filipinos since long before the Spanish arrived. The natives even thanked the Spanish from saving them from the tyranny and domination of their chiefs. 

“We answer that we wish the king of España to be our king and sovereign, for he has sent Castilians to us, who are freeing us from the tyranny and domination of our chiefs, as well as fathers who aid us against the same Castilians and protect us from them.

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XXIII, 1629-30, pg. 253

Manuel Quezon is wrong. The government of the Philippines, from barangay to Malacañang, is run like hell. The reason why is because Filipinos have no civic virtue. As it is the Philippines remains one of the most lawless nations on the planet. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/10/26/2306513/rule-law-philippines-remains-one-weakest-region

Rule of law in the Philippines remained one of the weakest in East Asia and the Pacific, as the country fell one spot in the latest index of the World Justice Project. 

With a score of 0.46, the Philippines ranked 100th out of 142 countries in the WJP Rule of Law Index 2023. 

In the East Asia and Pacific region, Manila ranked 13th out of 15. Other nations with low scores in the region were Myanmar and Cambodia. 

Countries get a score of zero to one, with one indicating strongest adherence to rule of law. 

The Philippines scored 0.47 in constraints on government powers, 0.43 in absence of corruption, 0.47 in open government, 0.40 in fundamental rights, 0.67 in order and security, 0.47 in regulatory enforcement, 0.45 in civil justice, and 0.31 in criminal justice. 

Filipinos do not love let alone respect the laws of this nation. But they do love power. Especially the power that "grows out of a barrel of a gun."