HARRY Roque faces disbarment charges, according to the AFP and the IBP. Neither institution seemingly feels bound by Sec. 10 of Rule 138 of the Rules of Court which says: “Proceedings against attorneys shall be private and confidential. . . .” Military intelligence may be a contradiction in terms but I had expected more from the IBP head who should not have discussed the complaint with the press, which I credit for enterprise. Harry can of course more than take care of himself but scofflaws AFP and IBP should be a source of concern.
An inspection of the last bar and lodge that saw Jeffrey/Jennifer Laude alive has just been conducted. Truly, great cases like hard cases make bad law-Holmes. There is a permanent tension between long-term policy choices and expedient short-term resolutions, exacerbated by pressure from the media, which I credit for enterprise. Government says media killings should get special attention. What of ordinary Juans? Yolanda victims in tents wailing? What of the poor living in our sidewalks for years here in Palanan?
Anyway, I wrote Panyera Rowena Garcia Flores now assisting US Marine Joseph Pemberton, whose whereabouts German Marc Sueselbeck and the Laudes had wondered about.
“It seems to me the intruder should just have asked you. And taken your word for it instead of publicly speculating that Pemberton had been shipped out of harm’s way. I cannot imagine you lying on this trivial demonstrably refutable point. [One can lie by silence.] No need to clamber over a fence and shoving a soldier, who should have shot in the air, as a warning that the next may be between the eyes — instead of allowing himself to be shoved by an interloping paleface.
“I have a sense of what love and devotion mean. Even if here, it is the kind of love, a la Wilde’s, that dared not speak its name, decades ago, but is now, shall we say, accepted. Transgender. At dakila. How many guys would scoff at military regs for the sake of a loved one na tila naghanap ng ibang kandungan na naghantong sa kapariwaraan?
“A former assistant of mine, Bong Alikpala, wrote `God Loves Bakla.’ I helped Ang LadLad get accreditation from the Supreme Court, reversing the Comelec [618 SCRA 32 (2010)]. Another former assistant, Emily Sanchez, wrote `The Filipina and the Law – A Tribute to Women’s Rights.’ She started training with me as a law stude in the late 90’s while I spoke in Bong’s commencement in 1992. Both attended the finest law school in the entire Rockwell complex.”
Panyera Rowena’s letter to me last Tuesday, to which I replied above, edited and supplemented): “Sir, I handle the Pemberton case in my personal capacity [not as a member of ACCRALaw? - which seems to be neither here nor there]. He is inside a container van in Camp Aguinaldo. I have met with him several times. The last meeting was on Oct 30 inside the container van. I manifested at the prelim investigation on Oct 27 that he is in Camp Aguinaldo. Best regards, Rowena Garcia Flores.” Rowena and I are alums of the best law school in the whole length and breadth of Mendiola.
To lie on the custodial arrangement isn’t in the interests of the law firm or anyone. The US government would have gained nothing by spiriting out Pemberton. The ease with which Sueselbeck penetrated the camp shows how porous it is, highlighting safety and security concerns. No Pinoy can penetrate a German camp easily. Achtung!
Years ago, Ang Ladlad fought for accreditation by the Comelec, which denied it. That it did not win a seat in the 2013 polls shows how much farther it – as well as society – has to go. I had decided to get involved there when I read two Ang Daldal Comelec commissioners berating gays as bad people, per the Bible and the Koran, in a presscon, not in the ruling. I wish the party luck in 2016 to speak for the LGBTs, who we are not to judge, according to the Pope. Here, promising Straights in government turn out to be Crooks, to our grief.
To grieve is a basic right. GMA, 67, should be given all the time to attend the wake of an apo, to mourn. In fact, there is no legal hindrance drawn to my attention to her being put on house arrest, given the reported botched operation on her spine. Must be excruciatingly painful. Ditto for Manong Johnny, 91 in a few months (I am 75, and share their pain). They are now punished far beyond what any court can impose.
Now we read again that Manila will soon have a decent courthouse. You can imagine the state of our jails if even a courthouse – Manila’s a crying shame for a nation’s capital – is in horrid shape.
JPE and GMA should be given wider cages in which to roam. Metro Manila arrests, like Suharto’s city arrest, and if they need to visit their constituents, court permission should be routinary. Bossing Erap had Tanay resthouse arrest and was allowed to fly to HK for his knee operation. Christian.
Compassionate. Humane.
Speaking of human rights, I hope Congress will extend the period to file claims, to end on Monday under R.A. No. 10368. Byron Bocar, my bright San Beda law stude and a MABINI member, of the Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board assures me that Congress should be able to pass the extension bill in ten days, to be signed by PNoy. He emailed first on how much to expect: “The amount that the claimants will receive cannot be determined yet at this time when we are still in the application period. After all the applications have been submitted to the Board, and the Board has determined who the legitimate claimants are, awarded them points in accordance with a point-system provided in the law, and disposed of all oppositions and appeals, it will then distribute the compensation fund of PhP10 billion to the victims pro rata, with victims of the more serious violations receiving more.” On extension, he lapsed into tok n tex: “House has approvd on 3d, Senate on 2d. Approval on 3d wen they resume session on d 17th. Den quick bicam & den approval by PNoy. Language of JR [Joint Reso] is extension for 6 mos. `from Nov. 10, 2014.’ [Bob] Swift formula wud hv bn simpler but RA 10368 provides for a point system & pro rata paymt. Php10B fund is part of [the Marcos] ill-gotten wealth returned by Swiss govt & declared by our SC as forfeited to govt.”
Speaking of human rights, I hope Congress will extend the period to file claims, to end on Monday under R.A. No. 10368. Byron Bocar, my bright San Beda law stude and a MABINI member, of the Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board assures me that Congress should be able to pass the extension bill in ten days, to be signed by PNoy. He emailed first on how much to expect: “The amount that the claimants will receive cannot be determined yet at this time when we are still in the application period. After all the applications have been submitted to the Board, and the Board has determined who the legitimate claimants are, awarded them points in accordance with a point-system provided in the law, and disposed of all oppositions and appeals, it will then distribute the compensation fund of PhP10 billion to the victims pro rata, with victims of the more serious violations receiving more.” On extension, he lapsed into tok n tex: “House has approvd on 3d, Senate on 2d. Approval on 3d wen they resume session on d 17th. Den quick bicam & den approval by PNoy. Language of JR [Joint Reso] is extension for 6 mos. `from Nov. 10, 2014.’ [Bob] Swift formula wud hv bn simpler but RA 10368 provides for a point system & pro rata paymt. Php10B fund is part of [the Marcos] ill-gotten wealth returned by Swiss govt & declared by our SC as forfeited to govt.”
Bob – Rod Domingo, Ruben Fruto and I assist. Again, those who are not inclined to monetize their suffering can always donate it to me, he, he. But, we need to show the true extent of the gross human rights violations, among the amalgam of reasons behind the law. Why the humongous judicially-established ill-gotteners – damned by no less than the Supreme Court (SC) on July 15, 2003 – are back in power may call for a new law. Why the SC did not order their probe and prosecution mystifies.
[Publisher-Editor’s note about the column’s title: The 1894 poem “Two Loves” by Lord Alfred Douglas is where the phrase “the love that dare not speak its name” comes from. In Oscar Wilde’s notorious trial for “gross indecency” this kind of love was cited and he describes how it can exist. It has been used as a euphemism for homosexuality.]
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