Martial law victims march to Palace, Senate

By Dennis Carcamo  
The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines – Members of a rights group on Monday marched to the historic Don Chino Roces Bridge near Malacañang to demand from the Aquino administration the indemnification of the victims of rights violations during the imposition of Martial law 40 years ago by the late President Ferdinand Marcos.

Members of the Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) also scored President Benigno Aquino III’s government for alleged negligence, resulting to unmonitored withdrawals from the account of Imelda Marcos’ account at the Philippine Veterans Bank.

The P36.55 million Marcos ill-gotten wealth under the name of Mrs. Marcos, has shrunk to a little over P1 million despite the garnishment order by the Sandiganbayan, SELDA said.

Earlier in August, martial law victims suffered another setback after the Singapore Court ruled to award the $23 million Marcos ill-gotten wealth to the Lucio Tan-led Philippine National Bank. Tan is a known Marcos crony.

“We take on Mendiola once again just like 40 years ago so that the son of Ninoy and Cory Aquino [would] hear and know that we are still here and that 40 is not just a number to remember, but also a reminder of the length of time we have been fighting impunity and for the attainment of justice,” Selda chairperson Marie Hilao-Enriquez said.

“All we get from the Aquino government are reports of failure after failure,” Enriquez added.

Selda also scored the state of the indemnification bill at the Senate.

“Inaamag na ata ito sa Senado,” Selda board member Trinidad Herrera said.

From the Don Chino Roces Bridge, the group marched to the Senate in Pasay City and held a noise barrage.

“Our senators should remember that they owe us a law that should have been implemented by now. What are they waiting for, another 40 years?” Herrera said.

The Senate Committee on Human Rights reported that it’s still completing the signatories to the bill before bringing it to the plenary.

The bill has been pending in Congress since 1997.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/article.aspx?publicationsubcategoryid=200&articleid=844880

China Opposes Application of U.S.-Japan Security Treaty to Diaoyu Islands

Source: Defence Professionals
defpro.com

13:49 GMT, August 27, 2012 WASHINGTON | China strongly opposes any application of the U.S.-Japan security treaty to China’s Diaoyu Islands, a visiting senior Chinese military official told his U.S. colleagues here on Friday.

During meetings with senior U.S. military and government officials, Cai Yingting, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, expressed China’s strong concerns over issues related to China’s vital and core interests, including the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, the territorial disputes over South China Sea and the Diaoyu Islands, and U.S. close-range military reconnaissance activities directed at China.

In an interview with the Chinese media based in Washington, Cai said he told his U.S. hosts that the Diaoyu Islands and their affiliated islands have been part of China’s inherent territory, and all the recent illegal activities by the Japanese, including the bid to “purchase” and the right-wing activists’ landing on the islands, are completely invalid.

China is firmly opposed to the U.S. stance that the Diaoyu Islands fall within the scope of the 1960 U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, under which Washington will provide assistance to Tokyo when the territories under Japan’s administration come under armed attack, he said.

The delegation also urged the U.S. side to make more efforts to ease the tensions so as to safeguard peace in the Asia-Pacific and maintaining the good impetus in the development of the overall China-U.S. relations.

Cai said China hopes the two countries will strive to implement the important consensus reached by Chinese President Hu Jintao and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama on building a new type of relationship between big powers, on the basis of mutual respect, equality, and inclusiveness.

The Chinese general added that the two sides should take concrete steps to deepen the China-U.S. military ties, which have been repeatedly interrupted by the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, including promoting exchange of high-level visits, as well as increasing cooperation in conducting naval escort missions in the Gulf of Aden.

Cai said he also proposed to the U.S. side to hold exchange of views on war theories and studies, and combat strategies and tactics, which he believes will be conducive to the healthy and stable development of the military-to-military relations.

He disclosed that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is going to visit China in September, and the Chinese side is making serious preparations for Panetta’s trip in order to make it fruitful.

The Chinese delegation, which arrived in the United States on August 20th for a week-long official visit, has already held separate talks with senior U.S. military and government officials, including Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, Deputy Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff James Winnefeld, U.S. Army’s Vice Chief of Staff Lloyd Austin, and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman.

The delegation has also visited the U.S. military bases of Fort Hood in Texas and Leonard Wood in Missouri, and held discussions with U.S. experts at the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.(Xinhua)

http://www.defpro.com/news/details/38649/?SID=87e87b3f23e526f7db751ce27f66d84d

The Shield that will Endanger Us

By Erick San Juan 

“Pentagon will give PH a powerful radar.” So, what else is new?

As an observer of events unfolding that has something to do with the web of lies being woven right before us, courtesy of the present leadership, I have written about this so-called radar that will be given to us via the National Coast Watch Center.

Remember the PNoy’s “fruitful” US visit, Washington has pledged to support the National Coast Watch Center which was created in September 2011 under Executive Order 57 signed by the President , which calls for the establishment of a National Coast Watch Center headed by the Philippine Coast Guard to implement and coordinate maritime security operations in the country. Meaning, expanded intelligence operations a.k.a. listening post. (Taken from ericksanjuan.blogspot.com, June 13, 2012). What about the ethnic Filipino Chinese and Chinoys who are now active members and funders of the Coast Guard Auxillary Group? Do they have the necessary security clearance?

And…. “The US military on Tuesday said it planned to provide a powerful land-based radar to the Philippines as the country faced an escalating dispute with China over territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). The radar system will form part of a “watch center” that will track ships off the Philippine archipelago’s coastline, according to a Pentagon spokesperson. “We are in the initial planning stages of assisting the Philippines with a National Coast Watch Center,” Major Catherine Wilkinson told Agence France Presse.”  (AFP June 13, 2012)

Finally… In a report from the Wall Street Journal yesterday,  August 27, it was disclosed that the U.S. is planning a major expansion of missile defenses in Asia, a move American officials say is designed to contain threats from North Korea, but one that could also be used to counter China’s military.

US defense officials are quoted as saying that “a centerpiece” of its new missile ‘defense’ would be the deployment of a powerful early-warning radar, known as an X-Band, in an undisclosed southern Japanese island and in the Philippines. (From various sources 8/25/2012)

So now, which is which? Is the land-based X-band radar is to monitor North Korea or to contain China via the National Coast Watch Center?

Methinks (so is our friends from the progressive groups and other patriotic Filipinos), this X-band radar is the same dog with a different collar, translation – the same radars installed in the South that will form part of Uncle Sam’s expansion of the missile-defense shield in the Asia-Pacific region.

A few weeks ago, a news came out that The Philippines’ southern border area — specifically Sulu –has been red-flagged by the United States as a possible transport route for weapons of mass destruction by terrorist groups.

Every possible alibi that can be thrown against us – from terrorism to WMD to piracy to terror groups training center, it was perceived that Uncle Sam will surely come up with these foolish accusations so as to sow fear in the process and justify their presence in our territory. True enough, the country is now beholden to a perceived master and savior that will possibly drag us all to a war that is not our liking at all.

The most likely question that will come to every Filipino’s mind who is unaware of the spin, “why is the present leadership allowing this dilemma that will put the country in the crosshairs?” The target of an impending war.

Your answer is as good as mine. We are living to that stigma – ‘US outpost and military doormat’,  that was branded to us because we cannot say no to Uncle Sam, and even our own Defense establishment upholds the military buildup in the region with open legs.

As long as we kowtow to Washington’s every whim without even a ‘quid pro quo’, we cannot remove ourselves from the shield that will put each of us in the line of danger. Let us all be vigilant as we enter these exciting times where the supposed leaders that we elected will only heed to His BOSS and not his REAL BOSS – us Pinoys!

US says Asian pivot ‘beneficial to region’

Written by Tribune 
The Daily Tribune

The United States tried to soothe tensions with China with American Ambassador to Beijing Gary Locke easing China’s fears yesterday that Washington wants to hem it in by emphasizing American military presence in Asia was not targeted at a single country.

“We strongly believe — and I believe most in the region would agree — that our security presence here is beneficial to the countries of the region and necessary for the continued vitality of the Asia-Pacific,” Locke said.

China has been wary of the US policy pivot to Asia which required the rotation of its military forces among countries in the region that included the Philippines.
As likely part of this policy shift, a US Lockheed P-3C “Orion” maritime surveillance aircraft will be participating in the Philippine Navy (PN)’s naval exercise off Maasim Point, Saranggani Bay this coming Sept. 3 to 7.

The activity, which is the second part of the the Coast Watch South Capability Exercise 2012, will involve the deployment of BRP Teotimo Figuracion (PG-389) with BRP Salvador Abcede as alternate vessel, a PN Islander aircraft, a naval boarding team, two light patrol boats, reserve units.

A fishing boat, the F/B Explorer, will serve as contact of interest. Participating also is a Coast Guard boarding team, one Philippine National Police (PNP) fast boat, a police boarding team and a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency boarding unit.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also similarly said the South Pacific was big enough for both the United States and China but added the US would remain committed to the South Pacific “for the long haul” and offered new aid.

“Our security presence is not aimed at any one country,” he said in a speech at Beijing University, noting that the United States was also boosting its diplomatic and economic engagement in the region.

Locke’s remarks came days ahead of a planned visit to Beijing by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss the two countries’ sometimes tense economic and security relationship.

Chinese state media have accused Washington of trying to contain China by befriending regional countries — a view that has been reinforced by Clinton’s decision to start her trip in the often-overlooked South Pacific.

Clinton — the first US secretary of state to attend an annual South Pacific summit — announced in the Cook Islands on Friday $32 million in aid projects.

She emphasised, however, that there was ample room for all countries — including the United States and China — to work together to help Pacific nations.

Chinese media have warned the United States against seeking to exploit recent escalations over territorial sea disputes between China and its neighbors, including Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Some countries in the region already have US military support while others seek closer security ties to counter what they call China’s growing assertiveness in the sovereignty disagreements.

Locke also stressed the importance — but also the challenge — of strengthening US-China cooperation, highlighting contentious issues such as trade relations, currency policies, Iran, Syria and human rights.

“A China that is more open to all views, ideas and expressions, will lead to a stronger and more secure China,” he said.

“We’ve got a long way to go” in US-China cooperation, he said, “but I’m hopeful that working together we can escape from historical patterns and instead forge a legacy of cooperation and partnership.”

Lt. (junior grade) Juffrey Alonzo, acting spokesman of Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao, said 10 local government agencies from Davao and Gen. Santos cities will also be on hand.

He added that these maneuvers were focused on simulating the actual operations of the coast watch systems and its coast watch stations in addressing maritime security in Eastern Mindanao.

The “Orion” is a four-engine turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner.

The aircraft is easily recognizable by its distinctive tail stinger or “Mad Boom,” used for the magnetic detection of submarines.

Over the years, the aircraft has seen numerous design advancements, most notably in its electronics packages.

The P-3 Orion is still being used by numerous navies and air forces around the world, primarily for maritime patrol, reconnaissance, anti-surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare.

A total of 734 P-3s have been built, and by 2012, it will join the handful of military aircraft such as the Boeing B-52 “Stratofortress” which have served 50 years of continuous use with its original primary customer, in this case, the United States Navy.

The US Navy’s remaining P-3C aircraft will eventually be replaced by the Boeing P-8A Poseidon.

China also asked US politicians to cease “groundless” criticism of the country, stay out of its internal affairs and promote better relations, as the US presidential election race heats up.

“US politicians from any party should realize it is also in the interests of the US in its most basic form to treat China’s development in an objective, rational way,” foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a statement.

They should also “stop groundless criticism of China, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and do more to promote mutual trust and cooperation between China and the US with a more responsible attitude,” he added.

Hong was responding to a media query submitted seeking reaction to the just-concluded Republican National Convention and the views of the party and its presidential nominee Mitt Romney on the country.

He said China took note of the party’s position on China in its platform as well as mentions of the country in Romney’s speech accepting the party nomination, though refrained from direct criticism of either.

The comments were more measured than criticism Wednesday published in state media that blasted Romney, who is seeking to unseat President Barack Obama, for his stance on China.

“It is high time for him to drop the ‘blame-China game’ that frequently emerged on his campaign trail in the past several months,” the state-run Xinhua news agency said, cautioning that the conservative candidate’s rhetoric on issues including exchange rates could harm relations.

China was little mentioned in Romney’s acceptance speech Thursday, but he has pledged to label it a “currency manipulator” on his first day in office.

Such a move could enable retaliatory sanctions that the Obama administration declined to take in May.

The former Massachusetts governor has also pledged to impede China’s rise as a regional power in the Asia-Pacific, where the US has military alliances with Japan and South Korea.

Romney has also blasted Obama for declining to sell F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, alleging he had “caved” in to China.

Beijing sees Taiwan as a renegade province that remains part of its territory pending reunification, by force if necessary.

Hong stressed that “promoting the sustainable, healthy and stable development of China-US relations” is good for both the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large and “is the right direction to which both parties should adhere.” AFP

http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/headlines/item/3697-us-says-asian-pivot-%E2%80%98beneficial-to-region%E2%80%99

Will Mar at DILG be a boon or bane to P-Noy?

AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR 
By William M. Esposo
The Philippine Star

In 1987, when I was serving as Assistant Secretary of Local Government under then Secretary Jaime N. Ferrer, the proposal to merge the Integrated National Police (INP) with the Philippine Constabulary (PC) under our department was being planned. While most secretaries would have welcomed an expansion of their agency’s scope and powers, Ka Jaime, as we fondly called him, had his apprehensions.

Ka Jaime had projected that the PNP would be a major stumbling block to any Interior and Local Government secretary. Ka Jaime felt that the ideal situation was to keep the department solely focused on local government capability building. Ka Jaime saw the PNP as a lighting rod for controversies that will tend to sap a DILG Secretary’s energy and monopolize his man-hours. History has proved that Ka Jaime was right.

The importance of the DILG cannot be overemphasized. It is the frontline in an anti-insurgency fight, as what the late Ka Jaime demonstrated in 1967. Effective local governance is the best weapon against insurgency. Insurgency thrives in areas where there is a poor delivery of government services and programs. “Wala tayong maaasahan sa gobyernong yan (We cannot expect anything from this government)” – the insurgents will repeatedly hammer into the people’s mind. Once this is believed, then it becomes easier for the insurgents to expand their support base with new recruits and resource contributors.

No goodwill and trust can be established by the Local Government component of the department, while it is diligently gaining points with improved governance, if the PNP will simply undermine and negate these gains with abusive policemen in the communities. Bad news always creates a bigger impact while good news hardly gets to the front page. In 1987, the Left even organized a killer squad called the Alex Boncayao Brigade, also known as The Sparrows, that hunted and killed abusive public officials, many of them policemen. For people who felt frustrated that abusive cops could not be booked and charged – they cheered the Sparrows. This made the government look bad for failure to uphold the rule of law while the killers are then perceived as the dispensers of justice.

When President Noynoy Aquino (P-Noy) wanted to keep Secretary Jesse Robredo focused on local government, many interpreted this as a sign of lack of confidence and overlooked the other more logical possibility, which is to prioritize local government unit (LGU) capability building. The speculators failed to consider that if lack of confidence existed, then P-Noy would simply not have appointed Robredo at all. P-Noy’s appointment track record is consistent in enlisting only those whom he felt were trustworthy assets. They may have had some policy differences but not to the point of lacking confidence that Robredo could deliver on his share of objectives.

The LGU is the frontline of development. Given to a development oriented LGU executive who is being supported by a DILG Secretary like Jesse Robredo, the Naga City transformation can be duplicated. Without effective local governance, we cannot hope to entice investors to setup shop in our remote areas, the ones that are most in need of economic activities. Quezon City, under then Mayor Sonny Belmonte, went from bankrupt (on the year before Sonny assumed office) to one of the most successful cities in attaining an income surplus.

We’re all excited by our tourism prospects under Secretary Mon Jimenez but the tourism objectives cannot be met if these goals are not complemented by effective local governance. At best, Sec. Jimenez can only bring in the country visitor. Once the visitor is here, his or her better or bitter memories will largely be molded by the DILG that will ensure that all tourist spots are properly managed by the LGU and that it is totally safe.

The announced appointment of Mar Roxas as Robredo’s successor at DILG will certainly meet controversy as well as questions. There will be questions on Mar’s local government capability and whether his appointment isn’t a blank check to expand the Liberal Party. Robredo’s local government track record and his ‘tsinelas (slippers)’ brand of leadership generated cooperation from local government executives. Can Mar adjust his management style, from the executive suite to an on-the-ground and man-on-the-spot environment?

The DILG is very pivotal in the political scheme of things. If you think about it, P-Noy might have been better off appointing somebody who isn’t clearly identified with the LP so as to maintain the coalition with the Pwersa ng Masa of Joseph “Erap” Estrada and the PDP-Laban of Vice President Jojo Binay. Non-LP coalition partners will welcome a non-partisan DILG secretary who will be development oriented. In this regard, it would be wise to have ruled out appointing Mar Roxas and Jojo Binay as DILG secretary and this should apply to their factors as well.

Political intramurals can derail P-Noy’s many positive achievements as well as hamper his other bigger goals. P-Noy’s bigger mission is the country that he will leave to a new president in 2016 – and not the Liberal Party that has always convinced folks that they specialize in committing amateurish blunders. P-Noy’s mission from his bosses is solely focused on what he can do between now and 2016 and not who the people will elect after him.

The DILG could become the rope by which Mar could climb up to the presidency or be completely demolished politically. Mar takes mega risks in succeeding Jesse Robredo. Can he fill Jesse’s big shoes? Can he relate to LGU executives? Can he manage the PNP? Will he create more political adversaries for P-Noy in pursuing his 2016 agenda?

The new DILG secretary must expand and strengthen P-Noy’s political base with more LGU development, and not erode and undermine it by getting involved in political intramurals. P-Noy cannot afford discord between him and his vice president, something the LP amateurs are managing to promote, wittingly or unwittingly.

The coup attempts during Cory’s presidency were encouraged by the discord then between the president and the vice president. A discord between the president and the vice president now could escalate into a national security mega problem, especially at this time when China is encroaching on Philippine sovereignty.

* * *

Shakespeare: “Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.”

* * *

Chair Wrecker email and website: macesposo@yahoo.com and www.chairwrecker.com

Aquino slams door on tax compromise with Coronas

By Fernan J. Angeles 
The Daily Tribune

Even before knowing the finer details of the P158-million tax evasion charges filed against former Chief Justice Renato Corona and members of his family, Malacañang had shut the door on the possibility of the Coronas striking a compromise deal with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on the case.

Charged with the tax fraud case were Corona, his daughter Carla Corona-Castillo and son-in-law Constantino Castillo III. President Aquino’s spokesman Edwin Lacierda claimed there is enough evidence against the Coronas to warrant the filing of the tax evasion charges.

“It has been an issue even way back, whether or not the government should consider amnesty. The position of the government is, let’s file the tax evasion case to set examples. Because this is the only administration that has consistently filed tax evasion cases against personalities, individuals who underdeclare their income. So this is an ongoing policy of our administration,” Lacierda said.

Warding off allegations of vindictiveness against perceived enemies from the previous administration, Lacierda claimed the act of filing tax charges against the Coronas is not something that the BIR had just started, adding that the government has long been taking cases to court if only to ensure that leakages in the government revenues are plugged.

“This is our commitment to plugging the leakages in the tax administration system. This is not something extraordinary. It just so happens that the personality involved is the former Chief Justice. Like we said, every other week, the BIR files a tax evasion case against personalities” Lacierda said.

President Aquino, however, has long been training his guns ar Corona even mentioning in his third State of the Nation Address (Sona) last July that his administration won’t stop with Corona’s impeachment, and indicated that he would be made accountable for “abuses and corruption” during the Arroyo presidency.

During the same Sona, Aquino also cited the court cases filed against former President Gloria Arroyo as part of his pursuit for the “straight path”.

Corona became the first chief justice to be removed from office by the Senate, acting as an impeachment court, which found him guilty for failure to make a full disclosure of his bank deposits in his statement of assets, liabilities and networth (SALn).

The administration has been in a relentless effort to pin down Arroyo and people known to be her allies.

Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares said the ousted chief magistrate was charged for allegedly attempting to avoid payment of tax liabilities, in violation of Section 254 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997.

Corona was also accusezad of failing to file returns, and supply correct and accurate tax information in violation of Section 255 of the NIRC for the years 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2010.

The BIR computed Corona’s tax deficiency to reach an estimated P120.5 million for the nine years he was in public office.

Corona’s daughter was charged for allegedly also violating Section 254 and Section 255 of the NIRC in 2010. The BIR said Carla only filed tax returns for 2008 and 2009, where she declared a total income of P228,040.

Carla’s husband, meanwhile, was charged for evading taxes in 2003 and 2009, and failing to file a tax return in 2003.

Despite the couple’s total declared income amounting to P3 million.

The BIR computed the couple’s income tax deficiency at more than P30 million: P20.25 million for Mr. Castillo, and P9.93 million for Carla.

Aquino’s House ally Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III said the BIR’s filing of tax evasion charges against Corona cannot be equated to the persecution of a former Chief Justice “but the prosecution of an alleged tax evader.”

Those who see politics in this move are probably blind to the truth that the BIR has been filing tax evasion cases, without fanfare, fear or favor, against individuals regardless of their stature in society.

It is against this backdrop that the BIR’s move to charge the Coronas for their alleged failure to comply with one of the most basic duties of citizenship, the payment of taxes, must be appreciated, Tañada said.

He cited estimates that the equivalent of three percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) or P300 billion is lost to tax evasion yearly. In this case, the BIR must be commended, not condemned for doing its job, Tañada said.

“The filing of charges should give the Coronas the opportunity to air their side, and even clear their names, if abuse has been done to them,” he added.

For his part, Bayan Muna party-list Rep.Neri Colmenares said the filing of tax evasion charges against the Coronas is a good start, “otherwise the impeachment was useless because the purpose of impeachment is to remove the official so he can be charged in court.”

“The government must not forget the former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez and her subordinates (Mark) Jalandoni and (Emilio) Gonzalez (III), the cases against them must also be seriously prosecuted,” he said.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/headlines/item/3623-aquino-slams-door-on-tax-compromise-with-coronas

If we disagree with P-noy’s choice, let’s respect Sereno as a woman

By Alex P. Vidal

LOS ANGELES, California – Plato was right when he insisted in the Republic that there is nothing that a man can do in public affairs that a woman cannot do equally well.

The classicial Greek philosopher admitted certain respects in which a woman, simply by being a woman, is inferior in political activity to a man, but he thought that the differences between individuals are more important than the difference between the sexes. In his view, an intelligent and competent woman is superior to a man who lacks these qualities, and it is waste of human capacities not to use her in the administration of the state.

Some of us may disagree with President Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III when he appointed the most junior insider or an “outsider” to the senior justices appointed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, but like Plato, Aquino probably was convinced that among the 50 who applied for the position vacated by impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona, Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is more superior than her male rivals in many areas outside the issue of age and experience.

FACEBOOK

Aside from allegedly rushing to campaign for the post as soon as she was nominated, and quickly setting up a Facebook account named “Why Justice Sereno should be appointed as Chief Justice” and for allegedly lying in her biodata which was posted in the Supreme Court’s website that “she was co-counsel with Justice Florentino Feliciano” in the Fraport case before the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, according to former Ambassador Rigoberto Tiglao, there are no major issues that would weigh down Sereno’s ascension as Chief Justice. Sereno is not among the nine counsels representing the government in the Centre’s records, insisted Tiglao. “There weren’t “co-counsels” in that case. The truth is that she was merely the personal legal researcher and documentation lawyer of the 77-year-old Feliciano, and not of the government,” Tiglao wrote in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on August 30, 2012.

Sereno shouldn’t be faulted on issue that she outdid Hacienda Luisita’s lawyers in arguing for P10-billion compensation for the President’s clan. Those opposed to Sereno’s appointment should have made their assignment when the Judicial Bar Council (JBC) was still deliberating on the choice for the next Chief Justice, not now that she has taken her oath of office before the President in Malacanang.

Anything negative her critics will say post her appointment will be dismissed as sourgraping after a much ballyhooed report that nine of the 13 Supreme Court associate justices boycotted the swearing in of their unwanted Chief.

MACHO MEN

We understand the consternation of the macho men, the senior justices and other “more colorful” candidates for the post who possess Ph.D. in law from Harvard and postdoctoral degrees, but the President’s choice is always final.

The principle of male dominance in the family and the community is always based on the Western culture that originated in a patriarchal type of society. Institute for Philosophical Research Director Mortimer Adler once emphasized that the discussion of the role of women in ancient writings usually reflects this patriarchal setting, but there are notable exemptions. Even in ancient times, he explained, some thinkers came to conclusions about the status of women that clashed with the prevailing order.

I have no problem with women as leaders; I have no problem with Sereno as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Her biodata says Sereno was born in July 2, 1960 in Manila to a father native to Siasi, Sulu, and to mother who served as a public school teacher. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics at the Ateneo de Manila University in 1980, and her Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law, graduating as class valedictorian in 1984. She also earned a Master of Laws from the University of Michigan Law School in 1993.

At the time of her appointment, Sereno was Executive Director of the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center. She was also the President of Accesslaw Inc., had taught at University of the Philippines College of Law for 19 years, and has served as a consultant for the United Nations, World Bank, and US Agency for International Development.

With her sparkling credentials, I can say that it is a waste of human capacities not to use Sereno in the administration of the state.