Category Archives: Columns

THE WIDE PUBLIC CRITICISM OF THE RECENT decision of the Supreme Court sealing the lips of Secretary Romulo Neri has generated a side issue: Is the Supreme Court fair game for public and media scrutiny? Continue reading →

LAST SUNDAY, I WROTE ON THE CONGRESSIONAL proposals to decriminalize libel and how the Supreme Court has protected media’s freedom of expression in relation to libel. I said that the Court appreciated the difficult plight of journalists when powerful officials use the police and the prosecutory arm of the government to harass and intimidate them. Continue reading →

PENDING BEFORE CONGRESS ARE SEVERAL bills to decriminalize libel. These bills seek either to abolish it as a crime, or to delete imprisonment as a sanction for the offense and retain fine as the only penalty. Continue reading →

MANILA, Philippines—Last Sunday, I commented on the dismal results of the 2007 bar exams. I said that it was high time the Supreme Court, the Philippine president and the law schools collaborated to produce better lawyers. “We concur,” chorused many readers. But the more pressing query of law students and reviewees for the 2008 test is “Can you give us tips on how to pass the 2008 tests” Continue reading →

MANILA, Philippines—The dismal results of the 2007 Bar Examinations highlight once again the urgent need to reform the entry requirements to the legal profession. To produce new and better lawyers, the collaboration not only of the Supreme Court and the law schools but also of the president of the Philippines is essential. Continue reading →

MANILA, Philippines—Neri vs Senate Committee on Accountability: (March 25, 2008) took up two issues: the scope of executive privilege and the validity of the Senate order holding Secretary Romulo Neri in contempt. Discussing the first topic last Sunday, I opined that the nine-member Supreme Court majority failed to check presidential abuse; worse, it imprudently expanded executive privilege to hide wrongdoings. Continue reading →

MANILA, Philippines—In the olden days, kings and queens ruled their domains absolutely according to their wiles and whims. They were not bound by pre-agreed rules to guide their actions. They simply imposed their wicked ways on the hapless people. Continue reading →

MANILA, Philippines—In her Lenten message, President Macapagal-Arroyo vowed once more to eradicate corruption. Her message was an obvious response to the earlier pastoral statement, from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), that we face a “crisis of truth and the pervading cancer of corruption.” Continue reading →

MANILA, Philippines—More than just recommending the “Abolition of EO 464,” the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines really wanted a “search for the truth” that is “untrammeled, especially at the present time when questions about the moral ascendancy of the present government are being raised.” Continue reading →

AT THE REQUEST OF THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS—Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), President Macapagal-Arroyo revoked Executive Order 464 and Memorandum Circular 108. She said that her subalterns would no longer invoke these infamous directives to thwart legislative inquiries. Continue reading →