Philippine Commentary
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Philippine Commentary » Notes on Teddy Boy Locsin's "Ruling" on Executive Privilege
Manuel L. Quezon III points us to an opinion written by Rep. Teddy Boy Locsin (Makati) regarding the case of Romulo Neri (published before the decision was handed down). As Teddy Boy was perspicacious enough to enumerate each point and paragraph, I have organized some caveats in the manner of Kurt Godel's Platonic riposte's to Ludwig Wittgenstein…Notes towards a circumspect … [Link]
Philippine Commentary » Holy Communion by Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz
VERBATIM FROM LAST FRIDAY'S POST ON THE BLOG OF THE CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP (MP3) MOST REV. OSCAR V. CRUZ, D.D. Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop's Residence, 2400 Dagupan CityHOLY COMMUNION"Do not give what is holy to dogs, neither throw your pearls in front of pigs." (Matthew 7:6). Painful words. Strong injunction. But understandable admonition. Realistic situation. This is why in principle, the … [Link]
Philippine Commentary » Only the State Can Violate Separation of Church and State
OR: Why Rep. Danilo Suarez Is An Ignorant Hick From the Land of CoconutsI think that government officials who don't understand Separation of Church and State should be disqualified from public office until they admit that it is a proper and sacred subset of Freedom of Speech–nothing more, nothing less! The Catholic Church is NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION (NGO) that is given … [Link]
Philippine Commentary » Justice Renato Corona Rules Philippine Senate Is MACHIAVELLIAN
G.R. No. 180643 – ROMULO L. NERI versus Senate Committees on ACCOUNTABILITY OF PUBLIC OFFICERS AND INVESTIGATIONS, TRADE and COMMERCE and NATIONAL DEFENSE AND SECURITYIn the Concurring Opinion of Associate Justice Renato Corona one finds the following:A Final Word The hands that wield the power of legislative investigations are powerful. Section 21, Article VI of the Constitution cushions the impact … [Link]
Philippine Commentary » The Fallacious Heart of Neri v. Senate is a False Distinction About the Powers of Legislation and Oversight
Anyone who understands English Grammar and Composition will be able to see very easily the gaping logical flaw in the just announced Supreme Court Decision on executive privilege versus the Power of Inquiry of the Congress.The main decision and the concurring and dissenting opinions in the landmark case of Romulo Neri versus Senate Committees are here at the Supreme Court … [Link]
Philippine Commentary » Supreme Court Rules 9-6 In Favor of Romulo Neri Against Philippine Senate
Both ABSCBN and GMA-TV News are reporting in Manila that the Supreme Court has ruled 9-6 in favor of Romulo Neri's petition to PROHIBIT the Senate of the Philippines from arresting him for contempt for refusing to answer three questions involving testimonial evidence he could give on President Arroyo's complicity in the scandalous ZTE NBN deal with China.Philippine Commentary on … [Link]
Philippine Commentary » Judicial Review is the Wrong Fulcrum to Balance Executive Privilege and Congress Oversight of Administration
Is it conceivable that the Supreme Court must rule on every single controversial question that Congress might want to pose to Executive Branch officials from here till Doomsday? Does it have the power to prevent ANY citizen from going to Congress before the fact, to speak on any matter within the Rules of the House or Senate? I should say … [Link]
Philippine Commentary » FOR THE FOUR THOUSAND…
Walt Whitman's supernal elegy to Abraham Lincoln is fitting now at a time when America seems ready to go to war with itself…again. I salute my fellow Americans, whose noble and dutiful blood purples the Two Rivers yet waters the flower of hope for liberty and peace throughout the world. No end but victory for our greatest principle: "One Nation … [Link]
Philippine Commentary » 2010: The Second Coming of Church-Backed Fascist Dictatorship
How it feels like 1971!MANUEL L. QUEZON III has been right all along about how PGMA cannot possibly step down peacefully and Constitutionally in 2010. He makes bloggers and writers proud! Today he turns in an admirable essay (The Interdiction of a Witness) in which he valiantly uses the Church's own teachings to criticize Ricardo Cardinal Pidal, err, Vidal, for … [Link]
Philippine Commentary » Barack Obama Tackles Racism–America's Equal Opportunity Mental Illness
Please read the text of the speech or better yet, watch the whole video of Sen. Barack Obama delivering an historic speech on race. Between the seemingly opposed but morally congruent positions of Rev. Jeremiah Wright and the yip-yapping pup terrier, Michelle Malkin, there fortunately exists a much broader and thoughtful spectrum of commentary and reaction to it all over … [Link]
Philippine Commentary » There Is No Right to the Truth Under Freedom of Religion
THE CATHOLIC UMMA insists to this day, in catechisms and official teachings, that it is God's absolute and holy truth that they can literally, physically and miraculously convert bread and wine into divine Flesh and Blood by uttering a few magic words, genuflecting and rolling their eyes up to Heaven. And though they call crucifixions "unhealthy," I suspect they secretly … [Link]
Philippine Commentary » Explaining Statistics With Roller Coasters
OR, What Mahar Mangahas and Ricky Carandang Don't Admit About the Poverty Statistics…I do not consider RICKY CARANDANG or MAHAR MANGAHAS to be dishonest people. Indeed they are among the few in the Mass Media that I have any respect for, intellectually speaking. But during the last week both have made statements about poverty and hunger in the Philippines which … [Link]
Philippine Commentary » Usama bin Laden Threatens Europe and Pope Benedict Over Danish Cartoons
You can listen to a reading of Benedict at Regensberg in this post.Speaking in a newly released audio tape to "the intelligent ones" in Europe, Al Qaeda's Osama bin Laden directly threatens the European Union with a "severe reckoning" over those cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands Postens. Publishing the cartoons "… came in the … [Link]
Philippine Commentary » The Lord's Prayer in Aramaic
My father loved this prayer.His name was Israel.My mother loved this prayer.Her name was Teresita.They loved me. That is why,I love you all… [Link]
Philippine Commentary » Arthur C. Clarke, 90 Orbits Around the Sun
Wired Science has this sad news about the passing of a great visionary writer of the 20th and 21st Centuries. His "Last Message to Earth" is on YouTube.I just hope he takes this, my fond farewell in the right way: "Sir Arthur, you made Science my Religion." Or as Jose Rizal once wrote, Sic itur ad astra! [Link]
Philippine Commentary » Spratlys Issue: Now Nationalists Defend the Treaty of Paris of 1898
THE TREATY OF PARIS OF 1898 ended the Spanish American War. For twenty million dollars Spain sold to the the United States of America its territories and colonies in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. Today, even the most rabid anti- Western imperialists are forced to defend it against China which claims everything in the South China Pond– not … [Link]
Philippine Commentary » Wasn't One Crucifixion Enough?
[PALM SUNDAY...This is a reprint of Philippine Commentary from Good Friday a few years ago... though the subject seems timeless...]JESUS CHRIST was crucified many times all over the Philippine Archipelago today. The ultimate in Good Friday reality shows is to be found in places like Barangay Cutud, a depressed little barrio on the outskirts of San Fernando City, in Pampanga, … [Link]
Philippine Commentary » My Pound of Flesh Argument Against Habeas Data
The Supreme Court of the Republic of the Philippines (SCORP) has just issued its first two Writs of Habeas Data based on the Rule of Court it promulgated just a month ago: SECTION 1. Habeas Data.—The writ of habeas data is a remedy available to any person whose right to privacy in life, liberty or security is violated or threatened … [Link]
Philippine Commentary » Exploring for Oil Starts With Sounding for Oil, Not Drilling for Oil
There is a very simple reason why the whole process of oil exploration does not begin with drilling for oil but rather with sounding for oil. Drilling an undersea oil well is an expensive and tricky operation and is only done after exhaustive seismic and geological studies have pinpointed the most likely sites where test holes can be drilled to … [Link]
Philippine Commentary » SWS and NSCB Hunger and Poverty Data Actually Show Overall Downward Trend
THE RAW DATA NEVER LIES, ONLY HEADLINES DO.The National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB) reported last week that Poverty worsened between 2003 and 2006, yet taken as whole, their own data for the period between 2000 and 2006 actually shows a long-term downward trend in poverty incidence! NSCB POVERTY SUBSISTENCE 2000 .275 .123 2003 .244 .102 2006 .269 .11 Writing for … [Link]