Month: May 2013

Lessons Learned from the Taiwan Shooting Incident

Published by Ellen on May 16, 2013

By Harry L. Roque, Jr.

Chair, Center for International Law

The recent shooting by the Philippine Coast guard of a lone Taiwanese fisherman illustrates the kind of governmental response that we Filipinos deserve when we ourselves fall victims to an internationally wrongful act. Under international law, there is state responsibility for an internationally wrongful act where there is a breach of international law and when the breach is attributable to the state. Here, it appears that because the killing was because of a shot fired by a state organ, a member of the Philippine Coast Guard, that the killing may be attributed to the Philippines government. Acts of state organs, no matter how lowly their ranks, and even if they are ultra vires, are always attributed to a state.

Furthermore, there too appears to be a breach of international law since the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea prohibits the use of unnecessary use of force in dealing with illegal fishermen. In fact, the UNCLOS provides that fishermen caught illegally fishing in a states exclusive economic zone should not even be detained or charged criminally The only leeway granted to a party state is to apprehend the vessel which, in turn, must be immediately release upon posting of bond.

The lesson learned is how our own government should espouse the claim of its national, even if there is only one solitary victim. Not only did the highest echelon of the Taiwanese government demand for an apology, it also demanded compensation and even threatened the Philippines with both military and economic reprisals, even if both are prohibited by international law. This is in stark contrast with the current practice of the Philippine government. Only recently, 200 of our nationals became sitting ducks to Malaysia’s illegal resort to excessive force. Our response was to threaten our nationals with domestic prosecution.

Amazing Grace

Published by Ellen on May 14, 2013

The great thing about last Monday’s election is that, Grace Poe topped the senatorial elections.

It must be ego-shattering for the three re-electionists – Loren Legarda, Chiz Escudero, and Alan Cayetano –whose desire for the number one slot is not a secret to the public.

Other pluses about Monday’s polls are the re-election of Antonio Trillanes IV and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.
Trillanes because despite limited TV ads due to limited resources, he was able to make it to number nine, an improvement over his number 11 ranking in the 2007 elections.

His victory in this election proved that his 2007 win, when he was under detention, was no fluke. If the 2007 votes for him were “acts of protest” against Arroyo, last Monday’s votes were for his willingness to take on even the powerful and his strong stand on issues that he thinks work against the interest of the Filipino people.

The re-election of Pimentel is made more meaningful by the non-inclusion of Juan Miguel Zubiri, who stole from him five years of his first term.

PH envoy says apology is to family of fisherman,not to Taiwan government

Published by Ellen on May 12, 2013

By Ellen Tordesillas. VERA Files

By Ellen Tordesillas,VERA Files

Philippine Representative in Taiwan Antonio Basilio said Sunday his apology to the family of the fisherman who was killed Thursday by a member of the Philippine Coast Guard in an incident in the disputed waters off Northern Philippines is not the government’s formal apology being demanded by Taiwan.

In an interview, Basilio, resident Representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, said together with Taiwan’s Foreign Minister David Lin, he visited Saturday the family of Hung Shih-cheng, the 65-year-old Taiwanese fisherman who was killed after a Coast Guard personnel fired upon the fishing boat Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 in waters both claimed by the Philippines and Taiwan as part of their 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zones.

Asked if his apology can be considered the Aquino government’s apology to Taiwan, Basilio replied, “The apology was to the family. It’s different from the Philippine government apology to the Taiwan government. “

Taiwan issues 72-hour ultimatum over fisherman’s death

Published by Ellen on May 12, 2013

72 HOURS:The government will freeze Filipino workers’ applications and recall its envoy if Manila fails to respond to Taiwan’s demand for a formal apology and arrest of the suspect in a fisherman’s death

By Mo Yan-chih / Staff reporter
Taipei Times

The administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday gave the Philippines 72 hours to arrest those responsible for the death of a Taiwanese fisherman, issue a formal apology and compensate the victim’s family.

If Manila failed to respond to these demands within 72 hours, the government will freeze Philippine worker applications, recall the Republic of China (ROC) representative in Manila and ask the Philippine representative to return to Manila to help in the investigation, Presidential Office spokesperson Lee Chia-fei (李佳霏) told a news conference last night following a national security meeting presided over by Ma.

The 72-hour deadline started from “12am on May 12,” Lee said.

Taiwanese fisherman killed after fired upon by PH Navy, Chinese media report

Published by Ellen on May 9, 2013

By VERA Files

A crew member of a Taiwanese trawler was killed Thursday morning after being fired upon by a Philippine Navy ship in the disputed area of the South China Sea, media reports in Taipei and Beijing said.

The online Taiwan News said the incident took place at 10 a.m. “about halfway between the southern tip of Taiwan and the Philippines’ main island of Luzon, in an area where territorial rights overlap.”

The report identified the fatality as Hung Shih-cheng, 65, father of the captain of the vessel Kuang Ta Hsing 28 registered in Pingtung County.

Making PWD votes count

Published by Ellen on May 9, 2013

Lawyer Harry Roque tried last Wednesday to withdraw P100,000 to pay the tuition fees of his children and was told that he couldn’t because of the stupid Comelec Resolution 9688 which prohibits “the withdrawal of cash, encashment of checks and conversion of any monetary instrument into cash from May 8 to 13, 2013 exceeeding P100,000 or its equivalent in any foreign currency.”

Comelec Commissioner Sixto Brillantes, Jr. said Resolution 9688 was to prevent vote buying and vote selling which have intensified with the computerization of the elections. He said they released it only Tuesday “so that no one would know about it.. because if they know about it, everyone would withdraw.”

Brillantes, who was a much sought-after election lawyer (President Aquino and former Maguindanao Governer Andal Ampatuan Sr., were his clients) before he joined his elections must be joking. Or could it be that he precisely knew that by now the silly money ban is useless.

How much pull is an INC endorsement?

Published by Ellen on May 7, 2013

Iglesia ni Cristo’s list of senatorial candidates to be endorsed is interesting and intriguing.

Crossing party lines, INC’s list includes seven from Team PNoy (Sonny Angara,Bam Aquino,Alan Peter Cayetano,Grace Poe,Loren Legarda,Antonio Trillanes, and Cynthia Villar) and five from United Nationalist Alliance (JV Ejercito,Richard Gordon,Nancy Binay,Gringo Honasan and Jack Enrile).

An INC member said the day after the list was reported in media, a high ranking official of the church told them that it’s not final and changes may be made before the Monday election. That should keep the suspense among those in the list as well as those who want to get the endorsement that would be crucial in their getting into the Magic 12.

According to reliable survey groups like Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia, of all the religious groups, it’s only the INC that has proven to deliver command votes. There has been no proof of command votes delivered by El Shaddai, Jesus is Lord ( JIL was not able to make its leader, Eddie Villanueva, win in his past presidential bid. He is now a senatorial candidate and is not rating high in surveys) and other religious groups.

The Joy de los Reyes in the hearts and minds of friends

Published by Ellen on May 6, 2013

JOY, 59
By ALEX MAGNO,The Philippine Star

I first ran into Joy de los Reyes over four decades ago, when barricades rose and the streets were on fire. We were combatants, members of what were called “composite teams,” militants expected to hold the line against police charges to protect the main formation of demonstrators.

We became unlikely but fast friends. He was from the Samahan ng Demokratikong Kabataan (SDK) and I from the chauvinistic Kabataang Makabayan (KM). He emanated from the public schools of Aklan and I from a suburban Catholic school. He was always disorganized and I was an obsessive-compulsive, task-oriented bastard. Besides, he had such an unlikely name.

He was studying to become an engineer and I was supposed to become a lawyer. Neither of us lived up to our original plans. Joy fell in love with philosophy and I became immersed in political economy.

No need for Lacson to harm Mancao

Published by Ellen on May 6, 2013

On Nov. 16, 2011, there was a hearing of the Dacer-Corbito kidnapping and murder case. That was the day after Gloria Arroyo was blocked at the airport when she attempted to leave the country for Singapore.

A source who was at the courtroom said the prosecution’s witness, former Police Senior Superintendent Cezar Mancao II, was fidgety because his lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, was not around.

Someone told Mancao, “Hindi na darating yun. Napuyat yun kagabi. (He won’t be coming. He is tired due to to last night’s incident.”

Topacio never made it to the court that day and the hearing was postponed. He was present in subsequent hearings.

Farewell, Joy

Published by Ellen on May 3, 2013

Joy Cortes Delos Reyes, the Editor-in-Chief of Malaya Business Insight passed away May 3, 2013. He was 59. His remains lie in estate at his…