I love Wikileaks.
It unmasks the two-faced. It reveals the double-life of many of the officials that we respect.
Take this one from Paul Jones, who served deputy chief of mission of the US Embassy in Manila. His cable in Sept. 2006 indicated that former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban was the protector of Filipino-Chinese businessman Mariano Nocom, whose malls were said to have been selling pirated goods.
Piracy undermines legitimate business and deprives the government of revenues.
The cable was about the demotion of Judge Antonio Eugenio who was handling intellectual property rights (IPR) cases.
Poor Eugenio, he stepped on powerful toes with protection in the highest court of the land.
Here’s the report: “As part of an effort to improve the prosecution and handling of IPR cases in the Philippines and to demonstrate the GRP’s commitment to better IPR protection during the Special 301 out-of-cycle review, in December 2005 the GRP designated three judges to handle all IPR cases in Metro Manila.
“One of these judges was Senior Executive Judge Antonio Eugenio. As the only one of the three judges with executive authority, Judge Eugenio’s position carried special powers including the ability to issue warrants within a 24-hour period for any jurisdiction in the country.
“Non-executive judges can only issue a warrant once the case has been assigned to them, a process that can take several days to several weeks, increasing the risk of information leaking with respect to potential arrests. In addition, they are limited to issuing warrants within their jurisdictions.
“Since Judge Eugenio could issue warrants expediently for any jurisdiction in the country, he was receiving the majority of warrant applications for violations of IP laws.
“The Optical Media Board, headed by Chairman Edu Manzano, filed almost all of its warrant applications with Judge Eugenio because they could be assured of prompt action. He approved most of OMB’s requests and quickly, Manzano said.
“In late July, the Supreme Court rescinded Judge Eugenio’s executive authority, reassigning him to another court and stating that he would no longer handle IPR cases.
“Judge Eugenio was told the decision was justified as “in the interest of the service.’ However, Eugenio said a court administrator told him privately that the Supreme Court felt he had an ‘overly burdensome workload.’ Immediately prior to the decision, the Supreme Court requested a review of all warrants issued by Judge Eugenio. The results showed that more than 95 percent of those warrants resulted in seizures of pirated optical media or capital equipment used to produce the pirated material.
“Judge Eugenio said he certainly never complained about the workload and the decision (to relieve him) was highly unusual given his success rate. Judge Eugenio has since been replaced by Senior Executive Judge Reynaldo Ros, who is new to IPR cases.
“We have been told several different versions of the same story as to the possible underlying reasons for Judge Eugenio’s demotion. According to Manzano, a number of the warrants issued by Judge Eugenio resulted in a series of raids by the OMB at malls owned by an influential Filipino-Chinese businessman, Mariano Nocom. Nocom is well connected to Supreme Court Justice Artemio Panganiban, Manzano said, and Nocom complained to him about the high raid activity and asked that the Supreme Court intervene.
“The regional representative of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) described a slightly different version of events, which he said is based on reliable information from a contact who was directly involved in the process. In this version, Nocom plays golf with two members of the Supreme Court and exerted influence through them for Judge Eugenio’s demotion.
“According to MPAA, all Supreme Court justices voted in favor of the decision except for the Chief Justice, who reportedly abstained.
“Several other sources in the private sector also speculate that Judge Eugenio’s dismissal was based on the influence of a powerful businessman over the Supreme Court.
“Judge Eugenio himself told econoff he was specifically asked a few months ago by a ‘bigwig of the Supreme Court’ to stop issuing warrants against Chinese mall owners. Eugenio refused and was subsequently ordered to submit his entire caseload for review.
“Nocom owns large amounts of real estate including much of the land around Ninoy Aquino National Airport and various malls and shopping complexes throughout Manila. He owns several malls in Quiapo, an area notorious for its sale of pirated optical media and counterfeit goods.
“In a 2004 local news article, Nocom announced he would ban the sale of all pirated optical media from his establishments and reportedly said “to succeed against IPR pirates, legitimate business groups should also do their part.”
“Nocom also owns substantial shares in Banco de Oro, one of the major local banking institutions. The extent of Nocom’s holdings and wealth are not known, but he is considered extremely wealthy and influential, Manzano said.
“Many contacts in the IPR enforcement agencies and the private sector expressed concern over Judge Eugenio’s demotion. While a few contacts found him unhelpful on a specific case, most say Judge Eugenio was a firm ally in the fight against IPR violators and his demotion is a significant loss. Eugenio said he did not fight the decision because he was “just a regional trial court judge and we don’t fight City Hall.”
“According to Manzano, Judge Eugenio also backed down because of personal political considerations. His wife works for a Supreme Court Justice. ”
Comments of Jones:
“With more than 95% of Judge Eugenio’s warrants resulting in successful raids against IP violators, his demotion does not make sense, except as a corrupt favor or a means of reducing IPR protection. The demotion will likely send a strong deterrent message to other judges and prosecutors working IP cases in its implication that those with power and influence may be able to negatively affect an individual’s career if they are unhappy with decisions on IPR cases.”
“With more than 95% of Judge Eugenio’s warrants resulting in successful raids against IP violators, his demotion does not make sense, except as a corrupt favor or a means of reducing IPR protection. The demotion will likely send a strong deterrent message to other judges and prosecutors working IP cases in its implication that those with power and influence may be able to negatively affect an individual’s career if they are unhappy with decisions on IPR cases.”
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Where is the “moral force?”
“…Where is the “moral force?”…”
saan ko nga ba nailagay ‘yun?
problema kasi, ngayon lang sumisingaw itong mga ganitong pagkunsinting nangyari/ginawa noong panahon ng bugaw na si goyang.
nakakatuwa din naman, chief justice na dapat pinakamatuwid, patong din pala sa mga illegal?
ganito pala ang kinalalabasan bandang huli ng mga nagsunog ng kilay at bumbunan upang maging dalubhasang abogado – nagiging tagatangkilik ng mga abusado.
quiapo was once the capital of pirated dvds in the philippines.
Mariano Nocom is well-known in Pasay. He owns many prime real estate and developed properties including the Fiesta Duty-free Shop and an airfreight complex in Ninoy Aquino Ave., the Esplanade restaurant strip at the back of MOA where the pyrotechnics contests are held, the New Dampa in Macapagal blvd., and many other large parcels along the Manila Bay reclamation area from Pasay all the way to Cavite.
I’m not familiar though with the malls mentioned in the Wikileaks cable. But if you go around Pasay these days, it would be surprising to note that the optical media pirates’ havens that once operated in clusters in and around my barangay (EDSA-Taft area) are nowhere to be found. Pirated DVDs are rare commodities these days. I’m told the DVD stalls in EDSA LRT station, Metropoint Mall, Savers’ Square Mall, and the EGI Mall in Taft-Buendia, have all been subject to frequent raids, the financiers decided to close shop.
Although the Philippines remains in the 2011 Special 301 Priority Watchlist (for IPR offenders), my friend Ronnie Ricketts seems to be doing a good job.
Ellen,
Wala bang cable kung bakit biglang naging champion ng foreign mining firms si Panganiban?
#4 tongue, pwde kasing wala ng ganong tumatangkilik ng mga pirated DVDs, humina demand kaya bagsak negosyo. uso na din kasi yung pagdownload ng lang ng mga movies, dami na kasi may mga sariling internet sa bahay.
Hindi lang taga hawak bibliya ni Putot si Temyong, protector din pala ng mga ‘pirates’!
Sa inis, binisita ko ulit ang dating injustice chief, nakasalubong ko si tongue at baycas. 🙂
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tongue in, anew
December 23rd, 2005 at 3:18 am
Diba ito yung bugok na Justice na sumulat ng librong sabi e pinagawa nila ng antedated request si GMA pagkatapos manumpa sa EDSA dahil lalabas na initiative ng Supreme Court ang kanyang oath taking? Kahit sino iappoint dun sa mga nagdecide na iswear si Doña, puro sila palsipikador. They’ve no right to be justices.
Latest I heard, those who bought the book before it was recalled from bookstores are willing to sell it no cheaper than P10,000 per copy. Hard evidence that Gloria stole the presidency.
Binaboy na talaga ang kawawang Pilipinas. Pagbabago kelan ba makakamit?
baycas
December 23rd, 2005 at 5:24 am
…But that begs the question. If there was no vacancy in the presidency, just what were the justices doing at the swearing-in of Arroyo? Wasn’t that a highly partisan political event? And how can they later rule on her legitimacy when they themselves were a party to her ascension to a post that wasn’t even vacant? ….
http://www.pcij.org/blog/?p=549
Sus ginoo naman si dating SC chief justice Artemio Panganiban, iligal ang practice ng hustisya! 🙁
Erap must be smirking already with all those who conspired against him being link to corruptions and wrong doings. “Wedder wedder lang yan” 😛
Say, I wonder what wikileaks has on Erap? Meron kaya? I’m really interested. Hehehehe 😛
I was asking the same, Mike. Mas intresado ako kasi yung kina Arroyo-Pidal and gang nothing that we don’t know already.
Isa pa itong naglilinis-linisan pa kunyari, moral force? pweee!
chi, for your pleasure:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/-depth/09/03/11/arroyo-knew-husband-involved-syndicates-us-cable-says
Tenkyu, Mags. Nakakabanas, sila pa rin ang isyu!
walang anumang isyu ang makakatabon sa mga katiwalian ng pidales de arroyo, sabihin na nating walang katulad na nakakasulasok na kawalanghiyaan at kasalaulaang pinaglubluban nila sa mahigit siyam na taong patatampisaw sa inagaw at ipinandayang kapangyarihan.
kahit tadtarin ng pinong pino’t sunugin ang kanilang buto’t laman ay kulang pang kabayaran sa lahat nilang kasalanan at panloloko sa bawat isang pilipino.
I saw this Panganiban fellow speak at the Philippine Consulate in New York, a few years ago, when he was still CJ of the nunal. He was trumpeting a newly written book then, mixing the judiciary and the economy. Ang babaw ng connection. Prolific writer daw? Prolific writer din naman si Pat Buchanan, at si Mars Ravelo. Si Pat, isang butas ng puwet (asshole) na racista. Si Mars Ravelo, entertaining.
Ipinagmamalaki ni Temyong yung kanyang ponencia sa decision ukol sa EO ng nunal. Kesyo malalalim ang sinabi, etc. Sa katunayan, yun ang naging escape hatch ng nunal, Dahil kahit pinawalang bisa nila ang EO, hindi naman inutusan ang military na humarap sa Senado. May prayer na ganoon ang isa sa mga petitioner. Ang nangyari, umiwas pa rin ang militar, dahil walang utos na humarap.
Did Temyong cut the Bible on this? To what passage? The one that says go forth and multiply (Nocom’s profits)?
Or was it the passage about Esau selling his birthright to Jacob for a some lentil soup? Ganyan din yang Temyong na yan, his right to assert moral authority for some economic benefit from Nocom.
Parang angkop ang pangalan kay Temyong. Nocom – no commitment to moral integrity.
SnV, someone from the SC called me up explaining the issue with Eugenio and Nocom. I’ll write about it for tomorrow’s issue.
SNV,
The book is called “Leveling the Playing Field” printed in 2005 with foreword from Hilario Davide.
“In clear and convincing fashion, [Justice Panganiban] explains that in those decisions [involving business and economic cases] the Supreme Court has really been “a friend rather than foe of legitimate business” by upholding the Rule of Law.”
I still have the complimentary copy, ewan ko nga ba bakit ito lang yata bukod tanging libro sa collection ko na wala akong ganang basahin?