I saw Marikina river swell, until the road beside the river was gone. From my window, I watched the people living near the river go up their roofs. I watched as the river grew bigger and stronger, and then the roofs of the small houses were gone. At night, all I could see were tiny lights from rooftops of the taller houses. I think the people had flashlights or candles so they could be rescued. But no one came.

The following day, I didn’t see people moving about in that part of Marikina, across the river from my condominium building. I went down my building and asked the guards if there was a way we could cross down there to bring food and water, but I was advised that the only way is through Marikina. I felt helpless. I asked the admin office if we could place empty boxes in the lobby for used clothes and food. Well, Miriam quiambao beat me to it, because she did it earlier, so our residents were able to donate things and food. From now on I will greet her when I see her in the elevator.

That Sunday, the friends of my niece told me they were going to Cainta because their friends there had no water and little food. On Monday the road to cainta was passable by car, so my bodyguard rented a jeepney, and we bought several large containers of water and I emptied my pantry of all my groceries except my bacolod biscuits (Biscocho) and we went to Cainta. It was like a scene from the movie I am Legend. Cars were piled up, muck and mud everywhere. There was a long line of people waiting for relief goods, people lining up outside stores. They had no electricity, no drinking water, no phones, no internet. They were cut off from the rest of us.

I offered my house in Antipolo to the family of my niece’s friend, but they refused to leave for fear that their house would be looted. Her mom told me that 5 of them survived on one liter of water on friday night. They retreated to the second floor of their house, and planned to go up their roof if the water did not stop rising. By God’s grace, the water did not reach their second floor, and they just had to stay awake to survive.

This government is not only corrupt, it is incompetent. we cannot trust that government can save lives during disasters. It was a good thing that the MRT did not shut down that day, or more people would have been harmed or perished. Now the government officials are passing the buck, blaming each other. DENRs Atienza wants the mayors jailed for failing to keep the waterways clear of garbage. Gloria let the poor take shelter in malacanang. Teodoro apologized. In other countries, people in charge commit harakiri to atone for lost lives.

We will talk more about local government’s roles in disaster prevention, laws that are relevant in times like these. I hope that I am not only able to teach you loc gov law, I hope that I can teach you how to become the best mayors and officials your towns and cities ever had.

This saturday, join me in a barangay (barrio) in

 Pateros, one of the areas which was flooded by

typhoon Ondoy.  We will join students from

U.P. and my niece Teresa sponsor a kids, day and

entertain the kids with fun, food and games. A

dermatologist friend, Elaine Andaya, will join

us with friends Myrene, Jenny and Tina. She will

check the kids for skin diseases, and they will

bring anti-fungal cream and yakult. We, our

class, will conduct a short seminar on the
Barangay Protection Order for the mothers and

barangay officials. Bring your own lunch.

* Professor R.V. Guanzon

The Magna Carta of Women (MCW) is the newest law on women’s human rights in the Philippines.  It was the topic of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines forum last September 16, 2009, with Senator Pia Cayetano as guest speaker. I  read my reaction paper, and here are some of the points I raised:

1) The  MCW specifically cites the UN CEDAW or Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women but does not cite other UN Conventions, in its State Policy. Instead, it lumps them in a general provision, “and other international instruments.

2) It does not require a quota for women members in political parties and a quota for women candidates, say for example,  50% of women candidates in all political parties must be women.  The inequality of women in politics vis a vis the men should have been corrected with this affirmative action provision, but Congress is obviously not ready for this. Men continue to hold power in political parties in the Philippines, and they continue to be the gatekeepers. For as long as this is not remedied, women will continue to be a minority in political positions.

3) Instead of repealing laws that are discriminatory to women, the MCW only provides that COngress shall repeal these laws within three years.  Congress dragged its feet on this one. It could have repealed the Revised Penal Code (RPC) provisions on Adultery and Concubinage, deleting these offenses from the RPC . Adultery (for women offenders ) has a higher penalty than concubinage. It is also difficult to prove concubinage while it is easy to prove adultery because women get pregnant.  Adultery is frequently used by batterers agains their wives who file cases of Violation of the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004 against them

4) the Law does not provide for a budget for enforcement, including an education campaign.  just like the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004 (republic Act 9262), it leaves the work to loca government funds and the 5% Gender and Development fund of national agencies and local governments.  

5) we should not be lulled by  what appears as bright promises for gender equality under this law.  women’s human rights advocates should continu.e to press for gender equality in all legislations, policy, programs and budget allocations

Will post more notes later.

R Guanzon

My article in the Journal of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (March 2009) is entitled “Constitutional Challenges to Republic Act No. 9262. This article will hopefully help women litigants and their lawyers answer challenges to the constitutionality of Republic Act No. 9262.

Members of the IBP may get their copy from the IBP Journal Office, IBP Building, Julia Vargas Avenue, Pasig City.

Below is the url of the Final Report of the Expert Group Meeting on Good Practices in Legislations on VAW which I attended in UN Vienna in May 2008

I hope you will find the material useful.

=================

Dear experts,

We are very pleased to enclose the final
report of the expert group meeting on good practices in legislation. The
report will be available for download from our website at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/vaw_legislation_2008/Report%20EGMGPLVAW%20(final%2011.11.08).pdf

Sept 18, 2009

Regional Trial Court of Malabon City Branch 170, Judge HEctor Almeyda, presiding; Atty. Manuel Jimenez, Jr., accused in the murder of Ruby Rose Barrameda was arraigned today, and pleaded not guilty. He was brougt to the courtroom in a stretcher, with attendants from the Angono Medics Hospital, a small private hospital. His lawyer alleges that Jimenez, Jr is too ill to be taken out of the Angono Medics Hospital, and there is no room in the Philippine General Hospital and the Philippine Heart Center.

The Judge ordered that he can remain in Angono Medics up to tuesday, September 22, 2009. The prosecutors requested an order that the chief of hospital of the Philippine Heart Center conduct a definitive diagnosis of the medical condition of Jimenez, Jr.  We, the prosecutors, insist that he should be in prison while the judge is hearing his petition for bail, or in a government hospital if indeed he is too ill to be brought to prison.

25 July 2009

I and my colleague in the Gender Justice Network, Attorney Ana Cristal, accepted the murder and parricide cases of Ruby Rose Barrameda filed by her parents because it is a case of violence against women. Ruby Rose was not only murdered, she was tortured. We also believe the testimony of the witness, Montero, who was a conspirator in the murder and desribed in detail the clothes that Ruby Rose wore on the day of her murder, and how she was abducted two years ago on March 14, 2007, handcuffed, both legs tied with a nylon cord (rope), mouth gagged, and stranggled using a nylong cord, stuffed in a drum filled with cement, and the drum placed in a steel casing filled with cement. Montero described how and where they dropped the steel casing in the sea near the property of the BSJ Fishing and Trading company owned by the Jimenez family.

The mother of Ruby Rose is a retired public school teacher, and her father, a retired sergeant in the Philippine Air Force.

The respondents, Atty. Manuel Jimenez, Jr, his son Manuel Jimenez III the husband of Ruby Rose (against whom she filed a custody suit which was pending on May 12, 2007 the day she disappeared), Lope Jimenez the brother ofJimenez, Jr., Spyke and several others, filed their counter-affidavit, except for one, Obet. We filed our Manifestation that we are not filing a Reply-Affidavit of the complainants, but stated our observations of the counter-affidavits. I will post our Manifestation here in a few days.

In the last preliminary investigation hearing which was held in the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory, the forensic consultant of the respondents Jimenez took photographs of the specimen collected by the police from the cadaver. These, they said, will be the basis of their supplemental affidavits, which is due for submission on tuesday in the Department of Justice. Whether or not the respondents will file a supplemental affidavit, this case will be submitted for resolution.

In the media, the Jimenez’ lawyer keeps on saying that the identity of the cadaver cannot be ascertained as that of Ruby Rose’s, despite the fact that the PNP crime lab dentist submitted a report to the prosecutors that the teeth of the cadaver match those of Ruby Rose’s in a panoramic dental xray given by the school dentist. Identifying cadavers through the examination of their teeth and comparison with dental records have been used as conclusive method of identification by our courts in many Supreme Court decisions. In the murder of Julia Campbell, the American peace corps volunteer who was murdered in Banaue, the trial court also accepted the report and conclusion of the Philippine National Police orthodontolist that the cadaver was that of Julia Campbell. That dentist, Dr. Dindo Herrera, is the same orthodontologist who examined the teeth and mandible of the cadaver and concluded that it was Ruby Rose Barrameda -Jimenez.

Aside from that, the clothes found on the cadaver are the same clothes described by the parents of Ruby Rose in their statement to the police in May, or about a month before her cadaver was found on June 10, 2009. That goes the same for Montero, in whose statement he also described that on the day of Ruby Rose’ abduction and murder on in March 2007, she was wearing khaki pants, lacoste shirt with brown, black biege stripes.

The defense tries to create a doubt as to the identity of the cadaver by saying that there appears to be a hole in the chest (meaning that if there is, it could be a bullet hole), based on the photos of the PNP crime laboratory. In the last preliminary investigation hearing, I replied that the PNP crime lab medico legal stated that it is not a hole, it is the standard incision when they conduct an autopsy. There is no hole in the chest. There are 126 colored photos submitted to the prosecutors by the PNP crime laboratory SOCO team, which include photos of Ruby Rose’ bra and panty, lacoste shirt, and khaki pants.

During the viewing of the specimen collected by the PNP crime labrotary from the cadaver, Atty. Jimenez did not enter the specimen room.

Class,

take home quiz . submit on the next session. 10 pts

write your last name on the upper right hand corner of your paper

1.  Write in not more than one page of  used short bond paper, the ruling in Prov. of N. cotabot vs. Esperon.  Only used bond paper will be accepted. Save the trees. recycle.

2.  What is the controversy in the city of manila?  This is current events.

write in not more than one half page of used short bond paper

Katrina Halili sued Dr. Hayden Kho for Violation of Republic Act No. 9262.  Katrina is an actress and model for Bench, a clothing company, who had a sexual relationship with a costemic surgeon employed or connected with Belo Clinic, named Dr. Hayden Kho.  A video of katrina and Kho while having sexual contact is posted in the internet.  Katrina says it was filmed by Kho without her knowledge and consent.

A senator called me  ask about the salient features of RA No. 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004.  For salient features of this law, please click Books and Articles in this website.

The most common question that is asked is if Dr. Kho is liable for economic violence.

I doubt if an allegation of economic violence will prosper, because the allegation (if I am not mistaken) is that Katrina lost opportunity income and job offers because of the sex video. This is more appropriate in a damage suit, but may not prosper in a criminal action, unlike say for example, if the woman is entitled to support and is deprived of support, the man controls her income or solely controls community or conjugal funds or assets, or kicked her out of a house which is conjugal or community property, for whatever reason. The woman may not be deprived of the use or enjoyment of conjugal or community property such as the conjugal dwelling, even if the husband  alleges that she committed marital infidelity.   In my opinion, if there is no deprivation of a right to support or an economic right and there is no element of economic control, there is no economic violence.

RA 9262 applies even if there was only one sexual contact. It also applies to persons who have or had (past) a dating relationship or those with common children (who are not married), those who are or were married, or living-in. They must have  had a present or past intimate or dating  relationship.

RA 9262 provides the woman with the relief of a protection order in an independent civil action, or together with an action for damages. This is probably what Katrina has filed against Kho. An application for protection order can be filed together with an action for damages, to ask the court to issue a stay away order and deliver to the court any videotape with Katrina in it, to prevent futher public humiliation. 

For details about RA 9262, get a copy of my article, “Issues and Problems in the Enforcement of the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004,” in the Philippine Journal (Dec 2008 issue) or Journal of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (March 2009).  Check the web, the Phil Law Journal has  a website. You may also check here from time to time. My webmaster will soon post my article in “Books.”

I am happy to share with you that my niece, Teresa Ira Maris P. Guanzon, or “Tim” is the Grand Archon of the Delta Lambda Sigma Sorority. Tim is 3rd year in the University of the Philippines College of Law and was Class President for two years.

The Delta Lambda Sigma Sorority is registered as a socio-civic organization in the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.  Our members include students from various colleges, including the College of Law, Business Administration, Tourism, College of Science and Tourism.  Delta Lambda Sigma ephasizes academic excellence and leadership.  One of our resident sisters Missy, (2nd year UP College of Law) is Secretary General of the University Student Council in UP Diliman.

For photos of the Deltan Ball 2009, please click Gallery.