Tag: Law
#Du30 needs to effect lawful arrests asap—this is Davao, he was a city prosecutor, it’s right up his alley
Some essential details first:
The President does not declare lawlessness.
He does not declare a state of lawlessness.
He does not declare a state of lawless violence.
This kind of sentence structure means he is imposing lawlessness, or that he is imposing a state of lawless violence, or that he is putting the entire country in state of lawless violence.
Rather, the President declares the existence of a state of lawless violence for which he exercises his Commander-in-Chief power of calling out the armed forces to suppress such lawless violence.
In essence, what he is declaring is his exercise of the Commander-in-Chief power of calling out the armed forces to suppress lawless violence.
To call out the armed forces is to command the armed forces, to order the armed forces, to deploy the armed forces. Etc. Only the Commander-in-Chief is authorized to do these (although he can delegate the operational details to his chief-of-staff.)
In other words, he is declaring that he is ordering the armed forces to suppress lawless violence by, for example, intensifying the hot pursuit of the Abu Sayyaf, the setting up of lockdowns and checkpoints in certain areas, etc.
Simply put: The President ordered increased military patrols and presence in the cities and crowded areas, etc.
Legally, it is not necessary for the Commander-in-Chief to expressly declare: “I am declaring the existence of a state of lawless violence…etc.”. He can simply deploy and order members of the armed forces to execute their mission.
But since he had in mind a whole set of measures such as lockdowns, checkpoints, etc. , he needed to declare the constitutional framework for what he was doing. That framework is the Commander-in-Chief calling out power.
In other words, he was putting military boots on city streets and tiled floors so he needed to declare his constitutional framework.
Amid all these huffing and puffing, what is the status of the investigation?
The President needs to order the speedy and careful conduct of the investigation so that criminal complaints of murder with ignominy, 14 counts, could be filed right away –- this is Davao and he was the top city prosecutor so he knows what to do. The suspects will not reply in the preliminary investigation so the reglementary periods could be fast-tracked – so that warrants of arrest could be issued right away. But if warrantless arrests would be made, the “suspects” can only be detained without charges for 36 hours only – make it count. THIS IS URGENT.
The universally accepted legal method in legal research is to shepardize a pertinent law/ rule/ case in order to find out its present status, that is, to locate all pertinent revisions, amendments, implementation of that law (or for cases: to locate all appeals and precedents, from most recent to oldest).
With credits to the very resourceful journalist Raissa Robles based on whose previous research the document below was rightclicked from (the 1992 Alunan-Marcos Agreement on the Marcos burial), and with credits to the Inquirer banner-headline story today, embedded below the story is the jpeg copy of the agreement between the Ramos government, represented by then DILG Secretary Rafael Alunan and Imelda Marcos (i watermarked the photo with Raissa Robles’s name to credit the source, if you want a copy without the watermark, kindly ask a copy from her with credits).
This is without conceding that the conditions laid down by Republic Act 289 “An Act Providing for the Construction of a National Pantheon etc.” have been complied with (will post a line-by-line textual analysis here later, since President Duterte is using a literal, textual interpretation – his “legal positivistic” style can be met head on, and refuted. ). In fact, if you do a line-by-line, his order and a memo that followed it do not comply with said law, hence invalid and void, even illegal . (i’ll do a line-by-line textual analysis, be patient).
Here is the Inquirer banner headline and below that is Raissa Robles’s copy, watermarked by blog admin with the name of Raissa Robles:
The 1992 Alunan-Marcos Agreement on the Marcos Burial:
From the Inquirer: “Deal: Marcos burial in Ilocos.
“ ’92 accord bars late dictator from Libingan by: Jaymee T. Gamil
“THE 1992 agreement between the Ramos administration and the Marcos family providing for, among other things, the burial of President Ferdinand Marcos in Ilocos Norte province, remains binding, former Interior Secretary Rafael Alunan III said on Saturday.
“Alunan is one of the signatories to the agreement.
“The agreement could be invoked by opponents of the planned transfer of Marcos’ body to a grave at Libingan ng mga Bayani, although Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (Selda), a group of survivors of martial law abuses, said it would ask the Supreme Court to intervene in the matter this week.
“Alunan was tasked in 1992 by then President Fidel V. Ramos to “represent the government” in discussions with the Marcos family, led by former first lady Imelda Marcos and represented by former Rep. Roquito Ablan, of conditions for the return of the dictator’s remains to the Philippines from Hawaii.
“Toppled from power in a popular uprising in 1986, Marcos died in exile in Hawaii in 1989. President Corazon Aquino refused to allow the return of his body to the Philippines.
“In a press conference with Ramos at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City yesterday, Alunan gave reporters a rundown of the conditions set by the government for the return of Marcos’ body.
“Four conditions
“The conditions were:
“The body would be flown straight from Hawaii to Ilocos Norte province.
“Marcos would be given honors befitting a major, his last rank in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“Marcos’ body would not be paraded in Metro Manila. “At that time,” Alunan explained, “the wounds were still fresh in the minds of many people, and we could not afford bloodshed and instability [on] our watch.”
“There would be no burial at Libingan ng mga Bayani. Alunan noted that Marcos had wanted to be buried beside the grave of his mother in Batac, Ilocos Norte.
“ “So those were the conditions, and we signed an agreement. I think the agreement is still in the archives of Malacañang, so if you wish to get a copy of the agreement that was signed between me and Congressman Ablan, please go ahead and secure a copy from Malacañang,” Alunan said.
“The Marcos family flew the dictator’s body home on Sept. 7, 1993. From Hawaii, the body was flown to Guam then to Laoag, in Ilocos Norte.
“Deal remains binding
“Then Vice President Joseph Estrada, representing the government, was at Laoag International Airport to see the body.
“But the Marcos family never buried the body, preserving it instead in a refrigerated crypt housed in a mausoleum beside the dictator’s ancestral home in Batac.
“Asked if the agreement remained binding, Alunan said: “I would imagine so, because I was acting for and on behalf of the President of the Republic and the government.”
“He added: “I would think that because the agreement is still in force, then both sides should honor it.”
“The agreement was “never abrogated,” said Alunan, now senior adviser to Ramos, who has been appointed by President Duterte as special envoy to China.
“ “If President Duterte thinks otherwise, then that’s his prerogative. The Office of the President is very powerful,” Alunan said.
“Asked if he or Ramos would ask the Marcos family to comply with the agreement, Alunan replied: “We’re civilians [now]. We are [no longer] in government.”
“Ramos, saying Alunan was speaking with authorization from him, added: “That’s for the Duterte administration. We did our job during our time.”
“The 1992 agreement, particularly the fourth condition, could be invoked by opponents of the burial of Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani.xxx”
AND HERE IS A JPEG COPY OF THE 1992 ALUNAN-MARCOS AGREEMENT ON THE MARCOS BURIAL RIGHTCLICKED FROM JOURNALIST RAISSA ROBLES’S POST (watermarked here with Raissa Robles’s name for credit) 
