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Batas Mauricio .

I REALIZED that scores of Filipinos are as yet totally unaware of what the proposed federal constitution contains.

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Because of this, we are starting here today a regular forum by which the different provisions of the proposed constitution could be discussed. We will do this public service only because of our desire to afford the citizenry with a much deeper knowledge about the matter.

This is how we propose to do this: first, we will reproduce select parts of the federal constitution. Then, we shall endeavor to come up with our own explanations about these selected provisions. If there are any comments, suggestions or reactions to what we are expounding, they can be sent to batasmauricio@yahoo.com, or mauriciojr111@gmail.com, or on Facebook, www.facebook.com/attybatas.

For starters, let us enumerate first the different articles of the proposed Federal Charter for a bird’s eye view of the entire law:

Preamble; Article I, National Territory; Article II, Declaration of Principles and State Policies; Article III, Bill of Rights; Article IV, Citizenship; Article V, Suffrage and Political Parties; Article VI, People’s Initiative, Plebiscite, and Referendum.

Article VII, Legislative Department; Article VIII, Executive Department; Article IX, Judicial Department; Article X, Constitutional Commissions; Article XI, Federated Regions, the Bangsamoro, and the Federated Region of the Cordilleras; Article XII, Distribution of Powers of the Government; Article XIII, Fiscal Powers and Financial Administration.

Article XIV, Accountability of Public Officers; Article XV, National Economy and Patrimony; Article XVI, Social Justice; Article XVII, Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, and Sports; Article XVIII, The Family; Article XIX, National Security and Public Order; Article XX, General Provisions; Article XXI, Amendments or Revision; Article XXII, Transitory Provisions. Tomorrow, God willing, we shall come up with our discussions!

***

Susmaryosep! Right away, this was my reaction to the statement given to media by former ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales that she was going to “give the benefit of the doubt” first to newly installed Ombudsman Samuel Martires, to find out if he would be good at being the top graft buster. Oh well. That was a big insult to Martires, if you ask me.

Martires was already chosen not only by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), but also by the whole of the Supreme Court and by President Duterte as well, to become the new Ombudsman. This only means that Martires was fully deserving to become Ombudsman, and many lawyers of higher caliber than her already confirmed this to be so.

Who is Morales now to say that Martires needed to be given the benefit of the doubt first?

Morales’ tirade reminded me immediately of the time when Martires was still Sandiganbayan justice, and there was a legal fracas about the plunder case against former Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Janet Lim Napoles and others, in connection with the so-called P10 billion pork barrel scam. According to one justice then, Morales was “amateurish and featherweight” as an Ombudsman because her evidence against Revilla were not even complete.

But who, really, is Morales?

Well, she was the Ombudsman who sued Revilla, and former Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile, relative to that P10 billion pork barrel scam allegedly masterminded by Janet Lim Napoles.

The problem here was that, Morales sued only Revilla, Estrada, and Enrile with plunder, and had them jailed without bail.

The political allies of her master, former President Aquino, however, were not even touched by her, allowing them to go scot-free, enjoying their immunity, up to now.

Then, when she sued Aquino in connection with the Mamasapano multiple murders, the case she filed against him couldn’t even hurt a fly. Truly, she did all she can to favor the former president!

It was also Morales who was the same Ombudsman who did not obey the Supreme Court’s directive for her to file all appropriate cases against those involved in the P141 billion or so disbursement acceleration program, or DAP, of Aquino which, the high tribunal ruled, was pockmarked with corruption. Clearly, Morales did not fulfill her oath as Ombudsman. She should therefore zip her lips and stop her attacks against Martires. Look who’s talking, really!

 

E-mail: batasmauricio@yahoo.com

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