By Batas Mauricio
WOULD it be enough for the government—the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), in particular—to simply stand in the sidelines of the on-going firefight between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Abu Sayaff Group (ASG)? I mean, is there really nothing that the government can do to stop the hostilities between the two groups?
How about digging up the records of the PNP and the AFP to determine who among our policemen and soldiers have been accused of severe abuse and human rights violations in their places of assignment, and then sending them to Sulu to face the warring factions?
I am sure that, with the bravado they are now being accused of having displayed against ordinary citizens, these rouge policemen and wayward soldiers will not have a hard time stopping the hostilities between the MNLF and the ASG.
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And then, it would seem that foreign governments have advanced information about the eruption of a virtual war between the MNLF and the ASG, what with their travel advisory last week warning their nationals and citizens from visiting Mindanao, lest they be caught in the hostilities.
One such travel advisory was issued online by the Foreign and Commonwealth Avenue of the British Embassy in Manila, which said in part: “the overall level of the advice has not changed; we advise against all travel to southwest Mindanao, and the Sulu archipelago because of ongoing terrorist activity”.
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So, if there is no law prohibiting candidates running in the 2013 elections at this point, can we stop these candidates from doing everything they can so that they could gain more exposure before the start of the official campaign period? The answer is, no, we cannot.
If there is no law, then there is no penalty to speak of. I am therefore repeating my suggestion here that the Commission on Elections should be the one to spend for the campaign of all candidates, so no candidate can gain advantage over an opponent simply because he or she has more money to spend on advertisement.
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Once more, with feeling: There is no prohibition on political dynasties in the Philippines. As Section 26, Article II of the 1987 Constitution provides: “The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.” The question is this: with this kind of a constitutional provision, is there a prohibition against political dynasties—or members of the same family being elected to office?
The answer is a clear “no, there is no prohibition.” What Section 26 is saying is that, there will be a prohibition only if there is a law that prohibits political dynasties, or even a law that guarantees equal access to opportunities for public service. But since the 1987 Constitution was ratified, there was never any law prohibiting political dynasties, nor a law that guarantees equal access to opportunities for public service.
E-mail: batasmauricio@yahoo.com