Bizwoman indicted for 3 cases filed by ex-hubby

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* President of homeowners group also charged for connivance

CAGAYAN de Oro City (BEN BALCE / Golden Journal) - A businesswoman was indicted for two counts of child abuse, qualified trespass to dwelling and grave coercion after the City Prosecutor’s Office found probable cause on the cases filed against her by her former husband.

The court has already issued a warrant of arrest against Merlyn Jane M. Mindoro who is still at large as of press time.

The court sets a bail of P80,000 for each count of child abuse and P12,000 each for qualified trespass to dwelling and grave coercion.

The court also issued a warrant of arrest against Alberto Yu, president of the Xavier Estate Homeowners Association (XEHAI), for grave coercion.

Yu has already posted bail and arraignment of his case is set on December 8, 2015.

The indictment stemmed from the cases filed by Mindoro’s former husband, Basil Mahadali, whom she married in accordance with Islamic law in 2009 and divorced in 2013.

While still married, Mindoro and Mahadali bought a house at Xavier Estates under their names.

After their divorce, Mahadali allowed his first wife, Rowena Y. Mahadali, and their children Sherwina, Sherna and two minors aged eight and 16 to live at the house in Xavier Estates.

Mahadali, through his legal counsel Atty. Firdausi I.Y. Abbas, filed criminal complaints against Mindoro, Yu, Major Daniel L. Precioso Jr., Alvic Gallamaso, Edwin Masin, Bacol, W.P. and SPO3 Lito M. Baculio for child abuse, grave coercion, qualified trespass to dwelling, slander by deed and malicious mischief.

Precioso is the subdivision’s head of security while Gallamaso, Masin and Bacol are the subdivision’s security guards.

The complaints for malicious mischief and slander by deed were referred to the Barangay Lupon for resolution.

After subsequent investigation, Assistant City Prosecutor Allan M. Radaza said he found probable cause to indict Mindoro for qualified trespass to dwelling, grave coercion and child abuse, and Yu for grave coercion.

Mahadali alleged that on October 7, 2014 at around 4:00pm, Mindoro, accompanied by the subdivision’s guard, intruded into their house located at 0423 Langka St. inside Xavier Estates in Cagayan de Oro City.

He alleged that Mindoro shouted at them and told them to leave the premises, saying she is the rightful owner of the house and is the one paying the bills.

Rowena reportedly requested her to leave but Mindoro merely ignored her.

Mindoro left and later came back at around 8:00pm with SPO3 Lito Baculio from the SM Police Substation.

Mahadali alleged that Mindoro destroyed the house’s main door.

The next day, Mahadali said their children were prevented from entering the subdivision by the security guards, reportedly upon the orders of Yu. 

Mahadali also alleged that on October 14, 2014, his 16-year-old son said he felt humiliated after Mindoro allegedly pointed an accusing finger at him while inside a mall.

Mindoro and Yu denied all the accusations hurled against them.

In his resolution, Radaza pointed out that the house is owned by Mahadali and Mindoro but both conceded to allow Rowena and the children to stay in the house.

“Merlyn, being part-owner of the house, could have retained her right to possess the property to the exclusion of Rowena and his family if only she immediately dissented to their occupancy. By reason of Basil’s authorization and Merlyn’s acquiescence, Rowena, therefore, enjoys the legal right to possess the house. When Merlyn arrived and entered the subject property on October 7, 2015 in order to wrest it from Rowena’s lawful possession, Merlyn committed unlawful trespass to dwelling. The offense committed by Merlyn is Qualified Trespass to Dwelling pursuant to Article 280 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC),” Radaza said.

He said it is “concededly true” that “Basil gave his permission for Rowena and his family to stay in the house, to Merlyn’s consternation.”

Radaza pointed out that Mindoro has equal right to choose who should occupy the house. However, her “acquiescence” of Rowena’s occupancy prevents her to evict them extra-judicially.

“Given that she cannot evict them without court order, then she cannot preclude them from entering the house without proper authority also,” he said.

Radaza also said grave coercion was committed by Mindoro, Yu, Precioso, Gallamaso, Masin and Bacol when they prevented the children from entering the subdivision.

“The facts indicate that all the elements of grave coercion are present. Merlyn, Yu, Maj. Precioso and the security guards prevented Rowena and her family from entering the house without lawful authority,” Radaza ruled.

He added that Yu cannot “hunker behind the move-in form to protect him from indictment.”

“If Merlyn has no right, neither has Yu to extra-judicially evict Rowena and her family. He therefore does not definitely possess the right to bar their entry. The collusion between Merlyn and Yu in the commission of this offense is glaringly exposed,” he said.

The City Prosecutor’s Office absolved Precioso and the security guards, citing they were “merely acting under orders of Yu.”

However, Radaza emphasized that the non-indictment of the guards does not mean that the element of threat or intimidation is absent.

Meanwhile, Radaza said Mindoro should be indicted for two separate counts of child abuse for “committing emotional cruelty” on the children when she intruded the house and for “pointing fingers” at the 16-year-old son while inside a mall.

“On the part of their children, who reasonably lacked complete awareness of what is going on. Merlyn’s outburst hurt them emotionally. The presence of the security guards and that of SPO3 Baculio, the fear of being ejected from the house was real enough. Such emotional hurt authored by Merlyn to immediately evict them without lawful authority is a concrete illustration of emotional cruelty,” he said.

Radaza said Mindoro committed emotional maltreatment when she pointed fingers on the 16-year-old son while inside a mall and in the presence of several mall goers.

It was Mindoro who first filed a civil case for child abuse against Mahadali, Rowena and their children Sherwina and Sherna, including their two minor children.

The case is still pending before Branch 19 under Judge Evelyn G. Nery where the case was transferred from Branch 22 under Presiding Judge Richard D. Mordeno.

Mordeno on February 6, 2015 granted the Motion to Inhibit filed by the respondents’ counsels Abbas and Associates through lawyer J. Ricardo H. Moreno.

Through her legal counsel Atty. Evangeline Tadlas-Carrasco, Mindoro alleged that after their divorce, Mahadali harassed her and continued to harass her. She later applied for a Temporary Protection Order but was denied by Mordeno.

NGCP seeks army help to secure transmission towers

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CAGAYAN de Oro City (Golden Journal) - Officials of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) are seeking the assistance of the military to secure dozens of transmission towers in Mindanao.

Elizabeth Ladaga, NGCP’s corporate communication head, said on Thursday that unidentified culprits tried to topple down another transmission tower in Patani, Marawi City, in Lanao Del Sur last Tuesday.

According to Ladaga, the incident caused power interruptions in some parts of Mindanao, which was restored in the afternoon of Nov. 9, after NGCP implemented temporary measures to transmit power produced by Agus 1 and Agus 2 hydropower plants to the rest of Mindanao.

She said that the incident took place eight days after three NGCP towers were filled with explosives in the same area.

While the explosion did not topple the tower, the damaged it sustained caused it to lean, putting the transmission facility in a more critical condition, Ladaga said.

She said that the NGCP has issued a public appeal to help monitor the safety of the towers so that transmission services remain uninterrupted.

Sometimes the restoration of transmission services to affected areas were likewise hampered by uncooperative landowners who are preventing NGCP from conducting much needed vegetation clearing activity, she said.

The NGCP has also repeatedly appealed to the government and the Philippine Army for assistance in resolving the escalation of security problem and right-of-way issues in Mindanao.

Ladaga said that elements of the Philippine Armed Forces are currently assisting NGCP in entering the properties of the uncooperative landowners to expedite restoration. (BB with PNA)

Marcos BBL version is worse

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(This is the 3rd and last instalment of Sultan Firdausi I. V. Abbas’ opposition to  the “amended” Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) by the Senate Committee of Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.)

By DR. FIRDAUSI I.Y. ABBAS, Ph. D.

     Sultan of Lanao

Philippine Citizenship

The last sentence of Article ll, Sec. 4 of the Marcos version reads:

“This provision shall not in any way derogate from the provisions of Article lV of the 1987 Philippine Constituion.”

MUSLIM Bar Association of the Philippines, Inc. (MUSBARAP) 

President Sultan Firdausi I.Y. Abbas (center) was the guest 

speaker at Pimentel Institute for Leadership and Governance’s 

round table discussion on August 29, last year. Associated on 

his right is Dean Ederson Tapia, College of Governance and 
Public Policy, University of Makati and former senate president 

Aquilino Pimentel Jr. (Supplied Photo)

Article lV of the 1987 constitution is a reproduction of the 1935 and 1973 constitutions on Philippine Citizenship.  Article IV, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine constitution provides “Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of this constitution.” This provision is based on the 1973 constitution which provides under Article lll, Section “1) thereof: “Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of this constitution.”  This provision is likewise  based on the 1935 constitution which provides under Article IV, Section 1) thereof: “Those who are citizens of the Philippine Islands at the time of the adoption of this constitution.”

The Bangsa Moro is considered to fall under Section 1 of the Article on Philippine C. the constitutionalist Jose N. Nolledo, who was a member of the Presidential Constitutional Commission in 1986 and a delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention  pointed out three classes  of  Filipino citizens falling under Section 1– those who are citizens at the time of the adoption of the 1935 constitution:  1. Spanish subjects born in Spain who resided in the Philippines and were residents at the time of the adoption of the 1935 constitution. 2. Spanish subjects born in the Philippines and were residents thereof at the time of the adoption of the 1935 constitution. 3.Spanish subjects by naturalization who were residents of  the Philippines at the time of the adoption of the 1935 constitution.

Moros were never Spanish subjects. They cannot even become Spanish subjects or nationals by naturalization under Spanish law because they were Muslims. The Philippine Naturalization law which is based on Spanish and Christian law also disqualifies a Muslim from being naturalized as a Filipino citizen because one of the grounds for disqualification is Belief in Polygamy, thus a Muslim, even if he is not married, but because he believes in polygamy which his religion allows, is disqualified. This is very clear in CA No. 473, a very pernicious law which to this day is enforced: “Section 4 – Who are disqualified- The following cannot be naturalized as Philippine citizens:

c) Polygamists or believers  in the practice of polygamy.”

Militant Moro student organizations in the mid-sixties rejected this provision and declared that pursuant to the constitutional provision on citizenship, the Moros are not Filipino Citizens because they were never conquered and never subjects of the Spanish crown.

The fault of Senator Marcos is he was concerned primarily with the alleged constitutional infirmities but his version suffers the same defect.  Immediately one sees this  in the preamble of his version “… ABOLISHING THE AUTONOMOUS REGION IN MUSLIM MINDANAO”. Article X, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, sections 1 and 15 thereof very clearly provides that : Section 1. …There shall be autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and the Cordilleras as hereinafter provided.” “Section 15. There shall be created autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and in the Cordilleras ….” The autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao is a constitutional mandate and cannot be abolished by a mere congressional fiat. It can be re-organized, re-constituted, reformed, re-established etc., but not abolished.  Furthermore many of the alleged unconstitutional economic provisions are in R.A. 9054.

Marcos failed to grasp the real import and goal of enacting a law for the south and the Bangsa Moro. It is to usher in peace. Peace can be achieved only if there is mutual respect for each other’s culture, traditions, political dogmas and religions as well as equal protection for the pursuit, practice and enjoyment of these rights for as long as laws  are not transgressed; economic contentment which means economic opportunity in the areas, efficient basic services and just administration of the laws. But before all these, there must be acknowledgment of the historicity of the Bangsa Moro and their inalienable right to their patrimony. When the bases-historic and legal for these are negated, then there will be resentment and protest.

To sum it up, what Marcos did was much ado over nothing.

Bangsa Moro Constitutional Convention

Neither the MNLF nor the MILF can solve the problem in the south. The fate of the Bangsa Moro is not even in their combined hands. They are not even .1% of the roughly 16 to 18 million Moros and their arms combined is not even 5% of the arms of the Bangsa Moro. Furthermore, they have failed to prove their competence and ability to lead. The MNLF controlled the ARMM for five years which was a dismal failure. The MILF in a short span of time exposed their ignorance of Islam and the historicity of the Bangsa Moro and their propensity to control the new political entity pursuant to the very law they propose and the appointment of Mohagher Igbal’s nephew as COMELEC Commissioner.

The Moro people yearn for peace and live normal lives. The fiery cry for secession has been tempered by the acceptance of autonomy long ago but unfortunately autonomy has been as elusive as independence. The government must adopt concrete measures to avert the resurgence of radicalism of the Moro youth which if infused with the zealous and fanatical jihadism now engulfing the middle east and aggressively gaining adherents the world over, will be a phenomenal force terribly impossible to pacify and difficult to overcome.

Congress should now pass a law calling for a Bangsa Moro constitutional convention wherein all the Moro sectors shall be guaranteed appointed representatives and together with freely elected delegates duly reflect in this fundamental law the historicity, identity, aspirations, sentiments, hopes and dreams of the Bangsa Moro. Only when all the stakeholders have the right to be represented and participate in the enactment of the fundamental law for the Bangsa Moro can the viable and correct approach in solving the age-old Mindanao problem really commence.

(The writer is the President of the Muslim Bar Association of the Philippines, Inc., Chairman of the Bangsa Moro Party and Chairman of the United Filipino Movement .)

Cops net 5 suspects; 12 teenagers rescued

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On Iligan City online sexual trafficking raid:

Chief Supt. Desquitado

CAGAYAN de Oro City (BEN BALCE/Golden Journal) - POLICE rescued 12 minors and collared five suspects in a raid on a house believed to be engaged in an online child trafficking and sexual exploitation, police officials here said Wednesday.

Northern Mindanao police regional director Chief Supt. Lyndel Desquitado said elements from the  Region 10’s Cyber Crime  raided a house in Tambacan, Iligan City, shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Desquitado identified the five suspects as Jeffryl Aqui, Lany Buco, Jefford Dominguez, Kissy Pepito and Cindy Omisol, all of legal age, and residents of Purok 9, Tambacan, Iligan City.

Northern Mindanao Region Cyber Crime Group head Police 

Superintendent Reynante Reyes (Left) examines the 

computer sets they have seized during raid in 

Iligan City,Tuesday. (JN)

He did not identify the children aged 6 to 17 years old who were immediately turned over to the custody of the local social welfare officer to undergo stress debriefing.

The operation was headed by Cyber Crime Group 10 head Supt. Reynante Reyes resulted in the seizure of computer units, storage media, identification cards, ATM cards, money remittance receipts, sex toys, assorted condoms.

He said that the operatives also recovered five sachets of a white crystalline substance believed to “shabu,” birth certificates, and illegal drug paraphernalia believed to be used and intended to be used in perpetrating the online child trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Desquitado said the suspects would be charged with Child Abuse and Human Trafficking Laws violation apart from other crimes under the Cyber Crime Law.

According to Desquitado, the WCPC in Manila received an intelligence information last September that the suspects were recruiting minors for online sexual exploitation.

He said that Police Supt. Rosauro Acio, head of the Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC) based in Camp Crame, led the raid in coordination with the police regional command.

The WCPC was armed with search warrants issued by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 53 in Manila dated October 27, 2015 for Qualified Trafficking in Persons defined and penalized by Republic Act 9208 as amended by RA 10364. (With PNA)

Oca: Ombuds’s ruling; ‘harsh, cruel, excessive’

Acenas prepares to take oath as city mayor

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CDO Mayor Oscar Moreno

CAGAYAN de Oro (BEN BALCE/Golden Journal) - City Mayor Oscar Moreno, of Cagayan De Oro City, described the Ombudsman’s order dismissing him as City Mayor as “harsh and a miscarriage of justice.”

The Office of the Ombudsman has issued a press release Thursday, dismissing Moreno and two other Mayors in Mindanao for Grave Misconduct, Serious Dishonesty, Gross Neglect of Duty, and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service.

In a statement released to the local media, Moreno said he has not received the order of the Ombudsman to dismiss him from service and criticized the Ombudsman for not giving credit to his counter affidavit.

While Moreno said that he has not received the order he mentioned in his statement that “the Ombudsman resolution cited him for not submitting a counter affidavit within the prescribed period.”

“I have submitted my counter affidavit relative to the case filed against me involving “Ajinomoto” case, but, the Ombudsman failed to read it,” Moreno said.

He said that he would file a motion for reconsideration with the Ombudsman and a restraining order with the Court of Appeals (CA) arguing that the dismissal was harsh and a “miscarriage of justice.”

In a press release posted on the official website of the Ombudsman, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales approved the decision to dismiss Moreno and the Cagayan De Oro City Treasurer Glenn Banez on Oct. 6, 2015.

The Ombudsman found Moreno to have committed Grave Misconduct for entering into a settlement agreement with Ajinomoto Philippines without prior authorization from the Sangguniang Panlungsod in violation of R.A.No. 7160 (The Local Government Code).

The agreement allowed Ajinomoto to pay Php 300,000 instead of its original local business tax deficiency of Php 2.9 million.

The Office of the Ombudsman ruled that the approval of the agreement by the court cannot, in any way, legitimize the acts of Moreno.

CDO vice mayor prepares to take oath as city mayor

Meanwhile, Cagayan De Oro City Vice Mayor Ian Acenas will reportedly take his oath of Office as the City Mayor replacing City Mayor Oscar Moreno anytime, a member of the city council said Thursday.

City Councilor Alex Dacer said that the members of the City Council are waiting for the receipt of the Ombudsman order dismissing City Mayor Oscar Moreno from service.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales approved the dismissal of Moreno last October 6 for Grave Misconduct after entering into a settlement agreement with Ajinomoto Philippines without prior authorization from the Sangguniang Panlungsod in violation of Republic Act No. 7160 (The Local Government Code).

Dacer said that the moment that the Secretary of the City Council receives the official order, the City Council would immediately pass a resolution installing Vice Mayor Acenas as the City Mayor.

“By operation of the law, Acenas would succeed as the City Mayor once the incumbent City Mayor is evicted from office,” Dacer said.

He said that Moreno could file a motion for reconsideration with the Ombudsman and a temporary restraining order (TRO) with the Court of Appeals (CA), but he must vacate the post to give way to the Vice Mayor.

Dacer cited the case of Mayor Junjun Binay of Makati where he has to vacate the office after receiving the dismissal order from the Ombudsman, although Binay has filed a motion for reconsideration and a TRO with the CA.

A former Vice Mayor Antonio Soriano, now an independent lawyer, said that considering that the election is getting near, he expressed the doubts that Moreno could get a TRO with the CA.

If Moreno could not get a TRO from the CA before the election, it would also be possible that Moreno’s certificate of candidacy (COC) would be forfeited since he would be banned from holding public office, Soriano said.

Moreno is running for reelection and, alone, has filed a COC under the Liberal Party (LP) political party last October 13, 2015 to the consternation of the local LP lineup. (BEN BALCE with PNA)

Marcos BBL version is worse

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(This is the 2nd instalment of Sultan Firdausi I. V. Abbas’  opposition to  the “amended” Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) by the Senate Committee of Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.)

Travesty

The new provision on the Bangsa Moro identity in the Marcos provision is ridiculous:

“Article II Bangsamoro Identity

SULTAN Firdausi I.Y. Abbas, President of the

Muslim Bar Association of the Philippines, Inc.

(MUSBARAP) with Secretary Leila M. De Lima,

Secretary of Justice pledging the support of the

MUSBARAP to her senatorial aspiration.

SEC. 4. Bangsamoro People. – Those who at the time of conquest and colonization of the Philippines by the Spaniards considered themselves natives or original inhabitants of Mindanao, whether of mixed or of full blood: Provided, That the foregoing profess the faith of Islam shall have the right to identify themselves as Bangsamoro. Spouses and their descendants, at their option, shall also be part of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. This provision shall not in any way derogate from the provisions of Article IV of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.”

We have pointed out that this provision is pernicious. It negates the legacy of the Bangsa Moro. It was the people of the north called Indios by the Spaniards, it was Luzon and the Visayas which the Spaniards conquered and not the Bangsa Moro.   The conquest of the north has no relevance in the determination of Moro identity.  This provision is a travesty-a gross distortion of history which records that the Bangsa Moro were never conquered and have the distinction that among all the Malay peoples, only they humbled the foreign invaders.

This historical distortion is debunked by historians who aptly wrote: “CONQUEST OF MINDANAO AND THE MOROS was pursued by the Spaniards for over three centuries to no avail.  The Moros retained their faith, culture and institutions.”  (Blair and Robertson, “The Philippine Islands”).

As late as the 1930s, the Filipino leaders in Manila were still conspiring to colonize Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan.  On June 16, 1936 President Manuel Quezon of the Philippine Commonwealth laid down the government’s Mindanao policy: “The time has come when we should systematically proceed with and bring about the colonization and economic development of Mindanao.  A vast and rich territory with untapped natural resources is a temptation to enterprising nations that are looking for an outlet for their excess population… if, therefore, we are to conserve Mindanao for ourselves and our posterity, we must bend all our efforts to occupy and develop it...”

Even when the Americans administered Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan, the American government still acknowledged sovereign attributes of the Sultan of Sulu as duly documented in the letter of Governor General Frank W. Carpenter to the Director of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes on May 4, 1920:  “It is necessary that there be of official record that termination of the temporal sovereignty of the Sultanate of Sulu within American territory is understood to us to be wholly without effect or prejudice as to the temporal sovereignty, ecclesiastic authority of the Sultanate beyond the jurisdiction of the U.S. government, especially with reference to that portion of the island of Borneo, which as dependency of the Sultanate of Sulu, is understood to be under lease by the chartered company which is known as the British North Borneo Company.”  Under international law, only a sovereign can have a dependency.

Historian PETER GOWING in his book MUSLIM FILIPINO HERITAGE AND HORIZON pointed out: “ARMED INVADERS – SPANIARDS, AMERICANS, JAPANESE, AND CHRISTIAN FILIPINOS – always outgunned the Moros but the invaders never succeeded in crushing the indomitable spirit of the Moros.  They never subjugated the Moros.  Everyday thousands upon thousands of Moros in hundreds of mosques and countless homes kneel in abject surrender to ALLAH.  No lesser power, certainly no power on earth can ever bring them to their knees.  THIS IS THEIR HERITAGE.”

The dismal failure of the Spaniards to conquer Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan is an integral part of the position of the Bangsa Moro to assert their right to self-determination, that Spain had no legal right to include the Bangsa Moro homeland in the Treaty of Paris of 1898 wherein Spain sold Las Islas  Filipinas to the the United States of America for Twenty Million (US$20,000,000) dollars.

Landmark Case of Carińo

This position is supported by no less than the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of  CARIÑO vs.  INSULAR GOVERNMENT, G.R.No. 2689, March 25, 1907. This was an application to the Philippine Court of Land Registration for the registration of certain land by Mateo Cariño, an Igorot – a native of Benguet in the Philippines.  The application was granted by the court on March 4, 1904. An appeal was taken to the Court of First Instance of the Province of Benguet on behalf of the government of the Philippines, and also on behalf of the United States, those governments having taken possession of the property for public and military purposes. The Court of First Instance found the facts and dismissed the application upon grounds of law. This judgment was affirmed by the Supreme Court of the Philippines, G.R. No. 2869, March 25,1907 (7 Phil. 132).

The Philippine Supreme Court affirmed the findings of the lower court  that Mateo Cariño and those from whom he claims his right had not possessed and claimed as owners the lands in question since time immemorial and that the land in question did not belong to the petitioner, but that, on the contrary, it was the property of the Insular Government.

The case was raised to the Supreme Court of the United States of America, 212 U.S. 449 (1909), February 23, 1909. Justice Associate Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. wrote the opinion of the court -

“Every presumption of ownership is in favor of one actually occupying land for many years, and against the government which seeks to deprive him of it, for failure to comply with provisions of a subsequently enacted registration act.

Title by prescription against the crown existed under Spanish law in force in the Philippine Islands prior to their acquisition by the United States, and one occupying land in the Province of Benguet for more than fifty years before the Treaty of Paris is entitled to the continued possession thereof.

-- The Province of Benguet was inhabited by a tribe that the Solicitor General, in his argument, characterized as a savage tribe that never was brought under the civil or military government of the Spanish Crown... Whatever may have been the technical position of Spain, it does not follow that, in the view of the United States, he had lost all rights and was a mere trespasser when the present government seized his land. The argument to that effect seems to amount to a denial of native titles throughout an important part of the island of Luzon, at least, for the want of ceremonies which the Spaniards would not have permitted and had not the power to enforce.

-- As prescription, even against Crown lands, was recognized by the laws of Spain, we see no sufficient reason for hesitating to admit that it was recognized in the Philippines in regard to lands over which Spain had only a paper sovereignty.”

The Bangsa Moro homeland was never subjugated by Spain. It was in the possession and ownership of the Bangsa Moro for centuries and could not have been legally sold by Spain which did not even have a paper sovereignty over it to the United States of America. 

This Marcos provision distorts the historic identity of the Bangsa Moro as an unconquered people and  further requires a Moro to profess Islam before he can qualify to be called a Moro. This is manifest ignorance of Moro political institutions- of the concept of the word Moro. While the word Moro was borrowed from the word Moor, the Muslims who conquered Spain and ruled most parts of it for four hundred years, is not synonymous with Muslim.

Before the mid 1960’s, it was a word which the Moros rejected for it was a derogatory word  synonymous with hurementado, bandit, killer, pagan etc. It was in the mid sixties that the word Moro was made popular by the Moro student activists who also coined the phrase Bangsa Moro. It is a political term which means an inhabitant of the Bangsa Moro homeland or a resident thereof who has historical presence – meaning that his forebears lived in the area. There are many scions of royal families of the Bangsa Moro homeland who are not Muslims. Some of the grandchildren of Sultan Jainal Abirin of Sulu, of his daughter Dayan-dayang Indah Taas who was married to General Luis Delgado are Catholics. The Cabilis of Lanao are regarded as Moros but they are Catholics too. The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) have fighters who are Catholics. They are however as Moro as Misuari or Murad.To be continued 

(The writer is the President of the Muslim Bar Association of the Philippines, Inc., Chairman of the Bangsa Moro Party and Chairman of the United Filipino Movement .)

LTO-10 enacts new rules, procedures

On drivers’ licenses issuance:

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LTO-10 Regional Dir. Hilarion Ulep

CAGAYAN de Oro City  (BEN BALCE/ Golden Journal) - The revised rules governing the issuance of drivers’ licenses through administrative orders are now being imposed in the region, Land Transportation Office (LTO) officials said Monday.

Northern Mindanao Land Transportation Office regional director Hilarion Ulep said the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) has revised the rules and guidelines governing the issuance of drivers’ licenses serving two purposes.

“First, they will better ensure the fitness and capability of license card holders to drive on our streets and second, they will streamline the application process and make it more convenient for the public,” said Ulep.

Ulep said the revised rules have covered all four types of licenses issued by the LTO – professional, non-professional, student permit, and conductor’s license.

“Revised on driver’s license examinations also included and imposed starting last month,” said Ulep.

The new rules took effect after the five administrative orders have been published last October this year.

“The LTO will no longer conduct lectures and seminars prior to written and practical examinations but instead release reviewers containing all possible questions,” Ulep explained.

Instead, holders of a student’s permit will be given reviewers available at LTO offices as well as online through the DOTC and LTO websites, according to Ulep.

In the orders, those who fail the basic driving theory and practical driving tests twice will not be allowed to reapply within a year while those who fail the tests for the third time cannot apply for two years.

It also said the LTO raised by one year the minimum age requirement for those seeking a student permit and a non-professional driver’s license.

Applicants for a student permit must be 17 years old – previously 16 years old – and those seeking for a non-pro license must be 18 years old from the current qualification of 17 years old.

Motorists aspiring for a professional driver’s license must have a valid student driver’s permit for at least six months. The current guidelines allow applicants to have a five-month student’s permit or a non-pro license for four months.

Applicants for a professional driver’s license will be disqualified if they have incurred at least two citations for reckless driving.

“This is meant to incentivize disciplined, law-abiding, and orderly driving among would-be... applicants,” Ulep said.

The restrictions will apply to all applicants for a professional driver’s license: drivers of tricycles, light vehicles, heavy vehicles, and conductors.

Under the new rules, the LTO will accept a medical certificate issued by a licensed and practicing physician. This means applications will no longer be restricted to be certified by accredited doctors stationed at the LTO office.

“This will allow applicants to have themselves examined by a doctor of their own choosing, at a time and place convenient to them,” he said.

The LTO will provide a downloadable medical certificate form from the DOTC and LTO websites.

“It should state, among others, that the applicant is physically and mentally fit to drive, as well as what the condition of his or her eyesight and hearing is,” Ulep said.

Under the new system, the LTO will extend the validity period of professional and non-professional driver’s licenses whose holder have not committed any violation.

“A motorist with a clean record is entitled to a five-year validity period when license is renewed,” Ulep stressed.

A driver’s license is currently valid for three years. (With reports from DOTC)

Real says no blackouts in areas serviced by Moresco-1

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Engr. Julie M. Real

LAGUINDINGAN, Misamis Oriental – (BEN BALCE/Golden Journal) - While other power utility companies’ continuously announcing new blackout schedules since last week, the areas serviced by the Misamis Oriental 1 Rural Electric Service Cooperative (MORESCO-1) will not experience any power interruption, official said Tuesday.

“Despite of the power shortage declared by the NGCP, still no blackouts or even rotating brownouts being experienced in Moresco-1 areas,” said Moresco-1 general manager Engr. Julie Real.

The power outages stretching from two to three hours were now ensued in Cagayan de Oro due to the continuing power shortage in Mindanao, according to NGCP.

Mindanao is currently experiencing substantial generation deficiency since February 27, this year which at present reached as high as 220MW causing the daily rotational blackout not only in its franchise area but the whole island of Mindanao.

“We have no blackouts because Moresco-1 has two megawatts modular generator set and we applied our ILP (Interruptible Load Program),” said Real.

MORESCO-1’s San Isidro substation located in Laguindingan,
Misamis Oriental. This 2MW modular generation set is acquired

through the National Electrification Administration (NEA).

Real said as an immediate measure, Moresco-1 implemented ILP where it partners with big load consumers with imbedded generators to temporarily and voluntarily operate on their own generators sets.

He said among its partners applied ILP are Asia Brewery Inc., W.L. Foods, Donau Carbon Plant, Northstar Asia Holding Corporation, Zest-o, and Universal Robina Corporation.

“MORESCO-1 is also urging its member-consumers to apply energy conservation,” said Real adding that member-consumers to use only electricity to what is vital and necessary.

Real said Moresco-1 also advised member-consumers to use electricity especially during peak hours, from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily, until the load curtailment is lifted.

“The whole franchise area will suffer and will be forced to shut down the available loads if the member-consumers failed to cooperate,” he said.

According to Real, thus, Moresco-1 is appealing for kind support and calling for action to conserve energy.

Alagar employs 219 new police officers, Desquitado says

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C/Supt. Lyndel Desquitado

CAGAYAN de Oro City (BEN BALCE/Golden Journal) - Northern Mindanao police head Chief Superintendent Lyndel Desquitado confirmed last week that the police regional command has hired 219 new police recruits, 33 females, to its police force.

Desquitado was the one administered the oath-taking of the new police recruits at the regional headquarters grandstand here in Camp Alagar.

“The new police recruits are part of the 2nd cycle qualified applicants for the 2015 quota who passed the regional police screening committee,” said Desquitado.

Desquitado said the police recruits would undergo a one year rigorous theoretical and physical training that will measure their endurance and determination, aside from enhancing their competence and discipline as a police officer.

He said that the new police officers would also endure physical conditioning and internalization of the Police Operational Procedure and Basic Laws, self-defense, firearm proficiency and adeptness in the field of investigation, patrol and traffic management.

“After completing the one year rigorous training, the new police officers would be turned over to the Regional Public Safety Battalion,” Desquitado said. (with reports from PNA)

Marcos BBL version is worse

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(This is the first instalment of Sultan Firdausi I. V. Abbas’ “in his opposition to the “amended” Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) by the Senate Committee of Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr .)

By DR. FIRDAUSI I.Y. ABBAS, Ph. D.
       Sultan of Lanao

SULTAN Firdausi I.Y. Abbas, President of the

Muslim Bar Association of the Philippines, Inc.

(MUSBARAP) with Secretary Leila M. De Lima,

Secretary of Justice pledging the support of the
MUSBARAP to her senatorial aspiration.

THE amended Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) by the Senate Committee of Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. is no better than the approved version of the House of Representatives, Ad Hoc Committee. It purported to improve the BBL but failed. It did not even adhere to the basic principle that a constitution (the BBL will be the constitution for the new autonomous region if approved) must be brief, clear and simple.

To start with, it has the same difficult highfalutin words and vague phrases of Ascription, Self-Ascription, Asymmetric Relationship (Article Vl, Sec. 23), Parity of Esteem (Sec. 24) and Transitional Justice (Article Vlll, Sec.68). What were those people thinking of!

It erroneously and ignorantly use ethnic words and phrase. It speaks of fusaka inged in reference to the alleged indigenous peoples. Firstly, the word fusaka is mispelled. It is pusaka. Second, this word is in the languages of the Maranaws and the Maguindanaons and not in any of the dialects of the indigenous tribes.

There is no letter “f” in the Maranaw and Maguindanao languages. Third, its use as a phrase, pusaka inged (Sec. 69) is terribly incorrect. Inged is another Maranaw and Maguindanao word which means home,territory or land. A pusaka means an heirloom which is a movable object that has been in the family or community for years and decades. Inged cannot be a pusaka. Another word used is tarib(Sec. 69) which is suppose to mean traditions. This again is erroneous. Tradition in the Maranaw and Maguindanaon languages is taritib.  It reflects the ignorance of the Marcos consultants of the Moro languages.

BLASPHEMOUS

Article Xl, Sec. 9 repeats the same blasphemous provision in the previous version, Article X, Sec. 4. It also provides:

“The following are the sources of Shariah Law among others: Al-Quran (the Koran); Al-Sunnah (Prophetic Tradition): Al-Qiyas (Analogy) and Al-Ijima (Consensus).” The phrase among others means that there other maybe other sources of Shariah.

There can be no other source of understanding Islamic law other than those mentioned above. Futhermore Sunna must be interpreted as the Traditions of the Prophet.

Mohammed and not simply as Prophetic Tradition because there are many prophets in Islam and Ijma (not Ijima) is the third source of understanding Shariah before  Qiyas.

The Muslim Bar has time and again brought to the attention of the authorities that the Shariah Courts must be intensively reviewed. There must be an accounting of the cases filed and the cases resolved. The procedure in the said courts are summary but cases have been pending for as long as five years and even longer.

It has also been proposed that those who pass the Shari’ah Bar Examinations must be eligible only to practice before the Shari’ah courts. The Shari’ah Circuit and District Judges and the Shariah Appellate Court Justice  must be occupied by regular members of the Philippine Bar who have either obtained degrees in Shari’ah from the middle-east or from any other Muslim country or undergone at least a one year course or seminar in Islamic law as the seminars offered by the Department of  Muslim Affairs before.

Procedural law is very vital in trials. Knowledge of procedure is what enables the judge to timely adjudicate cases and establish decorum in court. A four year course in Shariah does not provide the judge who is a Shariah lawyer that ability.   Shariah lawyers should be used as academicians to teach in the Shari’ah Academy proposed. They can also practice law in the Shari’ah courts.

(To be continued)

(The writer is the President of the Muslim Bar Association of the Philippines, Inc., Chairman of the Bangsa Moro Party and Chairman of the United Filipino Movement .)

Musbarap, Bangsa Moro Party head: ‘No’ to BBL

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SULTAN of Lanao Lawyer Firdausi I. Y. Abbas

CAGAYAN de Oro City (BEN BALCE/Golden Journal) - THE president of the Muslim Bar Association of the Philippines, who is also the chairman of the Bangsa Moro Party (BMP), is a “no” to the passage of the Bangsa Moro Basic Law (BBL).

Firdausi I.Y. Abbas, who holds a doctorate degree from University of the Philippines, and who is the Sultan of Lanao even urged various Moro groups to articulate their sentiments and their positions on the BBL.

“We of the Bangsa Moro Party (BMP) are in full agreement. Certainly these factors should be together with honesty and competence,” said Abbas.

According to Abbas, BBL is the product of the agreement between the MILF and the Executive Branch of the Philippines (PG).

Abbas said Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Marvic Leonen, who is the former chair of the Philippine panel negotiating with the MILF declared that for the proposed agreement to succeed, there must be sincerity and trust.

The MNLF earlier accused Aquino of insincerity after he accepted the MILF with the proposed BBL.

“The President betrayed the ongoing negotiations between the MNLF and the PG,” said Abbas adding that the negotiations were under the supports of the OIC.

“The past events have made the militant Moro groups skeptical of the government’s sincerity and trustworthiness,” he stressed.

In 1976, the Tripoli Agreement was signed between the MNLF and the PG according to Abbas.

He said even former President Ferdinand Marcos declared that there shall be real autonomy in the south for the Bangsa Moro and proceeded to unilaterally implement it.

He explained that sincerity and trustworthiness as well as honesty were questionable with the past presidents mentioned vis-a-vis their policies toward the Bangsa Moro.

“The Bangsa Moro (Moro People) must once more decide, this time whether or not to support the MILF and to trust the President (Benigno Aquino III),” said Abbas.

‘The MILF must also overcome the position of the Muslim Bar and the BMP that we cannot accept the proposed law as Moros and as Muslims, for this law distorts Bangsa Moro history and is pernicious to Islam,” Abbas pointed out.

“This law is no better than R.A. 9054 which is the enactment of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) which contains provisions which are culturally erroneous and blasphemous,” he said.

BBL is grossly erroneous

“The word Bangsamoro is erroneous because Bangsamoro Is not a single word but a phrase - Bangsa Moro which means Moro people.

Abbas said he opposes BBL as it is confusing principally Article VI, Sec.4.The Central Government shall ensure the protection of the rights of the Bangsamoro people residing outside the territory of the Bangsamoro.

“Are the Bangsamoro not Filipino citizens protected by the Bill of Rights of the Philippine Constitution even outside of the Bangsamoro political entity?,” Abbas asked.

Abbas also questioned a fundamental definition of Bangsamoro people as spelled out in BBL’s Article II, Section 1.

The provision provides Bangsamoro people shall be those who at the time of conquest and colonization were considered natives or original inhabitants of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago and its adjacent islands including Palawan and their descendants, whether of mixed or of full blood, shall have the right to identify themselves as Bangsamoro…”

“The question is conquest and colonization of who and of what? Of the people of the north called Indios by the Spaniards? Of Luzon and the Visayas? But this has no relevance in the determination of Moro identity,” Abbas said.

“If it refers to the Bangsa Moro and their homeland then it is a gross historical distortion. History records that the Bangsa Moro was never conquered and has the distinction that among all the Malay peoples only they humbled the foreign invaders.

This is our heritage, the Bangsa Moro identity which we began to assert in the 1960s, and the right to self determination which the U.N. advocates is the preservation and development of a people’s cultural identity” Abbas said.

Abbas said they likewise reject Article IX Section 5 of the BBL which defines indigenous people’s rights.

“This provision suggests that Moros are not indigenous which is utterly preposterous. There were no other peoples before them in the Bangsa Moro homeland,” Abbas argued.

“The cited provision perpetuate the scheme of President Marcos to downgrade the patrimonial claim of the Bangsa Moro by equating them with the so-called indigenous peoples, he added.

The Bangsa Moro which is a collective people of Moro nations, of the Tausug, Maranao and Maguindanao peoples number by the millions and whose civilization and culture were recognized by other nations of the world long before the great global powers emerged, he said. (BEN BALCE)