Total Darkness?

Can you imagine San Jose and rest of Occidental Mindoro is engulfed by total darkness? Your computer is not working including all you electrical appliances. The sound of all types of power generators, portable and stand-bys are so annoying both in public places and offices. Include the pollution that it would emit in the environment. And most of all, the chain of economic and social chaos that this total black out would bring. Brace for Hades folks. This is no doubt hell if there’s no precautionary and long lasting solution to be laid both by people from the power sector, the government and the consumers, hand in hand.

Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (OMECO) general manager Alfred A. Dantis confirmed to this writer yesterday about the possible run out of the National Power Corporations’ (NPC) electricity supply in the first week of August 2011 due to, according to Dantis, fuel supply shortage. The OMECO Board of Directors and the Multi-Sectoral Electrification Advisory Council or MSEAC were already informed of the matter as early as last week. Series of meetings were scheduled in order to formulate contingency plans for the matter. This event would situate our province from light to darkness, so to speak. In their meeting last July 19 and that was last Tuesday, Engr. Sonny N. Privado have disclosed that GM Dantis who was in Manila that day informed the former thru text that the news came from the officials of NPC Mindoro grid themselves.

No doubt that this “total darkness and electricity-less” scenario would disrupt OMECO’s operation. In the employees meeting, participants were told that since the EC (electric cooperative) is no longer delivering and rendering its services, it is already at the verge of cutting its expenses including the salaries and wages of employees. In said meeting, suggested precautionary measures on the part of the employees were laid.

This is not a hoax and it’s real. In July 8, 2011, the NPC’s Small Power Utilities Groups or SPUGs have issued a status of power run out dates in all Luzon SPUG Plants. In the list, there are 3 power plants that will be affected by fuel shortage in Occidental Mindoro : the Mamburao Modular Plant, Pulang Lupa DPP and the Power Barge 106 which was stationed in Bragy. Caminawit. In a cable message addressed to GM Dantis last July 21, 2011 from Pulang Lupa DPP, said in part : “As of to date, both PLDPP and PB 106 fuel stocks (diesel and bunker) will last until August 6, 2011. PD yet still awaiting additional funding for the purchase of the fuel for the months of September and months onwards. We may request (if you would permit) scheduled or voluntary load cut daily in order to conserve fuel…” People from NPC cannot be reached by a local radio station for comments.

All of us citizens of Occidental Mindoro, specifically those owners of industries consuming a large load of electricity to communicate with Malacanan and the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Electrification Administration or NEA citing how the NPC declared fuel rundown would affect the economy of the province, as suggested by OMECO employees in their meeting last Tuesday.

But worry not even a bit for OMECO people are doing all they can to expedite measures to solve this impending problem. But to tell you honestly, this is NOT Omeco’s much less the consumers’ fault. This power shortage hinges on a bankrupt national policy on power and electricity that I think President Benigno C. Aquino III has not explained, if not totally neglected, in his SONA yesterday.

OMECO plans to hold a forum this coming August 1, 2011 here in their main Office in San Jose tentatively at around 1:00 PM. All of the invited participants will be informed of the real score and the measures that they have been discussing since last week on this “total darkness” thing. In Sablayan, there will be a Power Summit and this surely will also be tackled.

Rest assured that I’ll keep you all posted on this. If the office computer that I am borrowing would be repaired and if there’s no brown out or power shortage or anything of sort. Let us light a little candle. And pray….

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(Photo from Bing)

Who Is Sick Really?

Somebody said yesterday that Occidental Mindoro governor Josephine Sato is suffering from cancer and (his own) people believed him. The source is a cancer survivor himself.

While it is a moral requirement upon public officials to disclose information about his or her medical conditions that are likely to seriously undermine his/her ability to fulfill the core functions of the office, said disclosure should be done by his/her doctors, by the patient himself/herself but certainly not his or her political opponent! More so if there are no proofs to support it. In any court of justice, such baseless pronouncement is mere rumor and to be treated as such. At this point sans diagnostic results and other medical records, such news is a blatant insult to citizens’ right to truthful information. And the media men who allowed it go unchecked is equally liable. As we repeat all over again, freedom of expression is always coupled with responsibility. We all are supposed to know that, regardless of our political belief and affiliations.

Being interviewed in a radio program over Bambi FM, a stationed owned by him, San Jose mayor Jose T. Villarosa, also known as JTV, disclosed that somebody informed him that governor Josephine R. Sato is suffering from kidney (or was it liver?) cancer while he held the anonymity of his source(s). Let us assume that the mayor and his source(s) are telling the truth, anchors of said programs should have not treated it as a gospel truth even if he is their boss. It should not have occupied airtime in the first place. That time, one of the two anchors is Father Ronilo M. Omanio, who happened to be the station manager and Sato’s opponent for the gubernatorial post in the past two elections. Sato always win with no less than 15 thousand votes.

Last week in a radio interview, this time over Heart FM, Sato said she had an appendectomy and very much on top shape now. She leaves again for US recently this time reportedly for a family vacation along with her daughter.

I remember in January of 2008, some broadsheets irresponsibly reported that former governor JTV went into hiding while in fact he is recuperating at the intensive care unit of the Makati Medical Center after going under the knife to remove his cancer stricken left portion of his lungs. Those journalist and reporters maliciously imputed that JTV was missing and freed out of prison without court order while the truth is he was brought to the hospital for treatment has the approval of Department of Justice and New Bilibid Prisons officials. House deputy speaker Ma. Amelita C. Villarosa said in a radio interview, “it really amazed me how they can come up with irresponsible journalism.” She likewise lamented further, “They did not even validate their story.” It is indeed very torturous and a great agony to find someone in this helpless and heart-breaking situation being victimized by irresponsible people from the media.

Is this case in point about sudden burst of the governor’s cancer story been validated by the radio station direct from the surgeons who allegedly underwent an appendectomy on the governor? Do they have plans to check the hospital and medical records of Sato? The public deserves to know all of these either from Sato herself or from other reliable sources including her political opponents. This would be accompanied with, of course, solid proofs or evidences. It’s the responsibility of Fr. Omanio to the listening public as a priest (Remember, he’s not yet laicized) and as a media man to dig deeply into the matter and present it again over the radio if possible fair and firm with the rest of his staff.

Be it rumor or otherwise, I wish that governor Sato once and for all would come out and tell us how fit or unfit she is because we have heard a lot of stories now about her sickness. What will happen next? Should we have to wait until she comes home for her disclosure to seal this matter or she’ll just shrug this off over her shoulders? Or another legal case is to about to loom. This situation will surely be capitalized by the rival propagandists at Heart FM to their advantage. And another thing is certain : that news (or was it rumor?) becomes another air pollutant. Anyway, we are already breathing the foul air since the beginning and we are immune to that already. Who is sick really? We all are.

Here in the Occidental Mindoro and elsewhere in the Philippines, not only health and related things like doctors (who take partisan stands), district hospitals (like those in San Jose and Mamburao that reportedly lack needed medicines and other supplies) and diagnostic center (that is projected to be erected in a disputed property) are being politicized but likewise the very sickness of the people themselves.

Massive politicking as such is sickening and deadlier than terminal cancer. Today, at least certain types of cancer can be prevented and cured. Pray this political sickness is not a hopeless case…

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(Photo from Mindoro Post)

Multiply and Spread the Bread

Amidst the recent Catholic Church’s involvement in controversies like the PCSO-COA audit and its billion pesos investments in BPI, Philex and San Miguel, there are people who do not generalize the bishops and priests. No doubt, while there are bishops or dioceses who decided to invest money in various assets including stocks, there are many of them assigned in dioceses that are extremely poor thus incapable to enter into such financial venture simply because they do not have enough funds or they prefer other ways what to do with their money. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila, for example, owns more than 300 million peso shares of BPI and is the bank’s 4th largest owner. Its share worth as of May 2011 is reportedly valued at more than P17 billion.

Pater Maurin of the Catholic Worker Movement in the US once said, “The world would become better off if people become better. And people would become better if they stopped trying to become better off.”

As I have previously stated, there are contradictions that we must explore, having in mind the fact that each diocese is independent from each other in administrative and pastoral concerns, like this recent investment of some archdiocese. I have read somewhere a quotation which says, “The Catholic church is not so much a museum of saints as is it a hospital of sinners.” And if I may add, “…a classroom of contradictions.”

Out of 86 dioceses all-over the country and 129 bishops and ordinaries of the Philippines, allow me to pick just one example, the legacy left by Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz in Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. Cruz, as we all know is former CBCP president, former Judicial Vicar of the CBCP National Tribunal of Appeals and Director of the CBCP Legal Office.

In 2003, a book entitled “Unholy Nation: Stories from a Gambling Republic” was published and there’s a story in page 137 called “Shades of Gray” written by my most favorite lady journalist, Bernadette Sembrano (who is by the way continue to appear at TV Patrol Weekend in ABS-CBN Channel 2 despite of her Bell’s Palsy). Allow me to share to you part of the interview conducted by Sembrano on then still active Archbishop Cruz.

When asked by the journalist, “How much money does your archdiocese have?” the prelate told her, “We do not have money. Every time we have money, we build. We do not accumulate, we spend money. We do not put money aside [except] just enough for salaries.” He adds: “I always tell our priests that we do not have money in reserve, but the moment we need it, we will produce it. You better believe it and it happens.” After the interview, according to Bernadette Sembrano’s account, Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz handed her a pair of small statue of angels and said, “Just keep your hands clean and the money will come.”

In July 5 to 9, 2004 the National Congress of the Clergy was held at World Trade Center in Metro Manila. Majority of the clergy who attended the Congress perceived that lack of transparency and honesty in the management of Church resources as the most weakening factor in the Institutional Church. According to its document called “History and Grace”, “1409 or 52% of the delegates, close to half of the Congress participants, have admitted that this situation weakens the Church all the more because the problem is from within. The clergy’s inability to manage the Church resources due to simple and plain dishonesty militates against very basic human and Gospel values. It brings to the fore the Gospel’s battle cry against sin and corruption, the moral imperative of honesty and truthfulness in the presence of the Lord and His people, the demand for responsible stewardship in the governance of earth resources… Should this Church be found wanting in this transparent, Gospel-inspired stewardship of resources, because the leaders themselves have failed to practice what it preach, the institutional Church weakens its moral foundation and credible leadership” (p. 213). Since then, a lot of things in different parishes and dioceses were gradually made to remedy this.

Maybe its high time now for the Church to have a second look and do concrete actions on the distribution of wealth equally with other poor dioceses and all of the 2,762 parishes in the land and not only during special occasions or in times of extreme charity needs.

May these controversies challenge us to invoke for financial transparency and the right to be informed on what our pastors (or the Parish Finance Council) have done to our donations and monetary contributions. Instead of buying the line of its detractors’ and falling into the cobwebs and unwittingly join in their wagons.

Multiplying the bread then spread it is in a way means of protecting the Church that we love from all her detractors…

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(Photo : Capemaytech.net)

Mitsubishops (Once And For All)

"They are trying to cover up bigger multi-billion peso anomalies in the PCSO and PAGCOR, and they have conveniently found a scapegoat in the CBCP because, you know, it makes a sensational headline," Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago said at the Senate hearing last Wednesday. On that same occasion, PCSO Chairman Margie Juico cleared that no Mitsubishi Pajeros were given to the 7 bishops. Juico also told senators that the news that all 7 bishops received SUVs could have come from an anonymous PCSO employee who was interviewed by journalists.

So, having heard those words coming from the two distinguished ladies, do the media, those in print and in broadcast including on-line news sites, maliciously sensationalized the 2009 COA report? In a way, I think so. But can we solely blame them? Nope. Because it seems nowadays, nobody wants to hear good and inspiring news anymore. We, the opinionated citizens (and netizens) are no longer interested in what the Church is doing in helping her needy flocks, regardless of their religious affiliation. The secular media do not appreciate anymore what the Church is doing in times of calamities, both man-made and natural, here and abroad. We are all gaga over news laced with scandals and intrigues especially if it concerns men of cloth. We generalize them most of the time.

Last Wednesday at the Senate, Cotobato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo emphasized, "We are from the provinces that have some of the most difficult areas that we, as bishop, have to reach. Most of us are from calamity- or conflict-stricken areas. We serve communities with some of the poorest of the poor. Our vocation is to help them in so far as we can with our resources. When we lack resources, we seek the assistance from others." Generally, the Catholic Church in the Philippines is not wealthy as her critics claim. Far from the pastor-centered protestant churches, say, in the US, that personally owns the temporal goods (read: assets) of their churches, our bishops and priests does not personally own them. Her assets are owned by the particular Christian community for the use of their pastoral and social programs. The late Jaime Cardinal Sin, for example, died poor and did not bequeath to his relatives the assets of the whole Archdiocese of Manila. An editorial of CBCP Monitor, Vol. 15; No. 13, has this to say: “….[I]t is not even correct to lump the Catholic Church as wealthy as if it were a centrally managed organization (like Iglesia ni Kristo is) because each of the 86 ecclesiastical jurisdictions in the country is independent from each other. While a few dioceses in the country maybe well-off financially, the majority is not. The Diocese of Borongan (in Eastern Samar), for instance, has a number of parishes that barely make both ends meet.” Here in our Vicariate, out of our 17 parishes, only 4 are in a way financially capable and the rest are considered "poor". Therefore, it is a wrong perception to say that the Church is wealthy so she does not need financial help anymore from sources outside of the Church. She needs mission partners in her community-based programs like livelihood projects and relief and rehabilitation and other advocacies like anti-mining and pro-environment endeavors, peace efforts and issues concerning the indigenous peoples.

Allow me to cite an example of partnership between of the Church and the LGUs featured in the June 6-19, 2011 edition of CBCP Monitor. To pave the way to combat insurgency by providing livelihood to the needy constituents in Bukidnon, Gov. Alex Calingasan has tapped the help of the clergy of Diocese of Malaybalay to assist in the implementation of a livelihood program. It is part of the peace initiative jointly managed and implemented by the local government and church leaders of said province. In a forum attended by Malaybalay Bishop Jose Araneta-Cabantan and Cagayan De Oro Bishop Antonio Ledesma last June 1, 2011, Calingasan admitted that he is not satisfied with the result of his livelihood projects for, according to him, it did not improve the economic status of the people and still, poverty lurks in the countryside.

Calingasan saw that the church has direct connection with the people, even in the remotest areas through the church’s various apostolates, organizations and Basic Ecclesial Communities or BECs. He said, “People tend to trust the clergy’s sincerity in the implementation of the program rather than us politicians whom they think they could pay back during elections…Tapping the church’s help may give this initiative more meaning to the people and they might value it to sustain their livelihood, unlike in the past where most recipients just squandered the money given to them and remain poor.” As we all know, all of the socio-economic and livelihood projects of the church are delivered with corresponding formations and the funds only comes next. By the way, Gov. Alex Calingasan is not a Catholic, he is a devout Baptist.

Well, on the recent PCSO issue, there are two things the government and the church has to take independently. For the legislative bodies or lawmakers, to do something towards the revisit or review of these 3 constitutional provisions: Section 6; Article III, Section 5; and Article VI, Section 5.

On the other hand, for the bishops, to collectively, as they have proposed on their statement “A Time of Pain, A Time of Grace”, (Which is by the way, to be read in all of the Catholic churches in Occidental Mindoro come Sunday) “...re-examine the manner of our collaboration with government agencies for purposes of helping the poor, making sure that pastoral sensibilities are respected and the highest ethical standards are observed.” And finally make a uniform, implementable and clear-cut policy NOT to accept or solicit anything from gambling.

And please include donations or gifts from a commonly perceived pro-gambling (i.e. pro-STL, pro Lotto) political leader and even politicians who are compulsive gamblers or those believed to be running gambling operations…

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(Photo : VoxBikol)

CBCP : Changing Guards and Gears?

The Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has selected new set of officers and I believe this has a lot to do with its present stand on various social issues and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes (PCSO) scandal that 7 of their peers are facing. In our lenses as citizens, they dipped their fingers in the un-holy waters of patronage politics if not partisan politics.

The CBCP will have a new president in the person of Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma starting December. The 61-year-old and incumbent CBCP Vice President, Palma will succeed Tandag, Surigao del Sur Bishop Nereo Odchimar whose term as CBCP president ends on Nov. 30. The CBCP elected a new set of officers during its 103rd plenary session that started last Saturday, July 9, 2011. The president and the vice-president are elected for two-year terms and can serve for a minimum of two terms. Usually, they are reelected for their second and last term but for some reason, Odchimar declined a second term being the president of the conference. The Misubishops were undoubtedly noticed for figuratively beating the speed limit.

In December 12, 1967, the Holy See approved CBCP’s Constitution and prior to this the group was called Catholic Welfare Organization (CWO). CBCP meets twice a year, in January and July. Its leadership is composed of a president, vice-president, a secretary general and a governing body called Administrative Council which speaks for CBCP in between meetings. There are also various Episcopal Commissions which carry out activities of the Conference.

CBCP members and even their previous presidents represent several differences on looking at things. For example in 2005, Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo became president and openly expressed judgments on the supposed faults of then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Lagdameo openly declared the GMA was corrupt and became one of her staunch critics in her last 4 years in Malacanan. On the other hand, his predecessor, Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla issued a document asking GMA to stay in the wake of the Garci scandal. Capalla was perceived by many political onlookers as GMA’s ally while Lagdameo as anti-GMA. Political animals as they are, the bishops as individuals have different preferences when it comes to political personalities.

This is how they work on certain socio-political issues. Be reminded, and many of us are not aware of this for we often generalize CBCP members on specific concerns, especially those who are in the secular media. Let us remember that the matters agreed upon during CBCP meetings have NO binding force unless they are passed by the 2/3 of the body; then they have the force of law. However, by Church law (the Canon Law), a bishop has supreme authority in its own diocese. No other authority, except that from Rome, may interfere with the affairs of the diocese. It is in a manner of saying that CBCP’s collective decisions are enforced more through “gentleman’s agreement” than anything else. Even then, a bishop may interpret a policy statement far differently or not in consonance that another colleague. While there is a mental acceptance of the principle of collegiality among the bishops, there is still a wide gap between that and actual practice. For example, on CBCP’s open declaration of “war” against RH Bill, Mining, Divorce, etc., in many dioceses and religious organizations, concrete and visible mass actions are yet to be launched.

That is why it is very valid to ask how effective and significant these responses (read: pastoral letters, statements, etc) were and they should be argued every now and then. But one thing is certain, the bishops integrate evangelization with an engagement in temporal problems but there are still a lot of things to be done specially in their common and shared response. As a have presented to you a while ago the differences between the two separate statements of Capalla and Lagdameo on GMA, one of the basic flaws of majority of CBCP documents- because of the mentioned differences among the bishops- they reflect pluralism within the Catholic Church in the Philippines. The division and the differences of liberal, radical, conservative and moderate bishops have resulted in compromise statements but of course there are exemptions specially those with regards to morals and dogma.

The CBCP as a flock of shepherds who leads our pastoral actions and faith is yet to overcome many things. Both as individual persons and as office-holders and we the laity have to be responsible not only in fostering our support, trust and hope in them but to challenge and criticize their actions if deemed inappropriate. These are also important dimensions of being a community, a dynamic and a pilgrim Church.

In short, Church leaders, priests and especially bishops, who are without doubt seemed to be involved in partisan political struggle and those who aligned themselves with the wealthy and the influential and fail concretely to show concern should be reminded by every faithful like us and even their peers.

And we too show our love for our Church this way. Jesus examples made me think of this when He confronted the Pharisees during His time…

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(Photo: Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Mitsubishops

There are glaring contradictions among the Catholic Church leaders’ position on receiving donations (or was it bribe?) both from legal and illegal gambling. This is the grayest area which divide the Church today especially after the news came out saying 7 Filipino Catholic bishops received monetary aid and luxury vehicles from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) during the Arroyo administration. Retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz called on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to take action and investigate reports that some bishops received money and even Mitsubishi Pajeros from the government, which were allegedly coursed through Malacanan’s Office of Religious Affairs.

No less than the late Jaime Cardinal Sin himself in defense of PCSO assistance given to him for his projects for the poor reportedly stated that he would even accept money from the devil in order to help the poor. Recently, Cotabato Archbishop Orlando V. Quevedo, answers all the allegations and presented his side in his blog site called “Perspectives”. He asked in brief, “What are your real motives in selectively targeting some bishops to whom PCSO gave grants for the sake of the poor?” But another question is, why luxury vehicles? It is more appropriate, say for example, in the delivery of service and administering its projects and programs on education, livelihood and health – that are mostly found in far flung communities –what they need most are vans and pick-up trucks, and not Misubishi Pajeros. But what worries me is the luxury vehicle isn't really utilized for the poor but to augment the whims of some bishops and priests, instead for social action, promotion of health, poverty alleviation and human development. In accepting those SUVs, what will happen to our thrust of being the “Church of the poor”?

For almost a decade now, the CBCP Plenary Assembly made a collegial decision not to solicit or accept donations, cash or in kind, from gambling but it was not followed universally. Likewise, it also issued a pastoral statement in January 2005 through Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla, then CBCP president, announcing that it would be the policy among bishops “to refrain from soliciting or receiving funds from illegal and legal gambling so as not to promote a culture of gambling.”

Legally speaking, any bishop (or any religious leader for that matter) who uses a motor vehicle or cash obtained from PCSO for non-charitable purposes is criminally liable under the PCSO Charter. But are they properly monitored if being used for such purpose?

Archbishop Emeritus Oscar V. Cruz apparently followed that decision to the letter. This is manifested when he issued a pastoral statement on the issue when he was still active some years back. I wrote about this matter about a year ago in a blog entry called “Clean Little Hands” when this issue first landed in the news. Cruz even noted that the matter should be tackled by CBCP and even elevated to the Congregations of Bishops in the Vatican since it affects the credibility of the Church.

In this particular issue, I adhere to the proposal of House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman for in-depth investigation on the Pajeros and cash gifts given by PCSO to several Catholic bishops during GMA’s watch.

But come to think of this reality, even a call from CBCP to intensify her stand and stage concrete pastoral actions against RH Bill is treated lightly if not ignored by some dioceses. As I have told you before, many of our bishops (and priests) are lousy social advocates but exemplary resource generators…

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(Photo :phnnetwork)

Sara Duterte & Tiffany Startz: Women Punchers

“Son-of-a-gun, this woman knows basic punching,” that’s what I exclaimed when I saw Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte throwing at least four punches that landed in the face of Regional Trial Court (RTC) sheriff Abe Andres last Friday. Sara like her father Rodrigo Duterte, her Vice-Mayor, is also a lawyer. Sara told members of the media after the punching incident that the court sheriff ignored her plea to hold for two hours and wait for her before implementing a court order to demolish houses inside a property owned by a local businessman. Can any Occidental Mindoro women politicians protect my interest, or my property, this far? I doubt it. All of the women politicians in my place do not know how to box. How about the men? I doubt it either.

This is in no way justifying the Laila Ali-like straights and hook she unleashed but its wonderful - for us poor, ordinary citizen- to see our mayor or governor, to stand and fight for our interest, in flesh and in spirit, against moneyed and influential people. Government official who would risk his or her career for our home and shelter. Public servants who avoid making business interest with the wealthy and use his or her position in government.

Very few local officials will risk their political and career, life and limb to deliver a message that authority and leadership is a matter of political will and if it get the ire of the Department of the Interior andLocal Government (DILG), the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) or the National Prosecutors League of the Philippines, so be it. Let shy away from Mayor Duterte for a while and talk about punching in general.

To women out there, keep in mind that even men does not know how to thrown punches right. Freelance writer Jillita Horton reminded us, especially women, “First of all, stop thinking you can't throw a punch because you're a woman. Yes, there are structural differences between a man and woman's body, but trust me on this: Many MEN can't throw a punch, either. I've seen men in cardio kickboxing classes "punch like a girl." And these were average-size men. And I've seen 5'3" women wail on the punching bag. So put your mind to it and tell yourself, "I can hit like a man!" Then do it” Then of course if should be accompanied by training, I mean physical training on how to punch and allow an expert to assist you on this with the aid of a punching bag.

But do you believe that a single punch of an average woman can kill? A 22-year old girl named Tiffany Startz reportedly killed an aspiring rap singer John “Fatboy” Powell, with a single punch to the face after he agreed to be hit in the face by Startz in return for $5 bet. An autopsy ruled that he had died from a brain hemorrhage caused by blunt force trauma. Startz, who is 5'5" and weighs 142lbs, was charged with reckless conduct and battery charges stemming from the incident last September 2010 in Joliet, Illinois, USA. A lawyer for Startz had asked Will County Judge Edward Burmila to dismiss the charges as Powell had agreed to be punched in return for $5.

Let us go back to Duterte’s case. Andres, on the other hand said that he is consulting his bosses for a possible legal action against the lady mayor. He maintained that he was just obeying orders to carry on the demolition order. Duterte may be charged with slight to serious misconduct, the penalties for which range from reprimand to dismissal from office. Some local lawyers said that she could face disbarment for violating Article 148 of the revised penal code, which prohibits qualified direct assaults on persons in authority and their agents “while engaged in the performance of official duties.” But Duterte told reporters that she does not care. She reportedly said she’s not afraid of losing her job or getting disbarred for protecting the poor.

Unlike the lawyer-politician that I know that’s so sweet to be punched in the nose for protecting business interests of people from other provinces than our own fishers and marine life 6 years ago…

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(Photo : Durian Post)