Senator Poe nixes House’s solon Cha-Cha’s plan

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

DAGUPAN CITY – A senator vehemently reacted to the intention of the House's chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Amendment to merge the 24 members Senate with the House of Representatives to vote for a constitutional change.

Senator Mary Grace Poe speaks to reporters after she graced the 66^th induction and

 turnover ceremonies of the JCI Dagupan Bangus Chapter held at the CSI Stadia in 

Dagupan City.  MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

Senator Mary Grace Poe emphatically declared that the senators would not agree on the pronouncement of Representative Roger Mercado when he led some members of the Committee for a consultation here last February 24 if voters in Pangasinan's province either wanted Constituent Assembly or Constitutional Convention as vehicle to amend or revise the 1987 Constitution.

Solon unfazed if someone questions Constitutionality of Cha-Cha

            In solons bid to make Senate, House vote as one

 By Mortz C. Ortigoza

DAGUPAN CITY – The chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Amendments was unperturbed if somebody questions the plan of Congress to mix as one the 22 members’ House of Senate and the 297 members House of Representatives to muster the three-fourth votes needed for the charter change bid.

CHA-CHA.Committee on Constitutional Amendments' Chairman Roger Mercado reads the plaque ofappreciation the 35 members' Committee give to Dagupan City Mayor Belen T. Fernandez
(2nd from left) for hosting the first leg of the consultation whether to amend or revised
the 1987 Philippine Constitution. MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

Representative Roger Mercado said that anyone can question the Supreme Court on the plan of Congress but “(but) whether that question will prosper or not that’s another story,”he told Northern Watch.

He said voting as one or voting separately as an independent body has been a nagging question since attempts of those who want to change the Constitution started several years ago.

“Kasi the constitution allows amendment and revision by the ConCon (Constitutional Convention) by the Congress meeting as Constituent Assembly and through People’s Initiative napili natin iyong ConAss (Constitutent Assembly) ang problematic provision lang dito is iyong Congress will vote as one e,”he cited.

Mercado, however, said he is amenable for the Senate and the House of Representatives to vote separately if that is what other proponents want.

Rape if one Inserts any Instrument to the Private or Anus

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

Around 3 Pm today Harold and I, my radio tandem, dropped by at the San Carlos City's Police Station.

When I entered the edifice, I wondered why rookie police men were milling near a detention cell.

 “Ano meron diyan,” I came to them and extended my neck to see what was inside the slammer.

“Iyong matanda sir, kahuhuli lang namin. Nireklamong nang rape,” a Police Officer -1, with an equivalent rank of a private in the military, told me.

“Bakit rape, anong ginawa niya?” I posed.

“Kinarapas niya sa ba-o ang dalaga (she touched the vagina of a young woman),” one of the rookie policemen butted in in the Pangasinan’s dialect.

“Karapas (touching)? Bakit rape, dapat Acts of Lasciviousness ang kinaso niyo,” I told them.

I told the old man that he better prepare twelve thousand pesos for bail.

“Tell mo iyong PAO (Public Attorney’s Office) mag reduce bail ka ng P6,000 para makalabas ka ng kulungan”.

“Saan mo hinawakan ang babae? I asked him.

“Diyad ba-o sir (at her vagina, sir),” he told me in the vernacular.

“Tang-ina mo, pag ba-o iyong hinawakan mo, di na Acts of Lasciviousness iyan, Death Penalty na iyan!,” I joked that caused guffaw (halakhak) among the beat policemen.

While I was sitting on a chair waiting for the chief of police, a colonel, a pretty lady captain passed by.

I called her and we exchanged pleasantries. Then I told her: “Turu-an niyo iyong mga batang police ninyo ng tamang batas. Iyong karapas (touching) kakasuhan daw nila ng Rape, e Acts of Lasciviousness iyon!”

The gorgeous peace officer retorted: “No sir, it’s rape!

“What? How come it became rape?” I posed wondering.

“Hindi lang naman niya hinipu-an. Natutulog iyong dalaga. Nilapitan ng matanda. Dinila-an niya ang ari ng dalaga (He did not molest the lady. She was sleeping when the culprit surreptitiously crawled to her and pulled down her underwear and licked her genital”.

“Nakalagay sa Rape Law sir na “any instrument or object, into the genital or anal orifice of another person, “she cited to me Article 266 of the Revised Penal Code on Rape.

“That’s I agree!” I exclaimed.

Here’s the law:

                                                         Republic Act No. 8353      

                                                                                                               September 30, 1997

AN ACT  EXPANDING THE DEFINITION OF THE CRIME OF RAPE, RECLASSIFYING THE SAME AS A CRIME AGAINST PERSONS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE ACT NO. 3815, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE REVISED PENAL CODE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled::

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as "The Anti-Rape Law of 1997."

Section 2. Rape as a Crime Against Persons. - The crime of rape shall hereafter be classified as a Crime Against Persons under Title Eight of Act No. 3815, as amended, otherwise known as the Revised Penal Code. Accordingly, there shall be incorporated into Title Eight of the same Code a new chapter to be known as Chapter Three on Rape, to read as follows:

"Chapter Three
"Rape

"Article 266-A. Rape: When And How Committed. - Rape is committed:

"1) By a man who shall have carnal knowledge of a woman under any of the following circumstances:

"a) Through force, threat, or intimidation;

"b) When the offended party is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious;

"c) By means of fraudulent machination or grave abuse of authority; and

"d) When the offended party is under twelve (12) years of age or is demented, even though none of the circumstances mentioned above be present.

"2) By any person who, under any of the circumstances mentioned in paragraph 1 hereof, shall commit an act of sexual assault by inserting his penis into another person's mouth or anal orifice, or any instrument or object, into the genital or anal orifice of another person.

"Article 266-B. Penalty. - Rape under paragraph 1 of the next preceding article shall be punished by reclusion perpetua.

"Whenever the rape is committed with the use of a deadly weapon or by two or more persons, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua to death.

"When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the victim has become insane, the penalty shall become reclusion perpetua to death.

"When the rape is attempted and a homicide is committed by reason or on the occasion thereof, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua to death.

"When by reason or on the occasion ofthe rape, homicide is committed, the penalty shall be death.

"The death penalty shall also be imposed if the crime of rape is committed with any of the following aggravating/qualifying circumstances:

"l) When the victim is under eighteen (18) years of age and the offender is a parent, ascendant, step-parent, guardian, relative by consanguinity or affinity within the third civil degree, or the common-law spouse of the parent of the victim;

"2) When the victim is under the custody of the police or military authorities or any law enforcement or penal institution;

"3) When the rape is committed in full view of the spouse, parent, any of the children or other relatives within the third civil degree of consanguinity;

"4) When the victim is a religious engaged in legitimate religious vocation or calling and is personally known to be such by the offender before or at the time of the commission of the crime;

"5) When the victim is a child below seven (7) years old;

"6) When the offender knows that he is afflicted with the Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) or any other sexually transmissible disease and the virus or disease is transmitted to the victim;

"7) When committed by any member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines or para-military units thereof or the Philippine National Police or any law enforcement agency or penal institution, when the offender took advantage of his position to facilitate the commission of the crime;

"8) When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the victim has suffered permanent physical mutilation or disability;

"9) When the offender knew of the pregnancy of the offended party at the time of the commission of the crime; and

"10) When the offender knew of the mental disability, emotional disorder and/or physical handicap of the offended party at the time of the commission of the crime.

"Rape under paragraph 2 of the next preceding article shall be punished by prision mayor.

"Whenever the rape is committed with the use of a deadly weapon or by two or more persons, the penalty shall be prision mayor to reclusion temporal.

"When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the victim has become insane, the penalty shall be reclusion temporal.

"When the rape is attempted and a homicide is committed by reason or on the occasion thereof, the penalty shall be reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua.

"When by reason or on the occasion ofthe rape, homicide is committed, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua.

"Reclusion temporal shall be imposed if the rape is committed with any of the ten aggravating/ qualifying circumstances mentioned in this article.

"Article 266-C. Effect of Pardon. - The subsequent valid marriage between the offended party shall extinguish the criminal action or the penalty imposed.

"In case it is the legal husband who is the offender, the subsequent forgiveness by the wife as the offended party shall extinguish the criminal action or the penalty: Provided, That the crime shall not be extinguished or the penalty shall not be abated if the marriage is void ab initio.

"Article 266-D. Presumptions. - Any physical overt act manifesting resistance against the act of rape in any degree from the offended party, or where the offended party is so situated as to render her/him incapable of giving valid consent, may be accepted as evidence in the prosecution of the acts punished under Article 266-A."

Section 3. Separability Clause. - If any part, Sec., or provision of this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other parts thereof not affected thereby shall remain valid.

Section 4. Repealing Clause. - Article 336 of Act No. 3815, as amended, and all laws, acts, presidential decrees, executive orders, administrative orders, rules and regulations inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this Act are deemed amended, modified or repealed accordingly.

Section 5. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after completion of its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved: September 30, 1997.

(Send comments to : totomortz@yahoo.com)

Why this jueteng- like- game was grounded at the CA, SC?

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

When I told last week a fellow columnist that politicians and police officials could flash a smile because I exacted from Dagupan City’s chief of police Superintendent Neil Miro, my radio guest, who told me that the all-out gambling war of President Rodrigo Duterte spared Jai-Alai, a number game played like jueteng, of Meridien Vista Gaming Corporation (MVGC) because it has court injunction from the Court of Appeals.

The columnist disputed my declaration by insisting Jai-Alai was part of Duterte’s police juggernaut target.

I doubt his statement because a court’s injunction is, well, an injunction that the executive body cannot supplant.

“Where did you read it?” I posed with great curiosity since I have been cutting my teeth on illegal number games since I became a media man.

“Philippine Star,” he told me.

After I arrived home I Google searched his statement since some police officers and elective official publicly declared that Jai-Alai, a P10 million a day or P3.6 billion  a year churning endeavor in Pangasinan, is immune for raid by law enforcers.

After several searches through the world wide web, I could not see any news item from the internet that could collaborate the columnist’s pronouncement as mandated by Executive Order 13 or strengthening the fight against illegal gambling and clarifying the jurisdiction and authority of concerned agencies in the regulation and licensing of gambling and online gaming facilities, and for other purposes.

***

The continued existence of Jai-Alai baffled me.

Former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Chair Erineo Maliksi accused last year PCSO board members led by then General Manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II who allowed STL to be co opted by “jueteng” lords.

Luzonians oppose Cha-Cha in first congressional consultation

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

DAGUPAN CITY -  Out of more than a hundred crowd invited by Congress, only five wanted charter change through a Constituent Assembly in the first public consultation of congressmen to revise the 1987 Constitution.

REALITY CHECK. Author, a radio commentator too, does some rabble rousing explanation about the pros and cons of charter change  before members of the "Committee on Constitutional Amendments" of the House of Representatives.

When the Committee on Constitutional Amendment’s Chairman Roger Mercado asked the more than a hundred attendees, at a hotel here, who came from the 31 villages of this City led by their barangay chairmen, mayor, councilors, and public and private officials from here and the towns and other cities of the mammoth Pangasinan province if they favor Constituent Assembly (CA) or Constitutional Convention (CC) to craft the 1987 Constitution, only five raised their right hands on the CA and more than 10 raised their hand on the CC.

The opinion of some spectators was either the attendees did not understand the bodies that have been given a constitutional power to hammer the highest law or they did not want federalism as the “silver bullet” to end the malaise of this country if based on the pronouncement of Representative Mercado and others.

A Constituent Assembly, according to Wikipidia, is composed of all members of the bicameral Philippine Congress (Senate and the House of Representatives). It is convened by Congress to propose amendments to the 1987 constitution. Under Article XVII of the Constitution of the Philippines, amendments pass upon a vote of three fourths of all members of Congress, but it is not clear if the Congress should vote as a single body or as separate houses.

The anatomy of a Filipino folk-rock singer

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

MAKATI CITY – “Bilib ako sa mga style mo sa piyesa, wala ng kopya-kopya (I lauded you on your series of singing. You did not use a copy in playing your piece),” I told Jun Lahi, a folk rock singer near the seedy Makati Avenue here, after he finished the third of his fourth one hour each gig  for Cuervolito, a 15 tables’ bar.’

CROONER. Folk rock singer Jun Lahi, 49, who could sing hundreds of country and rock songs 

without any guide of a lyric and guitar chord's book. The crooner belts scintillating songs from

 Neil Young, Eagles, America, and others at Cuervolito and Café Cubana at Makati Avenue in 

Makati City. Photo by Mortz C. Ortigoza

When my 21 years old long haired son Niko and I entered, the bar teemed with European, Japanese and South Korean tourists and their Filipino girl and gay friends they probably picked up from the thoroughfares in Poblacion Makati here, Lahi, who wore the vaunted John Lennon’s style eye glasses, was belting with his electric guitar America’s “I Need You”  (click red words to hear the version), followed by Dan Fogelberg’s Leader of the Band, and Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush complemented with a harmonica wielded on the rack attached to his neck just like the Canadian folk singer Young.

“Look Pa, he sings what you sang when Jigger (his older brother) and I were in elementary grades,” my son, a graphic designer of one of the major newspapers in the country, quipped as he gulped the remaining content of his brown bottled San Miguel’s Pale Pilsen while I fished out with my right hand fingers the complimentary fried peanuts given by the waitress.

No Death Law to Plunderer: A Congressional Hypocrisy

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

The nerve of these thick faced Filipino congressmen who decided to strike- off the crime of plunder (P50 million above loots) as one of the offenses in the proposed death punishment law that they would be voting by finality this coming March.

A congressman with an annual half-a- billion pesos project for his district that has more than 250 thousand population as constitutional standard could pocket up to 20 percent of S.O.P  (euphemism for cut) or one hundred million pesos through his favorite supplier or contractor say of medicines or infrastructures.

Deprived by medicine or threatened by a substandard bridge or building because the hundreds of millions of pesos budget was plundered by the solon could cause death to his constituents.

Because of this gall, the thieving members of the House of Thieves, er, Representatives could be worse than the murderer, kidnapper or narcotics seller because they could kill a few while congressmen could murder a multitude because of their avarice.

Just look how millions of marginalized and dying Filipino rice farmers are cursed to wallow into morass of poverty in their once a year harvest while their counterparts in Vietnam and Thailand enjoy twice or thrice a year harvest of palay because of their ubiquitous water systems were generously given by their public officials.