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Bullies and Bullying in the Land of Patronage

The saga of Allan Canete Bantilles aka Roy Negro unravels and it is not a very pretty sight to behold.

What does Allan Canete Bantilles aka Roy Negro and Robert “Blair” Carabuena have in common? They both appear to burst with their violent temper when confronted with situations where civility and dialogue are a must in resolving the problem before them. They both are gun owners with a revoked license up for confiscation and Robert “Blair” Carabuena must be pissed at Allan Canete Bantilles aka Roy Negro for getting him back into the limelight of public and authorities attention.

In a nation where patronage plays an important role in a personality based political system where corruption thrives and becomes endemic it is natural for mindless people in power to equate might is right. After all being in a position of power means one can dictate or shove whatever it is they want without much resistance when one has tremendous influence as a result of extended political connection. Extended political influence brought about by their enterprising spirit of turning politics into a family business with some becoming so successful turning their mom and pop political shop into a very successful entrepreneurial empire.

It appears that Allan Bantilles has good connections or friends with the right influential people, the Peping and Tingting Cojuangco couple thus the lame response of Collegio San Agustin Rector Fr. Horacio R. Roriguez, OSA. In fairness to the Cojoangco, while Tingting is reportedly a member of the board of Collegio San Agustin there are no reports if she tried to meddle with the incident or exert her influence. But then again, the question was if the CSA administration’s lukewarm decision affected by the Cojuangco’s friendship with Bantilles with their response to the incident that puts their institution in a bad light for failure to respond appropriately? I wonder how close their relationship is considering Bantilles does not even live in Dasmarinas Village and yet uses a car sticker issued to the Cojuangcos. I can understand the phrase that you can’t choose your relatives but what in the world is wrong here, with a friend like that who needs enemies, LOL.

In contrast Robert “Blair” Carabuena does not seem to be well connected thus he went to the MMDA and did his public apology but insincerely according to some observers. It was easier for people to see the disparity and bullying all because the victim, Traffic Enforcer Saturnino Fabros is a poor widower with school age daughters to feed and support while living in a shanty. Thank goodness for the social media without it said incident would not have been noticed and the bully could still be terrorizing those he deemed weaklings.

So many crimes remain unsolved or perpetrators not prosecuted because they were not caught in the act by concerned citizen taking a video with cell phone and was not in the social media radar. I wonder how the democratizing character of the internet will be affected by the recent Sottomized PNoy Cybercrime Law, will it dampen the enthusiasm of social media netizens to help tilt the balance?

Apathy remains to be one of our biggest stumbling blocks in our trek towards a robust democracy. The timing of the passage of the Sottomized Cybercrime Law as we approach the 2013 national election will definitely contribute to the increase in apathy when people’s rights and freedom of expression are frustrated and repressed by an unjust law where the Philippine version of libel was inserted. Never mind that it was declared by the UNHRC where the Philippines is one of the signatory as a human rights violation, but let us see if this will indeed affect the gun poking incident negatively in favor of the bully.

Lest I get accused of being homophobic let me reiterate that I am not and actually support LGBT issues. It is for this reason that I am clarifying the issue on where I stand and this anonymous comment that does not seem to appear on the blog which I quote:

I am all for anti bullying. But this article repeatedly mentioning that the father might be gay, indicates that the writer is possibly homophobic. How is that detail of any relevance?

It should be noteworthy to point out that people with conflicted sexual orientation unless they deal with it positively will create more problems for the one concerned and even those around him and people that happen to cross his path. I could be wrong but there are cases where their violence prone demeanor and action can be traced to their conflicted sexual orientation, like the case of Muktarai Mai. While this is an extreme example it merits some attention and hopefully enables us to understand what goes on in a bullies mind. Perhaps try to figure out why grown men have no problem kidnapping, torturing, and gang banging a 12 year old boy for walking besides a girl of a higher caste which to them is a “crime” worthy of gangnam errr gang rape.

Now what has all that got to do or what relevance as anonymous pointed out has all that got to do with the Collegio San Agustin incident? It’s something that needs to be explored considering what we know now or what JD the son of Bantilles is telling us now after their complete silence if indeed it was true.

According to JD’s claims that it was the victim who actually hit them first and denies he fondled the victim’s private part and behind. Further stating he was just defending his boyfriend who was stabbed by the victim with his ball pen. Funny thing is JD’s version of the incident makes it appear that the victim’s “threat” to him and his boyfriend was what angered his father Roy Negro. Enough for him to storm the faculty room where the victim is at, and yes because his jaw was “hurting” he did not see his father pointing a gun at the victim’s forehead, LOL.

Here’s the deal why it is difficult to believe the son of Bantilles account or version of the incident. If he is on a verbal tussle with the victim it will be difficult for the victim to have hit him forcefully in the jaw. Shouting match are done on a distance or so close in your face confrontation. You have to be pushed away first if you are in the in your face verbal confrontation that makes you out of balance to get hit in the jaw. Now unless the victim is like Manny Pacquaio which I really doubt when I saw his demeanor on TV, he can really hit one in the jaw no matter how they are positioned. The most likely position to get hit in the jaw so forcefully as he claims, is that he was probably caught with his hand holding his weenie taunting him while looking up at the victim being taller thus exposing his jaw for the big whammy, LOL.

So what’s the big deal says JD while denying he fondled the victim’s private parts. His classmates he says do the touching on each other, no one gets bothered by it, brushing it off as normal. Say what? Hold your weenies este horse here folks! Are you listening to this or paying attention to the claims of JD Fr. Horacio, boys in your school touch each others ding dongs inside the campus in public at that and it is normal? Well, if that is true and they keep doing it, pretty soon they might do what the grown men of that village in Pakistan do as a form of initiation and kids will brush it off as normal?

Bullying is a problem that has to be dealt with early on while bullies are in their formative years, wait a little longer and you will have raised the likes of Angelino "Boyet" Fajardo or worse a Rolito Go and they became a menace to society which is a sad failure in parenting. Perhaps this will spur you to action, imagine your sweet loving son and daughter because you as a parent and the school fails big time in dealing with his/her bullying problem woke up one day and see in your son or daughter the likes of Boyet Fajardo or Rolito Go. Or worse you become a clone of Jason Ivler's mother, now think about that people.

It appears that bullying has long been Collegio San Agustin's problem and just like the case of Jamie they failed in resolving the issues as shown in this video of a bullying victim's father interviewed by Ces Drillon.

Meanwhile former classmates of the victim’s mother Toni Gonzalez-Garcia batch 83 of Assumption College came out with letter campaign against the bullying incident at Collegio San Agustin, posted here in case you want to pass it around.

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Assumption College Alumni Letter Campaign against Bullying and Gun Poking at CSA

AC Batch ‘83

27 September 2012

Fr. Horacio R. Rodriguez:

Colegio de San Agustin

Dasmarinas Village, Makati

Dear Fr. Horacio R. Rodriguez:

We write in support of our fellow alumna, Mrs. Toni Gonzalez-Garcia, and as concerned parents. We are disturbed by the reported gun-pointing by Allan Bantilles as a threat to Jamie Garcia, in the presence of some of your faculty members.

The act of gun pointing by a parent to threaten a student is a most reprehensible form of bullying that should not be tolerated by any decent human society, much less by your school. You have always represented yourselves as an upstanding Catholic institution that prides itself in honing your students' Christian morals and ethics. This unfortunate incident is an opportunity for you to prove through action what you have represented in words.

We understand your school's response to the incident is merely to ban Mr. Bantilles from your school campus. Please ask yourselves: Does this show an adequately strong message to your students and to the CSA community in terms of the values and ethics you wish to promote?

We believe it does not. We believe you should send a much stronger statement, especially to your student body, that this behavior is NOT tolerated by your school. We believe that you should declare in a public assembly of students and parents that this behavior is reprehensible and will not be tolerated. In addition, we urge you to demand a public apology to be made by Mr. Bantilles to Jamie Garcia. We also urge your office to call on all the faculty and student witnesses to stand up and tell the truth.

We express our concern over this serious breach of your school's security. How can anyone bring a gun into your campus? Has an investigation of your security personnel and procedures been done? If so, what steps have you taken to hold those responsible for the breach, and what steps are you taking to tighten your security controls?

We urge you to re-examine your rules against bullying, and strengthen your sanctions against this offense. Bringing firearms or instruments of violence on campus should be punishable by, at a minimum, exclusion of the student connected with the offending party.

We understand that you need to go through due process to be legally compliant and to be fair to all parties involved. However, given the gravity of the offense and the presence of witnesses which makes the offense undeniable, we urge you to speedily impose a strong, non-compromising punishment and public statement.

We hope you heed our recommendations and take action as soon as possible.

Thank you for your attention.

Very truly yours,

Assumption High School Class of 1983

The signatures that follow are of those who support this call to action, including the Assumption High School Class of 1983, fellow Assumption Alumnae, family and friends.

Verna Villanueva
Mardi Mapa-Suplido
Maite P. Gallego
Tokie Tantoco-Enriquez
Gina Gamboa-Pimentel
Ana de Villa - Singson
Queenie Conde-Crisostomo
Reena Rodrigo
Angela Navato-Javier
Rissa Sanchez-Murga
Deeda Garcia
Candy Agcaoili-Orena
Nina Peralta-Garcia
Nikki Lacson-Leviste
Ellen Q. Leron
Judy Roman-Antonio
Gigi Orosa-Villareal
Leah Martelino-Huang
Teresa Goduco
Gina Quirino
Myrene Villanueva
Trixie Cordon-Mutuc
Aileen Fabro
Maricen Jalandoni
Veronica Polintan-Solis
Anna Periquet
Analen Rualo-Reyes
Candy Agcaoili-Orena
Jet Ocampo
Desi Catibayan-Mendoza
Yella Dabao-Avelino
Kathy S. Litton
Bea Lopez-Puno
Marilen Dimayuga
Angela C. Ylagan
Cynthia Villanueva-Gloger
Dina Pronstroller
Tina Abad-Mendoza
Aggie Gayoso-Artadi
Jowee Orense
Liz Jalandoni
Gia Ocampo-Chuatico
Anna Hechanova-Lu
Joy Ledesma-Lagdameo
Corcor Dizon-Bitong
Gladys Lee
Lia Pison – dela Cruz
Ma. Rosario Garcia-Berutto
Rhodora Cortez-Ayento
Udsie Rosario-Villarica
Gina Yambao-Martinez
Monique Daez
Rina Vargas-Malig
Nini Barrera-Aquino
Fides Madrid
Dina Bellosillo-Reyes
Chubby Lopa
Jewel Garcia
Aileen Villamor-Fabro
Annie Colayco
Adeline Aguilar-Belizario
Monique Trinidad
Liza Casas-Garrido
Abigail Limqueco-Chan
Bea Beduya-Villegas
Maryrose Juico-Romualdez
Gia Ferry-Lipa
Sylvie Mendoza
Kathy Cabiles-Tamara
Lyn Dizon Agustin
Cynthia Uichangco-Abola
Paula Celdran-Santos
Claudette Gonzalez-Klein
Tessa Mendoza-Daza
Cathy Pujol-Azores
Imee Garcia
Claudette A. Cordon, ACHS '81
Carmela Yutuc-Santos, ACHS '78
Terry Vistan, ACHS 78
Tony Tamara
Monique P. Gallego
Paul A. Zaldarriaga
My Rizal Movement
Peaches Luciano-Jimenez, AC '81
Meg Soriano-Roque, AC '81
Josie Gempesaw – Barcia, AC '81
Patricia Jimenez, AC 2009
Rommel Bernardo
Maureen Cordon-Delingon
Arleen Sevilla-Agustin

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Allan Bantilles aka “Roy Negro” & son to file counter suit

Would you believe that Collegio San Agustin Rector Father Horacio R. Rodriguez, OSA came out with a statement that states they are victims of bad publicity? At a time when criminal charges are being readied by the Makati Police Fr. Horacio washes his hands that makes Pontius Pilate pale in comparison, LOL.

I don’t know how a school that has an obligation, responsibility, and duty to protect a student once they are inside the campus should act as if they are the surrogate parents failed miserably to protect a bullying victim. A victim who was sexually fondled repeatedly needs a safe reassuring environment only to be slapped and threatened by the bully’s parent inside the faculty room and then come up with irresponsible statement of non-accountability blaming bad publicity for their woes is bizarre if not absurd.

What makes the incident so repulsively revolting is not only did they fail in securing the safety of the victim they also punished the victim with a longer suspension than the bullies. Now how exactly do they think the students concerned will appreciate the meaning of justice and the whole student body with their unfair decision?

The schools failure to call the police right after the incident or even reported it indicates a serious flaw in their security measure. Collegio San Agustin in their failure to file a criminal case against Allan Bantilles for openly violating the environment of safe haven that the learning institution provides is of serious concern not just to their student population and their parents, relatives, and friends but the long term implication of said incident other learning institution.

The only consolation is that finally the Makati Police seems to be on the right track and a criminal complaint has been filed by the aggrieved party the Garcia’s against Allan “Roy Negro” Canete Bantilles for possession of ugly face errrr a variety of complaints ranging from attempted murder, slander and slander by deed at the Makati Prosecutor’s Office.

As usual the accused reportedly will also file criminal case against Garcia and others in what appears to be a first Sottomized Cybercrime Prevention Act case if indeed Roy Negro and his son beat everyone to the draw on who will be the first one to file a Sottomized cyberspace libel.

Who will the judge believe is something we really have to see, but I do tend to believe the bullying victim because bullies are not always your typical hunk or big man they can be teeny little twat with Napoleonic complex, LOL. Another thing that to me strengthens the position of the victim is the violent temper of Bantilles against a victim who even apologized to him and yet chose to slap and threaten with a loaded gun aimed at his forehead is typical demeanor we see from a bully thus in all likelihood will produce his own bully junior in his son.

According to Bantilles lawyer Nethercott:

“We are denying these claims that he (the elder Bantiles) slapped the boy and pointed a gun at him.”

“We might file a case of libel or defamation or physical injury. But we are being very prudent about it. We want cooler heads to prevail since our client is a minor,” he said.

Sure they will, but let us see if the teachers at Collegio de San Agustin are able to recover from the shock of witnessing Roy Negro’s violent bullying as reported and come to testify to tell the truth. But why is it that I doubt they will is it because of Father Horacio’s statement?

When lawyers get involved in a case you can almost sense a circus freak side show is in the offing when Bantilles lawyer says the family will also file a complaint of Child abuse at the Kapisanan ng mga Broadcasters sa Pilipinas against Disc Jockey Mo Twister (Mohan Gumatay)for his supposedly “derogatory” statements against Bantlles son.

Father Horacio R. Rodrigues should consider himself lucky, had this happen in the west the school would have been the subject of a civil damages lawsuit. But this is the Philippines where some people seem to be in denial especially when it involves sexual molestation and harassment case. Let us see if this case will expose who are the liars and who are in denial but until the learning institution refuse or are not aware of their obligation, responsibility, and duty to protect students while they are inside the school campus, and decide unfairly when it comes to bullying, especially cases of sexual molestation you can't expect students to come out of the learning institution with their values intact.

If this is a class on parenting 101 Roy Negro definitely failed miserably because after the incident he disappeared as if he is in hiding and instead of surfacing had his attorney do all the talking. The best defense is not actually denial, actually slapping a victim of sexual molestation and pointing a gun complete with verbal threat of killing him is indefensible.

Roy Negro should have just apologized and approached the family of the victim and he probably had a better chance of settling this out of court as it seems that the father of the victim and the victim appears to be very reasonable. If he had the guts to slap, threaten and point a loaded gun he should be man enough to face the consequence of his action because that's what gentleman do. Unless one is grappling with his sexual identity and preference or just a plain jerk brought up in the worse possible way not recognizing the problem will only manifest itself much worse in their offspring.

People who are sure of their sexuality will most likely confront their own child and allow their kids to learn how to fight their own battles. Unfortunately when your kid is the bully and worse seems to be fixated with someone else ding dong or pride and glory while acting out like a macho/bully holding a guys behind is probably a problem that has to dealt with in a father and son dialogue and not getting into a fight with his crush errr childish enemy. At any rate this will be very interesting once it reaches the court where the facts will likely prevail over the manufactured lies........

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The father & son bullying tag team at Collegio de San Agustin

Rafael Alunan’s post in his facebook got my attention regarding the incident at Collegio de San Agustin an exclusive Catholic school inside an exclusive enclave for the rich in Dasmarinas Village, Makati. Bullying is bad enough and it gets worst when one of the parents identified as Allan Canete Bantilles father of one of the allege bullies stormed the faculty room together with his boyfriend errr bodyguard daw where the victim is at was verbally abused, physically assaulted and threatened with a gun pointed at his head and the school from all indication failed to do what is mandated of them, to quote:

As a precautionary move to immediately defuse this menace to society, CPNP Gen. Nick Bartolome should revoke his licenses to own and permits to carry firearms, as well as pull out his bodyguards if they are policemen. As soon as a case is filed in court, an anti-bullying shame campaign should be waged by media as a public service using this coward Bantiles as Exhibit A.

You must have heard of this bullying incident by now, but just for clarification this is not the same as the cyber bullying that Tito Sotto is talking about at the upper house of Lolong errrr legislative. This is a case of verbal and physical bullying inside the campus of Collegio de San Agustin involving students that’s probably more serious than what we thought earlier once we really dig deeper into the incident.

According to Sony Lopez Gonzales the victim’s grandmother aired on DZMM, her grandson has been the subject of Allan Bantilles’ son and his boyfriend errr okay maybe just BFF or should I say accomplice kept on harassing and bullying his grandson for weeks (that’s what the grandma knew but it appears this has been going on since July). It boiled over when the victim can’t take it anymore and started to fight back punching his tormentor after he repeatedly told them to stop but to no avail. This how the grandma describes the incident at the Everything in Budget blog:

Gonzales said the gun-pointing incident started after her grandson punched another student. She said her grandson only punched the student after reaching his limits due to the latter's alleged bullying. "They kept harassing my apo. Pino-poke ba naman ‘yung penis and pwet. For weeks they were doing that," Gonzales said, referring to the son of the alleged gun-toting parent and another student. "Ulit sila ng ulit. Then sabi ng apo ko, 'tama na, tama na, stop it.' Doon nag-init ang apo ko, siyempre sinuntok niya," she added.

Bullies repeatedly fondling the victim in his pride and glory and his behind is not exactly bullying anymore but already a crime of sexual harassment if not molestation. The school you would think will act accordingly and yet they responded with a 4 day suspension for the victim while giving the bullies a 2 to 3 day suspension and transferred to another section? I can understand the physical response of the victim but how exactly can one defend his honor if one is dealing with mindless bullies? Assuming for the sake of argument that the victim is gay, it does not follow that one can just molest and fondle his most private part nor is it an open invitation to get sexually molested. So when the school gave the bullies a lighter punishment compared to the victim, are they teaching the kids that it is alright to sexually molest and fondle classmates they perceived as gay and weak? You would think that someone who was just molested would have at least been given ample protection by the school authorities since that was their duty and obligation but the situation even got worst as described by Everything in Budget Blog:

Gonzales said after learning of the brawl, the father immediately rushed to the school's campus in Makati with a bodyguard and pointed his gun on the forehead of her grandson.

She said the incident was witnessed by several faculty members since it happened inside the school's faculty room. "[Ang sabi ng tatay], 'you're the boy that hit my boy?' Tapos sinuntok na siya. He kept insulting him. In the meantime ang apo ko apologize ng apologize," she said. "Paulit-ulit [sinasabi ng tatay] 'Do you want me to shoot you? Do you want me to shoot you?' Eh kung na-Rolito Go 'yan, eh 'di patay na ang apo ko." Gonzales said a teacher then told her grandson to run away from the parent.

If this is not wrong on all levels I don’t know what is. Here you have a father storming the faculty room together with an armed boyfriend or bodyguard and what exactly did the school security guard do? That is a big F or failure if you ask me but what really should concern the parents is the teachers lack of training in responding to violent situation like that displayed by Bantilles and his boyfriend bodyguard. As if having failed to protect their student from a man that’s displaying all the signs of a closet queen the school authorities did not even bother to call the police since it was so obvious that their security guards are so inept at protecting the students entrusted for their protection.

We can understand if the school administration refused to air their side on the media but when they did not even call the police or later report the incident to the police people smells something fishy and filthy. It gets worse when their failure to protect the victim even handed him a longer suspension instead of expelling sex molesters in their campus. Failure to file a criminal case against Bantilles is a sad indication of the schools concept of what is just and fair or are they too scared and easily bullied too?

It seems that in the Philippines people are in denial when it comes to sexual harassment and they respond in the most ridiculous if not absurd manner like the sexual harassment case at the UP. The schools response to the gun poking incident was to ban Bantilles from the campus, are they nuts or what? Why did they not sue Bantilles for criminally bringing in a gun inside the school premises and committing criminal act of grave threat with the use of a firearm? Is it because they are afraid of this gay errr guy who maybe influential?

Bullying is a serious problem that has to be dealt with early where early prevention is a must based on the study which I quote:

In one study by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, nearly 60 percent of boys whom researchers classified as bullies in grades six to nine were convicted of at least one crime by the age of 24, while 40 percent had three or more convictions.

The problem is this might not apply in the Philippines since it appears that they still follow the dictum of might is right. Not that the Philippines will not have bullies grow up as a criminal, the difference is on the conviction rate because to this day unless something is done, is that there are different laws that applies depending on one’s status in life. We have criminals and criminal minded people and they are everywhere even at times in the highest position in our government. To think that bullying happens in exclusive schools and they are growing up not appreciating the repercussions of bullying in combination with endemic corruption, it seems we are truly a long way to go before we see civility or seeing perversion as an exception than a rule to some people in positions of power.

So what should we do in this case, are we going to let it pass or are we going to help check this malady early on by shaming Bantilles so others will not follow suit? I suggest the later, a good start is to share this and let bullies know we will not let them abuse and give our youths emotional scars that will stay with them in their adulthood. Calling on the authorities to revoke Bantilles firearm license and recalling his boyfriend errr bodyguard if he is with the police is a good measure in preventing what violence this duo might inflict on others.

Read the update below:

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Sting & Mall of Asia is like oil & water, they don't mix!

Fellow blogger human rights lawyer environmentalist Cheryl Chyt L. Daytec-Yañgot letter to Sting's US representative appealing to change the venue of the performance. Perhaps no one told Sting that said venue is owned by one who does not respect labor and the environment, you can help by telling Sting and signing the petition.

Dear Alicia,

Thank you so much for entertaining my phone call. You must receive a lot of calls everyday but you took time to listen to what I had to say. I am glad you gave me your email address. I first called Creative Artists' Agency in Los Angeles, California but I was directed to your office. I was told to speak to a certain Mr. Arthur Fogal who is a manager of Sting.

As I told you over the phone, many of us -human rights and environmental justice advocates- in the Philippines are not happy that Sting is going to hold a concert in the SM-Mall of Asia. This is not about Sting; it is about the venue. Maybe it was chosen because it is one of the world's ten biggest malls. But there are things Sting urgently needs to know.

To convince you that I am not a fraud -and I am sure you receive a lot of emails from frauds-, let me tell you a few things about me. A founding member of the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers which is the biggest organization of human rights lawyers in the Philippines, I am currently an international Hubert Humphrey fellow in the US. I am now based in the University of Minnesota. I used to be the lead lawyer in two environmental cases against SM Investment Corporation and SM Prime Holdings-the corporations which own SM Mall of Asia- because of SM's plan to cut down 182 fully grown trees to expand a mall in Baguio City, the summer capital of the Philippines. NUPL continues to litigate the cases. The site of the expansion is the very birthplace of Baguio City and is believed to have been acquired fraudulently by SM. The planned expansion was temporarily stopped after we got a temporary environmental protection order (TEPO) in April 2012 which SM defiled (which was why a spontaneous rally of more than 6000 people was held on April 10, 2012). SM had to obey the court order but not after it cut down more than 40 trees in the dead of night, behind walls to obstruct public view of what was happening while we were holding a vigil, crying and making appeals for the trees and environment. The cases are still being heard. The lead counsel is now Mr Christopher Donaal.

Sting is a well-loved musician among human rights advocates and believers all over the world including the Philippines. This is foremost because he speaks the voice of the marginalized and disadvantaged. A lot of times, it was because of him that stifled voices were amplified. This happened each time he exposed injustice, iniquity, and inequity in his songs. The world's oppressed classes owe Sting so much. And now, in behalf of the disadvantaged, we ask him to do something for them again.

There is an ongoing online petition asking Sting for a change of venue of his concert which also shows a video of the April spontaneous rally of thousands that surprised even us who made a public call for a mass indignation action. In the video, you will see the police trying to stop us because we had no permit -there was no time to get one- but we persevered and the police had no choice but to allow us although they kept close watch. This petition was initiated by Project Save 182, the movement based in Baguio City, Philippines, which NUPL is representing in court. Project Save 182 was born on January 20, 2012 when more than 5,000 people gathered to protest the planned expansion so soon after it was made known. You see, Alicia, SM and the government kept things under wraps. Public consultations as mandated by Philippine law and even international law were not conducted and the project does not bear the stamp of social acceptability. Since 20 January 2012, the people have not stopped protesting even without any financial resources. Lawyers gave their services for free. Students missed their classes to join protests. And believe it or not, our relentless opposition sparked the birth of a nationwide "Boycott SM movement." Rallies have been held all over the Philippines to support us.

I am worried that the petition might not reach Sting which is why for the last few days, I have been looking for ways to reach him. I hope I found the channel in you. Alicia, the people of a historical city of almost half a million people are fervently praying that something can be done. Please do something. Sting said and we agree wholeheartedly, "If you really want to define civilization it should be a culture that doesn't destroy its environment. If you burn down the kitchen one day and expect to eat the next, it is not even intelligent, let alone civilized."

Thank you so much,

Cheryl L. Daytec

(By the way, my FB wall is a testament to how much I love Sting. I regularly post his youtube videos.)

Sign and share the petition: Your words become empty if you perform in SM-MOA, Mr. Sting!

___________________________________________________________
UPDATE: 10/19/12

Ces Rodriguez reported on Yahoo News headlined Sting stung by felled Baguio trees, drops venue of Manila concert.

Nothing beats the persistence and determination of a warrior who will stop at nothing to point out the contradiction that would have passed unnoticed had Cheryl Chyt Daytec not been as committed to her cause. I salute you idol and I should find a way to clone the likes of you and we may just reach our goal of making this world a better place to live in, Mabuhay ka Chyt.

Sting will now perform at a different venue and hopefully this sends a clear message that corporate abuse will not be tolerated. Funny but what makes them think they can hold a Sting concert known for his environmental concerns? The MOA praise errrr I meant press release till the end tries to salvage their reputation below:

With this successful move to stop Sting from holding the concert at SM MOA Arena, and referring to the venue as an 'oppressor', it is now looking more like the court battle has extended from saving trees, to ruining a corporate giant’s reputation completely.

Nah, I don't think the intent was to ruin their reputation or the brand but come to think of it what reputation are they talking about? The deal is you fell some trees and you might just get hit where it hurts the most, and that's karma, LOL.

Let me end this with Chyt's response to the numerous comment on her Facebook status update on Sting's concert:

Yes, efforts worked, it seems. Take note- there was that online petition first which Karlo Marko Altomonte initiated. It was followed by the PS182 US-based members and friend Pedro Jacobo's efforts to contact Sting and his agents here. These were followed up with more calls.

In the end, Sting listened to the voice of the oppressed. He did it in regard to his concert in Kyrgyztan before.

Let us support Sting always.

If Mr. Henry Sy's people think that someone like Sting known for this haunting song on the forcefully disappeared, they are sadly mistaken......

Read the latest development: Misleading: Footnote to STING'S SM-MOA (NON)CONCERT

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40 years ago today mark the dark days of Philippine Martial law

Four decades ago just one decade short of a half century, marks the darkest days in the annals of Philippines history. The late strongman Ferdinand Marcos officially declared martial law that is akin to an open season for repression and silencing of his detractors. On that day thousands were rounded up mostly from the left and student activist and those of his political opponent to pave the way for the pillage and plunder running the country to the ground. All these unabated pillaging and plundering happened while the gullible public seems to see reality selectively gave him a thundering applause lauding his “New Society.”

One of those victims and one of the first to suffer at the hands of a despotic regime was Liliosa Hilao a bright promising young sickly student. The day they arrested her marks the start of the culture of impunity unleashing the barbarity of men in uniform out to please their master. Their master the dictator who to this day stays in a crypt in a state of limbo. No one seems to pay attention at the circus like manner he was preserved in a refrigerated frozen state when the Marcoses shows a picture of forever grieving Imeldific beside the frozen stiff one. All these drama that makes tele-novelas a run for their money while the family thinks of ways on how they can hoodwink the people into buying him at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes Cemetery).

Words simply cannot describe the horrific rape and torture she was subjected to by people who acts worse than wild animals, this how Arkibong Bayan describes her case:

The case of Liliosa Hilao and the Hilao Family

Liliosa Hilao was a sickly student whose frail body was wracked by regular asthma attacks.

However, she was strong of mind and convictions. In 1970, she joined the Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan (SDK). She could hardly join rallies due to her poor health but she expressed her convictions in her writings as associate editor of the Hasik, the student paper at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, where she was a student in communication arts.

Despite her weaknesses, Liliosa (“Lilli”) was active in school. She graduated with honors in elementary and high school. She was features editor of her high school organ. In college, besides writing for Hasik, she was twice elected as student president of the communication arts department. She was a representative to the Pamantasan students’ central government. She served as secretary of the Women’s Club of Pamantasan, and organized the Communication Arts Club also in Pamantasan. She was also a member of the College Editors’ Guild of the Philippines.

Lilli was abducted in 1973 by drunk soldiers who raided her family’s house. She was found dead the following day.

The soldiers, members of the Constabulary Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), had come looking for her brother. Lilli had demanded a search warrant, and was slapped and her body mashed by the soldiers. Then she was handcuffed and taken in for questioning. A brother-in-law came to see her at the camp and found her face swollen. Lilli said she was tortured. The following day, Lilli’s sister Alice was called to the Camp Crame Station Hospital where she was told Lilli was in serious condition. Alice found Lilli dead.

The official CANU report was that Lilli committed suicide by drinking muriatic acid. But post-mortem findings confirmed her torture. Her face was severely swollen. Her lips bore burns from cigarette butts. She had 11 injection marks in her arms and deep handcuff marks on her wrists. Her torso was badly bruised with finger marks and gun-barrel marks. It is possible she was repeatedly abused sexually. Her brains and other internal organs were cut to pieces, soaked with muriatic acid.

Lilli died before she could graduate, but because she was a consistent scholar, Lilli was given posthumous honors (cum laude) and her seat kept vacant for her during the graduation ceremonies. Lilli’s was the first reported case of death under detention during martial law.

Birth:
March 14, 1950
Place of Birth:
Bulan, Sorsogon
Death:
April 6, 1973
Place of Death:
Camp Crame, Quezon City

If they can do such horrific inhumane cruelty to a young sickly student Liliosa Hilao what more with others? It is this traumatic experience that made Amarylis "Marie" Hilao-Enriquez dedicates most of her life in seeking justice for the victims of martial law. To this day the very government that plunge the nation into its darkest crevices are the ones that tries to snatch the compensation out of the hands of the victims.

Perhaps people did not have a good appreciation of the gravity and inhumanity that once prevailed in the Philippines that it seems to revert back like a recurring nightmare when activist to this day are still imprisoned, abducted, tortured, killed, or worse disappeared leaving the family forever grieving without any closure as they are left in the dark.

The month of September should have been the month when the nation’s leader get reminded of the dark years of martial law courtesy of the frozen stiff one and yet they seem to revert back even further like a recurring canker sore. The irony of ironies is to see the super majority in the senate with TG Guingona as the lone opposition in passing of the CyberCrime Prevention Act with the heinous criminalized Libel Law insidiously inserted by a proud plagiarist Senator Tito sotto. Sottomized clearly describes what this law is all about that indicates the juvenile mindset of the upper house of Lolong errrr senate that has no qualm appeasing their colleague allowing him to insert an obvious vindictive provision. As if their action shameless action is not bad enough the president who was elected overwhelmingly due to his parents legacy of fighting for freedom unthinkingly signed the CyberCrime Prevention Act pronto as if he was in a shooting range having a contest on who can draw and shoot from the hip the fastest. Do we even wonder why the nation seems to be suffering from amnesia when our so-called leaders just can’t wait to silence their detractors even at the expense of bringing us back to the medieval times?

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Police scalawags in uniform

Are we better off electing our top cops?

At the rate police in Metro Manila nowadays are getting caught left and right in criminal “Hulidap” (holdup arrest) activities one wonders how they can solve crime when it seems there are quite a number of scalawags in their ranks. Well, they are obviously failing miserably in solving crimes otherwise we will not be reading or watching the news on murders committed by riding in tandem assassins.

The recent bruha errr brouhaha is that of QC Sr. Police Officer 4 Jose de la Peña who had the “misfortune” of choosing a victim that’s too hot to handle especially on a trumped up non-existent law against “phone sex.” On the other hand it is probably a blessing in disguise, can you imagine if this dumb criminal is a smart sophisticated guy and with endemic corruption he could have made a killing. The guy was allegedly was being charged with illegal possession of ugly face errrr I meant must have been schooling the newbie junior officer in the art of predatory technique. How else can you explain why he has to follow de la Pena driving the “suspect’s” car when the “suspect” should be riding with him?

Just because the principal accused predatory cop “clears” the junior patrol officer PO2 Resty del Rosario to have no clue what’s going on it does not mean that they should automatically let him report back to his precint. The guy has all the makings of being a clone of de la Pena or worse the idiot of them all Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza responsible for the Luneta Grandstand hostage taking where scores of Hong Kong tourist was killed and injured. Just because he whines about his family getting affected, he should not be given a slack and dismissed together with his ring leader boss for not stopping de la Pena or worse if he clueless then does not deserve to be a cop. Mind you to this day the victims of the hostage taking and the relatives of the deceased has not received any apology from the government, was that an indication of how our officials really value life especially of foreigners?

The problem with our police is that they are so beholden to the powers that be, how can they not be when everything in their so-called professional lives rest on how they kiss their patron’s behind. It’s a patronage type system in a semi-feudal society pretending to be at par with the most sophisticated nation of the world when we have really not removed the shackles of submissiveness from the trapos.

What is odd is that legislators seems to have a knack for investigating and coming up with credible leads regarding corruption and scandals, which makes me wonder how they are able to dig credible facts where the police and investigative agencies fail? Senator Panfilo Lacson tells the nation of the P50M Jueteng daily revenue where top cops are on the take and the cops says yes there is a semblance of truth to what he states. Say what now? If they believe that there is credibility to what Lacson exposed what the hell are they waiting for? What will it take for them to investigate, gather evidence, and prosecute erring cops?

Maybe instead of just electing legislators we should also elect top cops since they seem to do a better job at digging for evidence except just like the cops there is no charges or conviction are expected since it was in aid of legislation only. What if we have an elected position for let’s say a Sheriff? Maybe that’s a better alternative than a congress and senate so busy with probes that amounts to nothing so they can concentrate on legislating laws for the common good.The only problem with that is what kind of gimmick will they resort to since we are removing the best venue for grandstanding.....

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scandals

Forgive Corona?

The House minority bloc is seeking compassion for ousted former Chief Justice Renato Corona. Some people are even suggesting we should forgive him, and not be vindictive.

Where is our sense of right and wrong, of value and integrity? Where is our sense of equality, fairness, and justice?

For the magnitude of his crime, made worse because he was the highest magistrate of the nation, he deserves the severest punishment in the books.

Compassion? Why. He did that to himself without compassion for his position, for the Supreme Court as an institution of justice, for his profession, himself and his family, and above all, for the country and the Filipino people!

Forgiveness? What he committed was a grave crime and he deserves no forgiveness and exemption. The hundreds of thousands who are in jail for lesser crimes must first be forgiven and granted freedom before Corona. Criminals must pay for their crime. Isn’t that the law in all civilized nations on earth?

Vindictiveness? Trying fairly in our judicial system and punishing those found guilty of crime beyond a reasonable doubt is not vindictiveness. It is justice! Except perhaps for some politicians who are so confused themselves about what is right and wrong. Even children in the kindergarten can easily see the distinct difference between the two.

Should the Filipinos be compassionate to the Arroyos, and to other officials and citizens who have committed a crime, forgive them for what they did to our people and society, and drop all charges, and let them go scotfree?

Should the good people of the world be compassionate to and forgive Hitler and his kind, who had committed crimes against humanity in order for the judicial system not to be perceived as vindictive? The scale may be different but the same principle applies.

We are Christians and should be compassionate and forgive and Filipinos are not vindictive people.

Yes, we are Christians, but the Ten Commandments are a testament to God’s version of crime and punishment. This Code does not say you may commit adultery or kill or steal, and we, the people, will be compassionate and forgive you and all those others who will follow your example, because we are not a vindictive people. Even the cavemen had their laws.

What have these pervasive traits, depraved, and masochistic way of thinking brought our nation and our people? Repeated abuses from our elected officials, epidemic of hunger, hopelessness, desperation among the poor languishing in the gutter of poverty, who go to bed at night with empty stomach, but worse, with empty dreams.

If we do not send criminals to jail, they will rule our society....and that is what is happening now. Let's not be naive!

Only criminals and those with perverted sense of propriety and justice could be against President Noynoy Aquino’s “daang matuwid.”

Personally, for trivial and petty matters, I would choose kindness anytime over correctness. Serious crimes, I leave to our justice system.

It’s time for us Filipinos to wise up and protect our personal and national dignity, integrity, honor, and justice itself, otherwise the whole world will think we are a bunch of stupid and masochistic idiots.

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Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus in Northwest Indiana, USA, trained at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston, is Chairman of Filipino United Network (FUN-USA), Vice Chairman of Filipino American Leadership Council (FALCONadvocacy) and Vice President for Far East of Cardiovascular Hospitals of America, Wichita, Kansas. He is a columnist for five newspapers and one magazine in the United States and five newspapers and one magazine in the Philippines. Author of Lets Stop "Killing" Our Children, A simplified survival guide for parents and society to save our children.

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