“I am a lawyer and here is what I think.”
“I am a lawyer and here is what I think.”
This is a follow up to a previous column on Julian Ongpin. This young man is accused of possession of more than 10 grams of cocaine. It is a non-bailable offense.
There are actually three elements which any lawyer worth his salt can use to move for the dismissal of the case, which has been filed before the San Fernando City, La Union Regional Trial Court.
First, there was denial of due process. The prosecutors of the Department of Justice were so quick to file a resolution against Julian for his indictment and arrest. This was splashed all over the media — clearly in violation of the customary 15-day period to file for a Motion for Reconsideration.
Santa Banana, without examining all the facts, the DOJ rushed to judgment and recommended Ongpin’s indictment on drug charges simply because cocaine was found in the room he shared with a young artist!
Second, it turns out that the girl had a black pouch that contained the cocaine. This was not in the possession of Julian.
This led Julian, through his lawyers, to claim “the DOJ should not have easily been swayed to accept the justification given the high possibility of planting, tampering or alteration of the evidence on account of the absence of the accused in the alleged crime scene during the conduct of the physical inventory and photographing of the subject drug.”
Ongpin claims the authorities broke the chain of custody under Republic Act No. 9165 as there was no attempt to summon the accused from any other possible mandatory witnesses such as an elected public official, a representative of the National Prosecution Service or from the media.
As a lawyer myself, I know that when a criminal case is filed against an accused, the evidence must be beyond reasonable doubt. In this case, considering all elements and circumstances, there is reasonable doubt.
I believe all these should be considered for the immediate dismissal of the case.
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The Comelec has proposed a debate among the presidential candidates. This will be critical — voters will find out how a would-be president would address a particular problem.
Still, the Comelec should consider many factors in organizing this debate.
First of all, the ground rules must be established and agreed upon by all the candidates. Will it be online or face to face? Who will moderate the debate, ask the questions, keep track of time?
Will it be a face-off between two candidates or will all candidates be present? Will there be a panel of interrogators? If there are, then it should not be a debate but a Q&A.
The Comelec must be very specific. There are so many formats of argumentation and debate. If the rules are not established clearly, it could become a circus. I also think it should be conducted in English, which is the language of heads of state. If there is a candidate who wishes to speak in Filipino, there should be an interpreter.
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It’s the season for black propaganda and fake news. Usually, it is the election frontrunner who is targeted by critics and fake news purveyors. In this case, that would be Bongbong Marcos.
It’s also that time for vote-buying in the name of trying to help people, especially the poor. The Comelec must realize that vote-buying takes many forms. The most common form is when candidates claim to help people in times of need. My gulay, even if the candidate tries to spend his money to help the poor and the hungry, and even if the candidate claims that he is not asking for their vote, it’s still vote-buying in any language.
The law on vote-buying is not very clear. Vote-buying is peculiar to the Philippines because of poverty.
Take the case of Senator Pacquiao going to Benguet and handing out money to strawberry farmers whose crops have been devastated by a recent typhoon. My gulay, isn’t that vote-buying?
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All members of my household continue to take the utmost precaution even when we have all been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. We must remember we can still contract the virus even though we may be fully vaccinated. Filipinos need to be informed of this.
