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Dyaryo Magdalo (Oct 10-16, 2011 Issue)
Dyaryo Magdalo (Oct 10-16, 2011 Issue)
Dyaryo Magdalo (Oct 10-16, 2011 Issue)
all it a petty war of pretty girls at Customs directors office. This pretty executive secretary slapped another pretty woman, who is a contractual employee, in front of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) Director Filomeno Vicencio inside his office last October 5. Was it over envy as to who should be the apple of the eye of Director Vicencio? The pretty contractual employee, May Beltran Escoto, said in her Complaint-affidavit for the Office of the Ombudsman that Jonna Cruz Mogueis slapped, mauled and defamed her after the former succeeded in getting the personal attention of Director Vicencio, who turned 65 a few days ago to be compelled by law to retire. In her complaint-affidavit, Escoto asserted that the acts of slapping, mauling and defaming her occurred right in front of Director Vicencio.
But when Escoto asked how much was the content of the envelope, Mogueis instructed her to tell Vicencio that the content was P38,000.00. Escoto even risked herself by admitting that for every work of giving the salary envelope and telling Vicencio that it contained P38,000.00 Mogueis gave her P1,000.00. Escoto said in her affidavit that she and fellow contractual employee Catherine Serrano were eased out of the directors office upon what she claimed as the machination of Mogueis. She said she wanted this issue to be brought to the attention of Vicencio so that she tried her best to reach out to Director Vicencio by means of a cellular phone. and when she succeeded, Escoto said Vicencio told her she can see him at his office. At 2:00 p.m. of October 5, Escoto said she and Catherine came to the office of the director, but there she found that Mogueis had been
Jonna Cruz Mogueis (above), together with a certain Elith, allegedly slapped and mauled May Beltran Escoto (below) right inside the office of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) Director Filomeno Vicencio. A hard slap hit Escotos forehead where she felt a pointed object cut across from the left temple to the center.
blocking her from seeing Vicencio. The succeeding incident led to the slapping, mauling and defaming of Escoto by Mogueis and another employee named
ally happened, and these were narrated in a blowby-blow manner. Monsters at the door She said that she went In her affidavit, Es- to Vicencios office becoto gave up-to-the-min- cause he gave her a goute details of what actuTo page 2 Elith.
HERNZ QUARRY
by HERNANI CUARE
PRIVILEGED SPITS
byBERTENIC.CAUSING
signal to come and have her Daily Time Records (DTR) signed by him. So she went there along with co-employee Serrano who had own concerns with regard to assignments. Before finally entering the room of Director Vicencio, we had to pass through the receiving room where Jonna Cruz Mogueis was holding office for being the executive secretary of Director Vicencio and where two other co-employees, named Elith and Baby, were also holding office, Escoto said. at the door of the receiving room, she said she was required by the doorman named Jollibee to fill up a visitors slip and they complied with. She said they were told by Jollibee to wait at the bench near the door, reasoning that Vicencio was still talking with another person. Escoto said she insisted to Jollibee she already talked to Vicencio and
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rectors room but while walking to the table of the director, she said Jonna shouted: Hindi ka marunong sumunod sa office rules. at this juncture, she said the director told them to stop and Jonna went out of office. She said that while Vicencio was signing the DTR in the presence of Ver lopez, a friend of Director Vicencio, she said: Sir, bakit ganoon, galit na galit sa akin si Jonna, ayaw akong papasukin? She said Vicencio answered: Hindi ko alam; Escoto said she insisted: Alamin nyo sir, boss kayo; She said the director told her: Sa totoo lang Tisay (my nickname), testigo si Ver, pinapapasok na kita. Tapos pumasok si Jonna at sabi, wag ka nang papasukin at kukunin na lang ni Jonna ang DTR mo. ayan si Ver, testigo. Di ba, Ver? She said Ver answered: Oo. To this she said: E bat ganoon sir, kayo ang boss, e secretary nyo lang sya?; She said Vicencio yielded: Sige, alamin ko. Then she said she asked: Sir, kaya lang pupunta ako rito di ba alam nyo naman na matagal ko na kayong gustong kausapin, ayaw nyo lang kaming kausapin. She said Vicencio re-
plied: Hindi, hindi ko alam. She said she then told the director: aalamin lang namin ang status namin ni Cathy (referring to Catherine Serrano). Ilang linggo na kaming walang allowance kay sir Vince. Ito na lang ang DTR ang inaasahan ko. May tatlo pa po akong anak na pinag-aaral. Di ba po, sabi ko sa inyo, okay lang kami dito. Bat nyo pa kami pinatapon sa kabila? To this, she said Vicencio replied: Hindi ko alam yan. Yung kay Vince, office ko pa rin yon. Sige ako ang bahala. Then she said she repeated her concern with Jonna: Sir, bakit po ba galit na galit sa akin si Jonna? To which, the director repeated he did know not about it. at this point, she said: alamin nyo, director kayo, ipatawag nyo po si Jonna, para habang andito ako, mapag-usapan natin. at this juncture, Escoto said that Vicencio motioned to go out to call Jonna in but Ver volunteered to be the one to do it. When Jonna came in, she said Ver went out and Jonna went directly to Director Vicencio and said: Sir, sinisiraan ako dito. Kung anu-ano ang mga sinasabi sa akin, To page 7
Publisher: Editorial:
MAGDIWANG PUBLICATIONS
RONALDO E. RENTA TOTO C. CAUSING Editor-In-Chief
Disclaimer: All news articles and opinions expressed by the writers are entirely their own and do not reflect the opinion of the publisher, the management or the editor of this publication. All Rights Reserved: No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced nor translated in any language or form for commercial purposes without prior written permission from the publisher and its writers or columnists.
RONALDO B. HERICO
October10-16,2011
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(NOTE: No one can tell his own story better than himself. So that the editor decided to post this moving and inspiring speech of the genius of Apple computer company,Steve Jobs, telling about three stories from his life. This is a tribute to this wonderful man sent by God to mankind.)
way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didnt even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was a l most certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is d o c t o r s code for pre-
slowly began to dawn on me I still loved what I did. The turn of events at apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. and so I decided to start over. I didnt see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of apples current
renaissance. and laurene and I have a wonderful family together. Im pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadnt been fired from apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Dont lose faith. Im convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. Youve got to find what you love. and that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you havent found it yet, keep looking. Dont settle. as with all matters of the heart, youll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Dont settle.
My third story is about death. When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: If you live each day as if it was your last, someday youll most certainly be right. It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? and whenever the answer has been No for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. Remembering that Ill be dead soon is the most important tool Ive ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best
pare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought youd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes. I lived with that diagnosis all day. later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and Im fine now. This was the closest Ive been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death To page 7
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drop his name for transactions at the Bureau of Customs. DepCom Danny lim said he will not think twice to file charges and send behind bars those who are using his name, especially in their quest for illegal collection from the brokers and importers. actually, DepCom lim has already made true his warning. Sonnabagan! last Friday, lim ordered the arrest of We hope that the Jeff Pan and Manny Congress will continCalvo for using his ue with its investiga- Namedroppers of Gen. name in trying to tion plan. The PGH is Danny Lim, beware! mulct money from one of the countrys brokers. best hospitals. The Customs IntelForget not the doctors who serve the ligence Czar, Depwarning of DepCom UP-PGH are mostly uty Commissioner lim: Never use his graduates of the UP DANILO LIM, name in illegal colCollege of Medicine warned those who lection!
(UPCM). The UPCM almost perfected the Top Ten record of the latest medical board exam. This proved that the best doctors of the country are now serving at the PGH. The earlier is the better it is to clear the fund issue. This is because the need for medical services cannot be postponed. Expect my support, CONGRESSMAN AMADO BaGaTSING.
has the signal of Mangrobang? alias Speedy will never launch While Immigration Intel agents are a shakedown on Indians in Batangas operating against City if nobody has Indians or Bombay who stayed illegally given him the goin Davao, the notori- signal! Has alias Speedy ous Bureau of Immigrations Quadro already reported the shakedown de Jack launched to Immigration a harassment opasst. Intel Chief eration in Batangas along with one alias JEROME GABISpeedy Gonzales. ONZA? Just asking! The Indians were caught by surprise. (The column is They asked themthe writers own selves if there was and it is not the an Indian shakedown in Batangas. official stand of Dyaryo Magdalo. Is the Indian shakedown the idea For any inquiry, of Immigration Intel you may email Chief Tonette Gaz- the author at jerryap888@yahoo. min Mangrobang? Has alias Speedy com.)
Hernz quarry
By Hernani Cuare
clean water flowed naturally to their farms and homes. Decades of mining wrought havoc to Caraga. In February 2006, the region was hit by floods that claimed 13 lives, P296 million damage to infrastructure, and P50,689,567.00 worth of crops washing away. In January of 2007, the floods drowned five men and left 193,347 persons or about 41,861 families homeless. In 2009, 68,696 persons were forced out of their homes when flash floods hit 341 barangays in 34 towns and four cities. The multinational corporations unceasingly prostituted Caraga without sharing a pint of gold, copper, nickel chromite, coal and other natural wealth that the lumads should have for themselves. Mining in Caraga started since preHispanic period. It went full scale only when the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 was passed during the presidency of Fidel Ramos. His Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan opened the country to multinational and transnational companies. The Mining act was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1998. But the High Tribunal overturned its own declaration and upheld the constitutionality of the said act in 2005 during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-arroyo. The arroyo administration was tagged as spooky to the lumads. It was during her reign when troop deployment in Caraga Region was beefed up in two brigades (401st and 402nd Infantry Brigade) and six battalions (23rd, 29th, 30th, 36th, 58th and the Military Intelligence Battalion). The Reengineered Special Operations Team (RSOT) concentrated in communities believed to be strongholds of the communist movement due to the presence of peoples organizations and a strong and organized protest against the incursions of big mining companies. Majority of the residents of the region, especially those living in the mining areas, remain poor. This is so despite the rocketing profits that had been posted by the mining companies. Per record in 2009, to name one, the lepanto Mining reported a 92% increase in sales from its subsidiaries that include Manila Min-
ing Corporation. Oceanagold reported revenue that doubled to $217.2 million or 49% in 2008. Philex Mining reported revenues of P2.2 billion for the second quarter of 2009. Medusa Mining, owner of Philsaga, reported an earning of $57,252,098 in June 2009. Caraga or Region XIII (agusan del Norte, agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Dinagat Islands) is the administrative region of the Philippines on the northeastern portion of Mindanao. It was on February 25, 1995 when Caraga was created through Republic Act No. 7901. With its denuded mountains and extracted natural wealth, Caraga somewhat lives with the original meaning of its name derived from a Visayan term kalag, which means ghost or spirit. The man-made and natural disasters proved former Butu-
an City Rep. Charito Plaza wrong. She authored the Caraga Region Act by selling that Caraga is a land of the brave spirits ready to undertake whatever challenges that come its way. Last October 3, about 200 Communist rebels attacked three mining sites in the region and briefly took hostage the employees of Nickel Asias Taganito Mining before burning trucks, excavators and a guest house. The United States said that Philippines has untapped mineral wealth valued at more than $840 billion, on copper, gold and chromate deposits, easily making it among the largest in the world. The government of President Benigno Noynoy aquino III disclosed that it is aiming to see mining investments rise more than fourfold to $18 billion over the next five years.
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Privileged spits
By Toto C. Causing
daily greetings of love and God and others. Now, because of cellular phone business, millions of people across the Globe are employed. Then apple came. Before it arrived through the genius of Steve Jobs, nobody needed any computer. But apple launched a marketing strategy coupled with product durability, efficiency and leadership in being user-friendly. It caused the effect of customers achieving their fantasies by their fingertips. These strategies of apple has developed a frenzied following among the people of the world to buy iPods, iPads, iPhones, iMac, and Mac air. Ironically, these attitudes among the people toward apples products are almost unbelievable to happen: its brands were priced thrice or more of the similar products being sold by other companies yet apple soared ahead in sales at times when the USa and the rest of the world have been experiencing hard economic times. For sure, even only addressing the aspect of developing interests in consumers to spend their monies for goods and services to result in hiring other people, and even without yet launching massive programs to empower those who love to buy but do not have sufficient cash in their pockets, my Presidency can reasonably expect that at least 25% of the population have sufficient money to do the buying and they alone can be sufficient to make the transactions move in super-dizzy paces. again, when transactions are by the millions a day, these will naturally give birth to separate sets of broad and complex consumer-seller relationships. Then how should I empower more people to have financial capacities to buy in order to make the buyers size ten folds or more? My presidency will push emergency laws in the Congress directed at encouraging lending to those who want to buy but have nothing in their pockets. One such law I would propose is to lower the legal limit for borrowing interest rates to 4% per year and set up government lenders to lend with the lowest possible interests in order to attract borrowings from those who want to buy but having insufficient cash sources. I will also certify to the Congress for a law that will give tax deductions to those private lenders who would risk lending their monies without collateral securities. as a protection for the borrowers, the law shall require credit limits and that those who would be allowed to take loans should only be those who have sound and stable repayment proposals. I would also ask the Congress to pass a law that gives lenders the right that they do not need to go to court to get payments but only to go to the employers and debtors of the lenders and present loan documents for them to get direct deductions from salaries or from these debtors. These empowered buyers whose population numbers more than the wealthy and the middle class will surely hire people for services and buy goods that in turn require workers to fabricate or make. Additionally, it will give massive birth to separate sets of broad and complex consumerseller relationships. I will also work for the removal or modifications of laws that create natural fears on whether to invest or not among the minds of the moneyed sector. Many wealthy persons prefer to put their monies in the bank and let it achieve a stagnant growth that can be given by the bank. They have natural resistance to invest because they see also uncertainties on top of fears. But if tens of thousands more of these potential investors would earn sufficient courage to invest, they will hire people by the millions. One major headache of businessmen is the minimum wage law that has become so high upon the theory advanced by labor sectors that the bar is high for their basic needs. So that I will work for the removal of minimum wage law and let the employers and employees set their own terms and wages based on sharing the balance after deducting from the gross sales the cost of raw materials, rentals, utilities and other necessities to produce goods or services. after determining the balance, the employees get 50% and the employer get 35% while the remaining 15% shall go to the government as income tax. I will also work for laws that drastically reduce income taxes from 32% to 15%. This I do because I recognize the psychological being that any man becomes more honest if he knows that tax to be paid by him would only be much lesser. So that all taxpayers honestly pay for the cost of taxes is minimal. Following this line, no one would cheat the taxes to be paid and that would mean more amounts of revenues I will push in the Congress the lowering of all income taxes to 10% or 15% of the total income of all, be it persons as individuals or corporations or partnerships or sole proprietorships. assuming we have
30 million working individuals and 5 million entities as juridical persons, and assuming the average tax payment for one year for each is P30,000, this will mean a revenue collection of P1.05 trillion. What may be lost in terms of collections due to the loss in percentage compared to the 32% income tax that we have now will be compensated more by the honesty that makes everybody happy to pay true taxes. add to this income of the government are the much bigger sales taxes that can be collected from every sale of goods or services. With the spurred economic activities because my Presidency managed to change the mindset of the buyers to become frenzied consumers like those people who queued like snakes in waiting for the opening of Apple stores to buy new apple products, and doing the same to sellers when acting as buyers for other goods and services, I can expect up to 500 million transactions occurring each day. If the government earns an average of P5 for every sale, this means that my government earns at least P2.5 billion a day from sales alone. If we multiply this by 365 days in a year, my government expects to earn P912.5 billion in one year from sales taxes alone. a total from the income taxes and sales taxes is about P2 trillion. So that sufficient money can go to my government even without expecting an income from Customs duties that run now at P300 billion a year despite widespread dishonesty among its ranks, income from fees charged by offices for licenses and fees, fees charged by the courts and quasijudicial bodies as docket fees, my administration will not suffer any deficit and to the contrary it will even end up in surplus or excess funds as against the budget of P1.8 trillion that we
have now. Having seen this as sufficient, I will then work for the Congress to abolish capital gains taxes on shares of stocks to encourage more buying and selling of stocks to make stock market exchange lively and full with capital on any given day. I would also work for the abolition of the 6% capital gains tax on sales of land and other real properties to encourage more selling of lands and discourage the Filipinos from getting too attached to the lands they own. I will also work for the establishment of Agriculture Stabilization Fund for the purpose of financing the buying of agricultural products at fair prices to prevent scheming traders from manipulating the buying price of grains, eggs and other animal produce and protect the farmers and producers of farm goods. I will also work for the establishment of agriculture aid to finance those who register to plow and raise animals for our food. I will also work for the establishment of a solid insurance fund to give funds to farmers if their crops or animals are wiped out by disasters. These programs will encourage those who are dropouts from schools to see good future in farming and animal husbandry. Of course, I will add with an inspirational message that Bill Gates became the richest in the world although he is a dropout from Harvard University, and that Steve Jobs who invented Macintosh computers, iPhone, iPad, iPod, and iMac is a college dropout. With these things I do if I were the President, I can see the beauty even without considering other aspects of possible sources of economic activities. Tell me my friend if my jobs formula is doable.
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HIS book does not teach how to prosecute libel or how to make sure an accused or a defendant in a libel case is imprisoned or made to pay. This is because the author campaigns for a totally free press in the Philippines and elsewhere. Rather, the author expounds on all kinds of defenses available for every man or woman, journalist or not, so that he or she can have an ability to defend against libel suits. It is a vision of the author to see all Filipinos wellinformed of all the happenings or the goings on in the government and in the communities, so that they are intelligent in exercising their original powers or sovereignty. The citizens who are fully knowing will know how to vote intelligently, will know how to attack corrupt activities in their midst, will know that jury system is a much better kind of justice system than the present fiscal-judge affair that has nurtured impunity due to unfounded immunity the law breakers enjoy from judges and prosecutors who have remained fearful and bribable since the year 1901, will know that the brutal killing of people, including at least 33 journalists, in the unpopular Ampatuan massacre resulted from lack of will not existing in people acting on their power to judge and not the judge, will know if a criminal punishment is still necessary for libel, among others. This vision cannot be realized if the press is muzzled. If the writers hands are handcuffed they cannot write. If the broadcasters mouths are sealed they cannot talk. Under this situation nobody would tell the people the truth about incidents affecting them and the issues that developed from those facts. Now, the time needed to reach this vision can be accelerated if the liberty of expression is also exercised actively by proactive citizens. The non-journalists have the moral obligation to contribute to the society through blogs of articles and photos, postings of discovered anomalies or irregularities by anyone in Facebook, Multiply, WordPress, Blogspot, Youtube, U-stream, and other internet media. So to speak: EVERYBODY CAN BE A JOURNalIST. after all, the freedom of expression, of speech, and of the press is written in the constitution for all people, not only for journalists. And to hope for the press to grow healthy, like any plants, it needs a fertilizer of knowledge of how to keep and defend the right to press freedom and how to become truly free. This is always desirable. There is no doubt that to reach this vision, there is a need to urge the journalists and the rest of the citizens to dare or challenge any perceived wrongdoings, in calling for their vindication, solutions, and non-repetition, and demanding from any government officials to shape up and think they are only slaves of the people. There are many ways of how to encourage the attitude, habit, tradition, and culture among countrymen to become talkative about sensible and substantive matters affecting them. and one way to inspire courage among the journalists and citizens to exercise press freedom is to teach them how to defend themselves or how to avoid libel convictions. Following this premise, the discussion now proceeds to the discussion of all kinds of defenses available to all who love freedom in writing and speaking. Lack of an element The fundamental defense against libel suits is to make sure that at least one of the four elements of the crime is not present. This is what I said in the conclusion of Chapter II of this book. To understand this, let it be repeated that there are only four elements of libel
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betadine and bandaged. She said she was directed by the doctor to have a CT-scan due to the pulps on her head.
she will never stop until Jonna is removed from the Bureau of Customs. She stressed that people like Jonna are not fit for public service and must be cleared out if the government wants to that stop smuggling.
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media persons rushed in to cover the unfolding of a historic moment, to end up 50 or so of them hogtied, arrested and released later after the NPC through the voices of its then president Roy Mabasa expressed disgust to what had Glorias men done in trampling the press in an exceedingly disgusting and insulting manner. The NPC during the leadership of Roy Mabasa branded the arrests as unconstitutional and deplored their chilling effect.Eventually, the NPC won the case filed before the Commission on Human Rights. It was a victory in pronouncements only. CHRs recommendations to charge the police generals and others for the crimes committed against the press have not been implemented, until now. arroyo imposed a state of emergency on February 24, 2006. She did it as a solution to a coup attempt said to be led by then Scout Ranger Battalion Commander, then Gen. Danilo lim, who featured in the 1989 coup detat against Cory aquino and who now sits as the Deputy Director of Customs Intelligence after having been appointed by her son, P-Noy. Many calls for her resignation were reported by the journalists. again, the press became one of the victims. The NPC new breed of members wagged no tails. It slammed the proclamation and challenged its le-
By HERNZ CUARE
gality. The state of emergency eventually lost its urgency. Then there was another from Gloria. Concerting with his wife to silence the press, Jose Miguel Mike Arroyo filed libel charges against 45 journalists, a number unprecedented in the Philippine history, who met his ire because they wrote corruption stories involving the then First Family. Without fear, the NPC joined reporters, columnists, editors and publishers, and other press organizations in filing a class suit against Mike Arroyo on December 28, 2006. It was led by the group of National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. The class suit asked for P15 million in damages for the anxiety, loss of income and other inconveniences Mr. Arroyos libel suits caused. They also argued the libel cases sent chilling effects on press freedom. But then the ampatuan Massacre came to become as the gravest assault to press freedom. But the NPC tried its best to fight off. It never shirked from its pledge. On November 23, 2009, the NPC led by the president Benny antiporda spoke in tears, in outrage with eerie calls reverberating to demand justice that meant arrest of men closest to the heart of the person who had the primary obligation to order the arrest. When the smoke of confusion vanished, the Maguindanao Massacre blackened the day, confirming 33 journalists were killed in a single assault to press freedom. For the speedy delivery of justice to families of the slain massacre victims, the NPC asked the Supreme Court to create the Quezon City Regional Trial Court branch that was trying it as a special court handling only the ampatuan Massacre trial and nothing else. The NPC also filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to install a video monitor outside the court for all to see because that courtroom was small, which petition was an alternative if live coverage cannot be had. The Highest Court granted the petitions of the NPC. Then another event nearly debased the rectitude of the press. On August 23, 2010, the ethical standard in live reporting by the journalists came under siege. Nine Hong Kong nationals were killed in a hostage drama at the luneta Park when former police Senior Inspector Rolando del Rosario Mendoza commandeered the bus and took 25 people hos-
The concept of this theme, NPC @ 59: WE DEFINE, stands on the following ideas of what the NPC will do for one year from now: We Define is going in rhyme with Press at 59 and we will massively and continuously disseminate this to all media outlets, all our websites and blogsites, will issue one-page pamphlets on this defining what NPC will do for one year, will have this topic as the first to be discussed in all seminars that may be conducted for the whole year, will have this theme printed for all the letterheads of NPC to be used for the whole year and for all t-shirts that will be printed and issued for the whole year; all these efforts are geared at making this concept understood and absorbed as a pride by the members, and to convey a good impression upon the minds of the students of journalism and the community; We Define means NPC is taking the lead over all other press issues and over all press organizations in all matters that should be taken cognizance of by the NPC; We Define means NPC will define the responsible and fine practices of journalism in the country, including the definition of what should be the responsible way of working as a media man; We Define means NPC will exhort and will always remind all its members to abide by the ethics of the vocation or profession to set as examples to all other journalists; We Define means NPC will give guidance to all journalists on how to fight enemies of press freedom; We Define means NPC will take the lead in the fight for justice for all slain journalists with the end view of instilling fear in the mind of the enemies of press freedom that the law will catch them up even if they kill reporters and broadcasters; We Define means NPC will try its best to increase the trust of the public in the NPC and all practitioners of press freedom; We Define means NPC will instill a new culture of respect for all media persons, NPC members and non-members alike, from the courts, from the politicians, from the government offices, and, most importantly, from the people. unjust enrichment on the part of those who feel their egos or honor were assaulted although the fact of life shows that in most cases they have no honor at all. The story of the NPC from its beginning is storied. It has been a checker of darkness that has come too often to provide a complete contrast to gloriousness. The NPC proved it has survived even under extreme repression and suppression. The means employed may look unethical but it could be understood to be the best diligence it could do under the circumstances, still fitting the totalitarian idea espoused by populist philosopher John Stuart Mill. Indeed, the end justified the means. In the faces of these ups and downs, all uncertainties, all threats, and all chills, one assault after another came and died. But the NPC has remained standing, no matter how battered. Yet there is still comfort to make a political and social statement, that even in all aridity and disenchantment, one thing is arguable. The National Press Club is still defined as press freedom.
tage, including 22 Chinese nationals. The government and the public blamed the media as the root cause why the bloody incident occurred. They reasoned out that the live reports were monitored by the hostage taker on the TV inside the detained tourist bus. This gave a somewhat popular justification for the government to regulate media coverage in crisis situations. But the NPC opposed. Thanks God, the issue died down in a stalemate. Today, while the NPC is fighting for the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill and the decriminalization of libel, it is fighting against another bill, the Right of Reply Bill that seeks to compel the editors to publish the replies of any person, even a public officer, to any article and that the replies shall be published in the same space with the same length or aired in the same program with the same length of time. aside from the control of the substance of press freedom that the Right of Reply will cause, it also seeks to confiscate the media spaces for free. It is an