From the desk of a poor-man's lawyer (Season 9)

-
Behind me is Bacolod City's New Government Center.

***

On my ninth year as a poor-man's lawyer, I fancy a scenario that the senate will call on me to testify in aid of legislation. Well, they often do that, don't they? So to prepare for the ocassion, I listed some important points that I believe I should throw at our senators when the time comes. If ever it won't come, I can gladly forward it at once to them.

1. Allotment for support from OFWs should be compulsory. Contracts with foreign employers should contain provision on sending the required allotment to the legal family and/or illegitimate children who have court order of support or even just a notarized agreement on support. POEA and OWWA should be given the enforcement roles on this aspect.

2. An accused in jail for more than 5 years should be given compensation regardless of the exceptions in the speedy trial law. This will alert the prosecution as to their roles in securing their witnesses and the supreme court in providing judges to courts needing them.

3. Resolving prosecutors should be different from trial prosecutors. The filing of the case with the prosecutor's office should not stop the running of the prescriptive period of the crime or offense so that the resolving prosecutors will have the duty to resolve them within a month rather than years. Imagine that a respondent in a case has to wait for two to four years for him to know whether a case against him is filed or not.

4. Legal processes in far flung areas should be managed by a legal process server attached with the nearest court of the area or a nearest post office inorder to ensure receipt by party litigants of their notices.

5. Each police precinct should have a lawyer. A lawyer can guide police officers in law enforcement and in proper procedural compliance in enforcing search warrants, warrant of arrest and even warrantless arrests as well as in taking judicial affidavits.

6. Mediation proceedings should not be limited to light offenses. It is high time to adopt some court-approved restorative justice system from light offenses to heinous ones. Sometimes, forgiveness and reconciliation are more powerful in restoring peace than a judgment based on available evidence.

7. Divorce law is needed. No need to file administration of property, judicial decration of presumptive deaths of spouses, legal separation, declation of nullity based on article 36 of the Family Code and narrate therein all of the unfair statements that can be attributed to another spouse. The world has divorce laws and Filipinos need to go through expensive local court procedure to be able to be freed from the marriage contract already nullified by the country of his/her foreign or foreign-naturalized spouse.

8. Alcoholic drinks should be taxed more. I bet that if a survey is done, 85% of criminal cases consisting of Rape, Murder, homicide, physical injuries, malicious mischief, alarms and scandals in our courts are results of after-having-too-much alcohol. Come to think of this: less alcohol consumption will result to less crimes which will lessen criminal lawyers, less alcohol will lessen alcohol-related diseases and a healthy workforce means healthy economy.

9. Judicial affidavits should be mandatory for all prosecution witnesses regardless of gravity of crime or offense. This is consistent with the right of the accused to be informed of the accusation and evidence against him. It can remain optional for the accused.

10. Our jail system should be geared towards education, skills and productivity and restorative justice.


*After reading it now, I realized that there are suggestions that should go to the Supreme Court rather that our legislators! LOL  my apologies. 2/11/15

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do you still remember how Sarali or Sirali taste?

-
Image
This "Sarali" is a childhood fruit for everyone who grew up in the Visayan area of the Philippines. Also known as  Flacourtia jangomas or Indian Plum or coffee plum, Sarali is best enjoyed by pressing one fruit between one's palm, move it in circular motion until tender, and pop the soft flesh quickly in one's mouth save the seeds. Just like apple, this fruit oxidizes quickly and thus, gets dark brown easily. It can give one's teeth a nasty brown shade. Sour with a hint of sweet, this is a must-try fruit. I believe, the fruit has an economic value just like sarguellas and lanzones. *** *** *** ***  Related readings:  Possible Treatment of Diabetes http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2959214/ Anti bacterial property:  http://www.ijplsjournal.com/issues%20PDF%20files/july2011/1.pdf
Read more

TIKUM KADLUM (The Enchanted Dog, The First of the Ten Epics of Panay Bukidnon)

-
Image
At the house. One day, Bulawanon engaged the help of Tikum Kadlum, a hunting dog with the gift of sensing the spirits, in cooking rice for his husband Paiburong and his brother Dumaraog who will be going hunting. When the rice was cooked, the brothers ate fast. Then, while Bulawanon packed the betel nut for her husband, Paiburong and Dumaraog dressed themselves, with Dumaraog suggesting they match their sashes and belts, since he is his brother's loyal protector. To complete their hunting preparations, the two brought out their long-bladed sharp knives, shields, spears, and lances from their gold chest and wall hanger. When everything is set, Paiburong bade goodbye to his wife, Bulawanon, who reminded her husband to be careful as he might meet in the forest one named Makabagting, who is accompanied by a man-eating woman called Muwa. Makabagting is a nobleman and a warrior who is widely known as having tasted human flesh. Paiburong went out of his house, and he heard a sound. It
Read more

Linabog nga Bisaya nga Manok

-
Image
When I searched for Linabog in th web, I can see entries on Linabog but using a different souring agent and usually the fish called "pagi" is used. Also, they attribute Linabog to the Cebuanos and there is one video which explained that the word means "throw away" because the parts used in the dish are parts which are usually to be thrown away, like the bony "pagi." Meanwhile, there is also a "kinunot" way of cooking which means "hinimay" or flaked for the Luzon. The name was also coined for leftover parts of fish or chicken. In Hiligaynon, the word "labog" means forcefully thrown away.  This surprised me because when I was small, I heard from my father and his friends about this linabog and they used the leaves of labog plant. So I grew up having some idea of what linabog cooking means and definitely, the Cebuanos' definition of Linabog dish is far from my Ilonggo definition. And yes, Ilonggos
Read more