A Sorry Excuse

Citing Myanmar's sovereignty, PH won't join UN resolution vs. military takeover

It's a sorry excuse to justify Dutae's wanton acts of oppression against Filipinos, the hallmark of his administration, in the guise of "the primacy of national internal efforts towards democratic reforms, and never by the imposition of foreign solutions whether in regional or multilateral contexts, including through this Council.”

This places the Philippines in the unenviable company of rogue states like China, Russia and Venezuela. Talk about being on the wrong side of history. All for what? To bolster the Marcosian regime of Dutae, who was himself under the threat of a full blown UN investigation--until this was deflected (in October 2020) by our very own officials at the UN by way of acceding to a "technical assistance" from the UN. I can't believe I am paying taxes to a government that is protecting a mass murderer at my expense.

The Philippines is known for our beautiful beaches, beauty queens and nurses all over the world. Today, we are also known for our mass-murdering president, who espouses "the primacy of national internal efforts towards democratic reforms" as he perpetrates and perpetuates his oppression of the Filipino people.

I cling to the statement of Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Philippines Researcher at Amnesty International:

“While the (Philippine) government’s tactics to delay an international investigation may have worked this time, the moment will come when justice will be done.”

Dutae's human rights violations in the Philippines are bound to continue (if not worsen) and he will simply devote more of our taxes to ensure that his violations are even harder to trace. All this while he receives UN funding for "technical assistance" that is "focused on areas including accountability; data gathering of violations by the police; civic space; counter-terrorism legislation, and a rights-based approach to drug control." Yeah, right. The UN has really failed the Philippines this time.

What about the International Criminal Court at The Hague (ICC)? In December 2020, the ICC issued a preliminary report stating that there was evidence to show crimes against humanity had been committed in the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte, whose bloody drug war has left thousands dead since 2016.

The report was issued by Fatou Bensouda, the chief prosecutor of the ICC. It found there was “a reasonable basis to believe that the crimes against humanity of murder, torture and the infliction of serious physical injury and mental harm” had taken place. The court will decide in the coming months whether to open a full investigation.

In the meantime, British barrister Karim Khan has been elected ICC's new chief prosecutor, replacing Fatou Bensouda. Khan is scheduled to start his nine-year term on June 16, 2021. The Philippines hopes that Khan will follow-through on the work of Fatou and proceed with the full investigation of Dutae's crimes against humanity, notwithstanding the UN Human Rights Council's lame decision to extend "technical assistance" to Dutae on the very crimes he has committed.

Thus, it is important to understand how the ICC interacts with the UN (in this case, the UN Security Council) to gauge whether or not the ICC will proceed to open a full investigation of Dutae. To wit:

The Security Council and the ICC may interact in several ways once the Court’s jurisdiction over the crime of aggression is activated (after 1 January 2017):

The Security Council may refer a situation to the ICC, which empowers the ICC to investigate all four crimes under the Rome Statute, including crimes of aggression, without any further conditions (Article 15 ter Rome Statute; Article 13 (b) Rome Statute). The Security Council’s powers under the UN Charter are the legal basis upon which the ICC can investigate such crimes without any consent requirement by the States involved.

Where an investigation is initiated by the Prosecutor proprio motu, or where a situation is referred by a State Party, the Prosecutor must inform the Security Council about the investigation and give the Security Council six months time to determine that an act of aggression has occurred. Where the Security Council makes such a determination, the Prosecutor may then proceed with the investigation regarding a crime of aggression in the same manner as regarding the other three core crimes. If the Security Council makes no such determination within six months, the Prosecutor may only proceed if so authorized by the judges of the Court’s Pre-Trial Division. In other words, there is no requirement for the Security Council to actively determine the existence of an act of aggression or to authorize ICC investigations for the Court to proceed. This solution was possible because Article 15 bis created a consent-based regime and thereby reduced the scope of the Court’s jurisdiction.

The Security Council may also suspend an investigation into a crime of aggression under Article 16 of the Rome Statute for a period of one year. This provision applies equally to all four core crimes under the Rome Statute.

The Security Council’s determination of an act of aggression in accordance with Article 39 is not binding for the ICC. This follows from the due process principles of the Rome Statute and was explicitly confirmed in Articles 15 bis and 15 ter. The Court thus fully retains its judicial independence vis-à-vis the Security Council, as the Court has to make its own assessment as to whether aggression has occurred. (underscore mine)

For the sake of the Philippines, let us hope that Karim Khan/the ICC exercises it's judicial independence vis-à-vis the UN Security Council, proceeds in earnest with the full investigation of Dutae, so that the Filipino people's moment of justice will be done--lest the ICC, like the UN, turn out to be another sorry excuse of an institution.

Marcos Duterte for 2022

Marcos Duterte for 2022? Marcos supporters want Sara as VP only

I have to hand it to the Marcos family. They realize that Bongbong and Sara would be splitting the votes of their stupid constituency if both ran for the presidency in 2022. Throw in Pacquiao and all three would have an unmitigated disaster, which would be a great blessing for the Philippines.

But alas, the Philippines does not appear destined to be so lucky. Immediately after the PET's utterly humiliating blow to BBM's totally bogus electoral protest (Even whores reject repulsive perverts), the Marcos camp has shifted to overdrive to cement the Marcos Duterte Tandem in 2022 in a very clever way.

First, Bongbong declares that he will not cross paths with Sara in the event she runs for president. This is, of course, in the context of the recent declarations of Sara that she will not run for president in 2022, thereby clearing the way for Bongbong's bid for the presidency.

Second, the Marcos political machinery, trolls et al litter social media with "Marcos Duterte for 2022" albeit making clear that Marcos supporters want Sara as VP only. This is also in the context of Sara's express intent on running for presidency in 2034, which really means 2028 or after Bongbong has pillaged the country anew. This is undoubtedly the best way for Sara to snatch the presidency, unless Imee gets greedy and cuts the line of succession--a very likely scenario of treachery, especially with the Marcos family. 

What a charming zarzuela and a very contrived one at that. They don't even bother to be discreet about their grand plans of "ruling" (as in lording) over the poor stupid Filipinos over the next 18 years as follows:

• Bongbong as president and Sara as vice president from 2022 to 2028
• Sara as president and Imee as vice president from 2028 to 2034
• Imee as president and Pulong as vice president from 2034 to 2040

Talk about a fucking disaster for the Philippines. By the time Pulong is president, the Philippines would be in the same boat as Venezuela today--probably sooner. That means, we'll all be lining-up for hours for our ration of toilet paper, while Marcos, Duterte and their cronies (political dynasties) continue to live it up in the lap of luxury.

Admittedly, it's a brilliant (really the most logical) strategy of the most repugnant political dynasties (Marcos and Duterte) in the country, which is destined to destroy completely and absolutely whatever is decent and good that is left in the Philippines.

Marcos Duterte for 2022 has all the elements of victory. They have unlimited plundered funds to finance (i) a political machinery that is second to none, (ii) an army of trolls to spread misinformation and lies to condition the minds of voters and (iii) vote buying (tried, tested and approved by old school trapos and political dynasties). They have absolute political power to effect wholesale election fraud at the very core of the COMELEC--which was seamlessly done in the last senatorial elections. Correspondingly, they have the military and the police to quash any dissent after they steal the 2022 presidential elections and every succeeding elections thereafter. Indeed, the Marcos Duterte tandem has it all.

Yet, against all odds, there is a clear path to our redemption--Robredo Diokno for 2022, which is the antithesis of Marcos Duterte. In a recent online survey released by Forum-Dimensions, the official student publication of West Visayas State University (WVSU), Robredo obtained a 64 percent preference rating for President and Diokno obtained a 38 percent preference rating for Vice President among WVSU students. So much for the garbage spewed by False Asia.

I urge Leni and Chel to get their act together soonest (and the opposition to get behind Leni and Chel, as there is no room whatsoever for another opposition slate that will only ensure defeat) as I am still convinced that there are enough Filipinos who can still discern what is decent and righteous. We also have PEOPLE POWER latent in the DNA of our society, which will be manifested under the right conditions.

I have to say that it would really be helpful if Pacquiao in all of his wisdom joins the fray! It would be his greatest "boxing match" that is destined to fail but will go down in history as the supreme sacrifice to demolish Marcos and Duterte.

Even whores reject repulsive perverts

 I am pleasantly surprised at the recent UNANIMOUS decision of the SC to dismiss the ENTIRE electoral protest of Bong Bong Marcos, which should never have been dignified by the SC in the first place. Thus, the SC pandering to the almighty Marcos family (no doubt at the prospect of sharing a small percentage of the fantastic and still unrecovered Marcos plunder) may be deemed infinitely more egregious than the electoral protest itself.

Of course, it is expected that Marcos will pervert our democratic institutions. That is the legacy of FM, which the next generation has persistently peddled with a great deal of success. Shortly after the SC announced its decision, Marcos insisted yet again on an alternate reality by claiming that the SC did not junk the entire protest. This prompted the SC's Public Information Office to issue the following amended briefer stating unequivocally that the ENTIRE electoral protest was UNANIMOUSLY dismissed. For once in a very very long time, the SC did the right thing.

Indeed, with a virtually unlimited war chest of plundered funds, the Marcos family has deployed its financial resources to sustain a strategic political campaign, including a battalion of trolls whose sole function is to create an alternate reality in the minds of the stupid masses--to perpetuate the "BIG LIE" that Marcos and his cronies did not plunder the national coffers into bankruptcy, did not ruin the Philippine economy, did not institutionalize the government kleptocracy, did not destroy our fragile democratic institutions and so on--for the purpose of retaking the apex position in Philippine politics to rape and pillage the country all over again.

We have not quite come full circle with the current Marcosian regime of Dutae, which is only a prelude of what is to come. The SC's decision on BBM's electoral protest is just a momentary blip, a miniscule setback for Marcos. I would like to think that the SC had a miraculous enlightened episode. The reality is, even whores reject repulsive perverts. Perhaps the institutional perversities entailed in allowing the electoral protest of BBM to prosper any further were too much for even our most compromised justices at the SC. Most probably, the whores just priced themselves out of the negotiating table, prompting BBM to pull the plug and simply focus on the next presidential elections, which is just around the corner.