All rights are limited by the rights of others

By: Neal H. Cruz
Philippine Daily Inquirer

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The most common complaint against our justice system is that it is too slow. But when the wheels of justice rolled faster in the case against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, they are still complaining. They say it was too fast, that the case was “railroaded.” A case of damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

Even granting that the filing of the case and the issuance of the warrant of arrest went “too fast,” the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the case required extraordinary solutions.

The Arroyo couple was on the verge of leaving the country. In fact, they had already booked flights on several airlines, and the couple, together with aides, had already gone to the airport to board their planes. It was evident that they wanted to skip the country ahead of a warrant of arrest.

Once they are out of the country, then they are beyond the pale of Philippine laws and authority. They can seek political asylum somewhere, claiming they are being persecuted in the Philippines. They can stay away from the Philippines indefinitely, and return, if they want to, when a friendly administration takes over. The Filipinos are a forgiving people with short memories who forget a person’s sins after only a short time. Look at the Marcoses. The administration of President Aquino would be left holding an empty bag, and the world would be laughing at us. “Naisahan” would be the common Filipino epithet hurled at us, meaning they were able to “put one over us.”

What will that do to P-Noy’s (Aquino) promise to hold the guilty accountable for their sins? One reason that corruption is spreading in the Philippines is that the corrupt get away with their loot and are not punished.

Yes, the Commission on Elections was called to a meeting en banc to hear and decide on the recommendations of the joint Comelec-Department of Justice committee which investigated the electoral sabotage case against GMA (Arroyo) and detained Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. and detained Comelec official Lintang Bedol, both of whom said they were instructed by GMA to cheat in the 2007 polls so that there would be a 12-0 vote in favor of administration candidates in the senatorial elections. (By the way, why was Garci not included in any electoral sabotage case?)

Yes, the filing of the cases was rushed to the Pasay Regional Trial Court and yes, the judge rushed the issuance of a warrant of arrest, but if you were in the place of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, what would you have done? The suspects are about to escape; she has been ordered by the President “to do everything” to prevent their escape. Would you have sat back and allowed them to escape?

Lawyers of all stripes, always obsessed with the letter of the law, say that she should have obeyed the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court against the watch-list order (WLO) of the DOJ. They said refusing to obey it was a “defiance” of the high tribunal which is punishable by imprisonment and/or fine for indirect contempt.

But it is a cardinal principle in law that the substance of the law always takes precedence over the letter of the law. Which means that in case of conflict between the two, the intent of Congress that enacted the law (or the Supreme Court which promulgated the rule) should be taken into consideration.

For example, was it the intent of the framers of the Constitution, in writing the guarantee on an individual’s right to travel, to allow suspects to escape prosecution by traveling out of the country?

All the rights enumerated by the Bill of Rights are not absolute. They have limits, such as when they encroach on the rights of others. Freedom of the press is limited by the libel law, the right to freedom of expression is limited by the law against slander, the right of workers to strike is limited by other labor laws, the right of people to gather and seek redress for grievances is limited by other laws on peace and public order.

By the same token, the right to travel is not absolute. It is limited by the state’s own right to impose justice and hold accountable those who have committed wrongs. Should a suspect in a criminal case be allowed to escape simply by invoking his right to travel? As I see it, the state’s right to hold accountable those who are guilty should take precedence over the individual’s right. The right to freedom is the most basic right in the Constitution, but the state can still detain you if you are accused of a criminal act.

The administration may be “biased” in the case of GMA, but the Supreme Court (called the Arroyo Court) is also guilty of the same sin. All the eight justices who voted for the issuance of the TRO, as well as the denial of the DOJ’s motion for reconsideration, were appointed by GMA. The tribunal scheduled oral arguments on the case but days before the scheduled hearing, it suddenly issued a TRO, effective immediately, taking the DOJ by surprise.

Not only that, the Arroyo camp seemed to have an inside track on what the Supreme Court would do. Even before the TRO was issued, they were all packed up and ready to go, the P2 million cash bond required by the Supreme Court was already in a duffel bag ready to be taken to the Supreme Court, and they had already booked flights (in several airlines) out of the country. It was only the DOJ’s firm orders to the Bureau of Immigration and to the Manila International Airport Authority not to let them leave that prevented them from escaping and making the Philippines the “laughingstock of the world.”

GMA should remember one thing: She did the same thing to former President Joseph Estrada who was not convicted of any corruption charge but was nevertheless imprisoned for more than six years. Now the shoe is on the

Filipino artist wins grand prize in Asia-Pacific art contest

By Lito B. Zulueta
Inquirer Arts and Books Editor

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Rodel Tapaya's grand-prize winning mural, "Baston ni Kabunian, Bilang pero di Mabilang (Cane of Kabunian, Numbered but Cannot be Counted). CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

SINGAPORE—Philippine artist Rodel Tapaya won Thursday night the grand prize  in the Asia-Pacific Breweries Foundation Signature Art Prize, an international art contest among Asia-Pacific artists, for a mural that weaves together ancient myths and folklore and connects them with current realities, such as environmental degradation and disaster flooding.

Tapaya’s work, “Baston ni Kabunian, Bilang Pero di Mabilang (Cane of Kabunian, Numbered but Cannot be Numbered), bested 14 other mainly large-scale art works from 14 other countries across the Asia-Pacifc. The short list of finalists had been selected from 130 works which were nominated from 24 countries by art experts.

Tapaya, 31, received 45,000 Singapore dollars.

“I thank God, the greatest artist of all,” he said in his acceptance speech. He also thanked Ramon E.S. Lerma, director of the Ateneo Art Gallery, for nominating his work, and dedicated his victory to his wife, Marina Cruz, also a top young artist.

A motley group of Philippine art lovers, including Lerma, Philippine Consul General Neal Imperial, gallery owner Lory Juvida, art collector Alex Tan, and Singapore Time Out magazine online editor James Perez Ong, as well as several young Filipino professionals working here lustily cheered when Tapaya’s name was called during ceremonies at the Singapore Art Museum.

Three artists received the Jurors’ Prize: the Japanese Aida Makoto for his acrylic-on-canvas mural, “Ash Color Mountains”; the Australian Daniel Crooks for his video, “Static No. 12 (Seek Stillness in Movement); and the Indian Sheba Chhachhi for her installation, “The Water Diviner.” They received 10,000 SG dollars each.

Singaporean artist Michael Lee won the People’ Choice award for his digital print suite, “Second Hand City.” He also received 10,000 SG dollars.

In a formal statement, the international  jury called Tapaya’s work, a 305 x 610 cm acrylic on canvas, “a compelling and monumental-scale work.”

“With its multiple narratives and diverse allegorical references, this stunning mural-sized painting embodies a vibrant strain in contemporary art from the Asia-Pacific region,” the jury said. “While Tapaya does not shy away from drawing on the folklore of his native region, his is neither a naïve nor self-exoticising practice. The artist is audacious in his use of the Philippine mural tradition as well as Latin American magic realism and Bosch-like phantasmagoria.

“Anchored in a postcolonial setting but with far-reaching universal relevance, the work will surely provoke discussion about emerging aesthetic tendencies in Asia-Pacific. Together with the three Jurors’ Choice Award winners, the prize-winning works are ground-breaking in their negotiation of cultural heritage and contemporary forms of expression. They are all worthy of recognition as being among the best art works from the region.”

Tapaya’s winning work was part of his 2010 solo exhibit and bought by Troche Deleon Collection and Art Vantage Ltd, both international art buyers that had seen the work and bought it based on electronic images. The work, along with several others by Filipino artists, was nominated to the Signature prize by Lerma. “Kabunian” made it to the short list and the rest was history.

For the finals exhibit and judging, the work was brought by cargo forwarder from Manila to Singapore Art Museum where it now hangs. Last Thursday night, the work’s Israeli buyers were invited to the awarding ceremonies and it was only their first time to see the actual work and meet the artist, who was the youngest-looking of the finalists.

In an interview with the Inquirer, Tapaya explained he raided Bontoc and Ifugao myths as well as Tagalog folklore to paint an allegory. He said he has always considered “narrative painting” as his strongest suit and he has always sought to tell moral tales when he paints.

The central image of his vast work is the Bontoc myth of a giant canine that saved humans from a great flood. On the back of the dog is an Ifugao mythological character, the son of the god Kabunian, who used a piece of cloth to form mountains and bring fire and warmth to humans. From the Tagalog (Tapaya is from Montalban, Rizal), he adapted the fable of a glutton who turned into a frog.

Careful regard for water and the sacredness of nature are apparent allegorical themes in the work.  A detail of the work shows a mountain denuded of trees and washing away the houses on its steep sides and another detail shows a masked logger cutting of a tree which has the face of a man instead of a crown of leaves. The message is clear: by his greed, man brings himself disaster.

Other finalists were Bui Cong Khanh (Vietnam), Chang Yoong Chia (Malaysia), Chen Chieh-jen (Taiwan), Ay Tjoe Christine (Indonesia), Kyungah Ham and Kim Jongku (South Korea), Imran Qureshi (Pakistan), Vandy Rattana (Cambodia), Greg Semu (New Zealand), and Yang Xinguang (China).

The international jury consisted of Indian poet, cultural theorist and curator Ranjit Hoskote; Gregor Muir, executive director of the Institute of Contemporary arts in London; Fumio Nanjo, director of the Mori Museum of Tokyo; Indonesian writer, critic and curator Hendro Wiyanto; and Tan Boon Hui, director of the Singapore Art Museum.

Organized by the Singapore Art Museum  and sponsored by the Asia-Pacific Breweries (APB) Foundation of Tiger Beer, Signature is a triennial art contest that started in 2008. For its second edition this year, it has been expanded from the original 12 participating countries to include more countries, such as Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines.

Tapaya’s winning work is now on exhibit along with the 14 other finalists until March 4, 2012 at the Singapore Art Museum.

CA rules network talents are regular employees

By Marlon Ramos
Philippine Daily Inquirer

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Overturning earlier decisions of the labor court, the Court of Appeals has upheld the right of television  “talents” to receive the same compensation and benefits as regular network employees.

In a much-awaited decision, the appellate court said the National Labor Relations Court (NLRC) committed “grave abuse of discretion” when it twice threw out the petition of a group of “talents” who sued network giant ABS-CBN for refusing to consider them as regular employees.

The case was filed in 2008 by about 70 sound engineers, cameramen, audio men, drivers, VTR men, lightmen and camera control unit staffers of ABS-CBN.

The court said the NLRC’s ruling against the talent workers’ petition for regularization and benefit claims in October 2008 and January 2009 went against already settled precedents.

In voiding the two NLRC resolutions, the appeals court stressed that in previous similar cases filed against ABS-CBN and other networks, the court had already declared the so-called talents as regular employees.

It said the petitioners were able to adequately establish that they had an employer-employee relationship with ABS-CBN as stated under Article 280 of the Labor Code of the Philippines.

Citing this provision of the labor law, the court said the workers were deemed to be regular employees.

Working several years

Since the petitioners had been working with the network continuously “for a duration of several years,” their involvement with ABS-CBN’s operations was “strongly indicative of the necessity and desirability of the petitioners’ work.”

“We now hold that herein petitioners are regular employees of… ABS-CBN and as such, are entitled to the benefits and privileges accorded to regular employees under their collective bargaining agreement and company policy,” the appellate court said.

“Gleaned from the nature and description of the services rendered by petitioners, there is no doubt that they are necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade… of ABS-CBN,” it added.

Authority to dismiss petitioners

“In sum, since all the elements of an employer-employee relationship have been established in this case, we conclude the petitioners are regular employees of  ABS-CBN,” the court said.

It added that it was “undenied” that ABS-CBN had the authority to dismiss the petitioners “in case infractions were committed in the performance of their duties.”

The 21-page ruling was penned by Associate Justice Manuel Barrios with Associate Justices Mario Guarina III and Apolinario Bruselas Jr. concurring.

The appeals court ruling could benefit hundreds of media workers who have  filed similar labor suits against ABS-CBN and other broadcast companies.