Monday, January 11, 2010

CJ appointment brouhaha hinges on general and special laws

CJ APPOINTMENT HINGES ON CLASH BETWEEN GENERAL LAW AND SPECIAL LAW: In the discussions on whether or not President Arroyo can legally appoint a chief justice of the Supreme Court after Chief Justice Reynato Puno retires on May 10, 2010, which is about 50 days before she ends her presidency, we must not forget the rule which distinguishes which law will prevail when there is a clash between a general law and a special law.

We must not also forget what lawyers are taught, right from their very first day in law school, that the special law prevails over the general law in case of an irreconcilable conflict in their application.

Anyone wishing to give his two centavos’ worth in these discussions must therefore study what is the general law and what is the special law in this particularly interesting legal point.

Whatever it is, may God’s will prevail. God, certainly, is not sleeping, and would know who deserves to be chief justice or not.

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88 OFWs STAGE HUNGER STRIKE IN RIYADH, KSA: I give way in this column to news stories emailed to me on Tuesday, 12 January 2010, so the senders will not tire sharing their press releases with me. Here they are:

From Migrante International: “A militant alliance of overseas Filipino workers’ (OFWs) groups today expressed solidarity with 88 OFWs who staged a hunger strike in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after calls for their repatriation were left unheeded by the Philippine post in the Middle Eastern city.

“The 88 OFWs were victims of contract substitution and unjust labor practices of construction firm Annasban Group. They stopped working on October 12 last year after they complained of salary reduction, illegal salary deduction and delayed payment of salary.

“November 3 last year, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement that the Philippine Labor Office (POLO) in Riyadh have been working for the workers’ repatriation `at the soonest possible time.’

“The promised repatriation, however, didn’t happen. `Migrante International salutes the Riyadh 88 for militantly standing up to assert their rights. OFWs the world over join them in their fight for justice,’ stated Garry Martinez, Chairperson of Migrante International.

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ROTARIANS TO GIVE MORE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS FOR FILIPINO KIDS: From Lyne Abanilla, chairman of the Public Imaging Group of Rotary International for Zone 7 (Philippines and Indonesia): “My dear All: Thanks again PP (Past President) Batas (Mauricio) for the beautiful write up and for your future news releases.

“Thanks too CP (Charter President) Blyth (Fielding) who is doing a feature too, hopefully for the PRM (Philippine Rotary Magazine) and others. Rotary International for sure has already read Batas’ column.

After Benguet, we will now be distributing Gamit Aral (GA) Bags in Cavite (Noveleta), in La Union, Calumpit and Pulilan, Bulacan, San Pedro, Laguna, Tanay and Taytay Rizal, and some identified pre schools of Gawad Kalinga communities affected by typhoons Ondoy, Pepeng and Ramil.

“Today, (January 12, 2010) District 3810 Governor Connie (Beltran) and DPRC (District Public Relations Chair) Cynthia (Evangelista) and our Rotary Club of Intramuros President Art (Platon) are in Calumpit and Pulilan, Bulacan distributing 600 GA Bags to our friends at District 3770 thru District Governor Ding San Diego…

Again, thanks again for our PR Team members CP Blyth and PP Batas who joined the trip and making sure we have a good media mileage. Batas was non-stop broadcasting thru the internet and the use of Skype while we were on the road…”

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BIRTH OF JESUS IN THE MANGER: Easily one of the most fondly-remembered events in the Bible is now immortalized as the third Joyful Mystery in the Roman Catholic Christians’ Holy Rosary, and this is the birth of Jesus Christ.

Mainly because the event augurs good tidings and happy cheers as it ushers in gift-giving and camaraderie among believers worldwide, the birth of Jesus Christ has become one of the cornerstones of the Catholic Christians’ faith as it heralds the great love of God for man.

But completely different from this happy scenario is the account of the birth of Christ that is found in Luke 2:1 to 20, and in Matthew 1:18 to 25 of the Bible, both of which paint a very humble yet solemn and dignified occasion, befitting the Son of God.

This story starts with a census participated in by Joseph, the man who was pledged to marry Mary, the Virgin Mother of Christ. During the census, Mary gave birth to Jesus in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The birth of Jesus was announced by an angel of the Lord to the shepherds who were watching their flocks at night. The angel said that the Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord, had been born. Just then, a great company of heavenly host appeared with the angel, saying “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.”

The shepherds then left their flocks, looked for the baby wrapped in clothes in a manger and, when they found him, started telling everyone about him, glorifying and praising God.

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