2010 OBLATION RUN THEME by ETA CHAPTER (Dec.15, 2010)

On its 33rd staging, the Oblation Run remains the iconic ideal of the
University of the Philippines – offering oneself to others. Since its
inception in 1977, the Oblation Run has sought to bring to the fore the
burning issues of the day – be it for the benefit of the studentry and the
university, or of society as a whole. However, this year’s Oblation Run will
focus on a direct affront on the honor and dignity of the Alpha Phi Omega as
this ramifies to particular individuals and ultimately to the society at
large.

The tragedy that was the 2010 Bar Exams Bombing spawned another tragedy
which directly affected Alpha Phi Omega as an organization: the tragedy of a
Secretary of Justice pinpointing APO as the perpetrator of the dastardly
deed even before all angles of the incident has been exhaustively
investigated and intelligently discarded. It was, after all, Sherlock Holmes
who said, in the “Sign of the Four” that “when you have eliminated the
impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” To
further cast calumny on Alpha Phi Omega, the Secretary of Justice
questionably blamed Alpha Phi Omega as the perpetrator of two other grenade
attacks in Metro Manila and, thereafter, directed the NBI to find the
evidence to sustain her determination. This is not justice nor even a parody
of justice but a clear case of pseudo-bill of attainder where membership to
APO automatically makes one a suspect. The Secretary of Justice makes a
mockery of the Blackstonian formulation that “better that ten guilty persons
escape than that one innocent suffer.” This is the reason for the call:

JUSTICE FOR ALPHA PHI OMEGA

The tragedy of blaming Alpha Phi Omega for the incident has spawned a much
greater tragedy: that the true perpetrators of the 2010 Bar Exams Grenade
Attack will go scot-free, never to face the bar of justice. As the State’s
resources are expended on a clearly unjust prosecution, the trail leading to
the true architects of the crime becomes obfuscated while the memories of
the witnesses, defective as these naturally are, become even more defective
as these are diluted by misidentifications of the clearly innocent. And as
the trail grows cold and memories fade, the offenders escape unscathed even
by the vexations of accusation and prosecution. In the end, therefore, the
victims are the true losers which is the reason for the cry:

JUSTICE TO THE BAR BLAST VICTIMS

The greatest injustice of all is that the agency which is tasked by law to
determine probable cause makes an accusation before gathering evidence to
support the indictment. To make matters worse, the Secretary of Justice
publicly denounces Alpha Phi Omega, forgetting her duties, both as THE
Secretary of Justice, a FORMER Chair of the Commission on Human Rights, and,
most importantly, as a lawyer trained in the intricacies of the law, that
the pantheon upon which all rights proceed is that: “No person shall be
deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall
any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.” Equally forgotten is
the premier legal presumption of all, which applies in all instances and in
all cases that “a person is presumed to be innocent of crime or wrong.” When
these rights and presumption are forsaken for the sake of expediency, then
we revert to the tyranny of old where the fate of all persons are
determined, not by law, but by the will of the individual who rules over his
fellowmen. Thus, we plead for –

JUSTICE FOR ALL

As our brothers “streak through storied history,” never before has an issue
directly affected the Fraternity as the present witch hunt. Never before has
the spirit of defiance and freedom been more apropos than at present where
the strong arm of the State has once more been heavily laid.

Miscellaneous thoughts

Two wrongs don't make a right

The Judge asked the Chinaman why he should be granted a divorce. Showing the Judge a picture of their son, he said " Your honor, two Wongs cannot make a White! "

Did you see that movie about a Black kung Fu guy named "Bruce Leroy" ?
Nobody believes me but it is true.

(What do we have the DOJ for?)
Ask Ms. Leila De Lima-hong!

Tonight we are expecting freezing rain in Hornylulu. Temperature is expected to go down a low
70 Degrees. A flash flood warning is in effect for the weekend. Alpha Phi Omega AA of Hawaii will have the entire Ala Moana Beach Park for our annual Christmas and Anniversary picnic.
In Hornylulu when it rains, everybody goes to the Mall and the Beaches would be empty..

I just came from the Dentist today after a two hour pre-capping preparation on 4 teeth.
He must have used 6 syringes of Novocain just to minimize the pain. With all that stuff, even if the entire VS runway show flashed before me It would not elicit any response. I hope this condition does not last more than a couple of days.

Now I remember part of a skit we did during the finals. The punch line was "Down, boy, Down".
And the other one was (In a masculine voice): "Ewan ko Doc". I think that is why they beat the heck out of us.

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This is not for the dilettante of the law, but let me take a shot on the FIVE FATAL FLAWS of EO1 per Justice Brion

1. It is violative of due process requirements
(Presumed Innocence)

2. It is violative of the Constitutional role of separation of powers
(It's Congress' job! Why aren't they part of the act? Address EO1 to Congress!)

3. It has an unconstitutional impact on the established legal framework of the criminal justice system
(What do we have the DOJ for?)

4. It violates the personal rights of the accused and their Constitutional rights to a fair trial
(Perpetrating bias and coloring the opinion of the public against the "accused" ie thru media etc)

5. It violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution.
(The Truth Commission would be a precedent we'd wish we didn't have!)

Justice Brion discussed extensively the doctrine of separation of powers, reminding . . . that only Congress has the authority to create an office. << ( Amen )

Funny, that the same fatal flaws had been abused arrogantly and splashed all over the media by those who're supposed to uphold the rights of citizens and the rule of law in enforcing the law.

APO plans to block De Lima appointment to DOJ

By Christian V. Esguerra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:07:00 11/28/2010

MANILA, Philippines—The influential Alpha Phi Omega (APO) is planning to turn the tables on Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, who implicated the group in three grenade attacks in Manila.

Saying authorities produced no hard evidence to back the accusations, senior APO official Ferdie Ramos on Friday said the fraternity would go after De Lima before the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA).

Ramos said the group was banking on the supposed support of at least seven members of the body, including Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. who is a purported member.

Ramos admitted that such a tact would place APO in a “no-win situation.”

“But we will do it if only to make a point,” he told the Inquirer in a phone interview.

“We want to send the message that she cannot just go around town accusing us of a wrongdoing without presenting any evidence.”

Ramos, who was a senior campaigner for former President Joseph Estrada in the May 2010 elections, was also relying on his fraternity's supposed affiliation with the political opposition to nail De Lima at the CA.

“We have more than seven supporters or sympathizers in the CA,” he said.

“Remember that the opposition outnumbers the administration
in the CA.”

Citing findings of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), De Lima
earlier tagged APO members in the Sept. 27 bar examination

blast that wounded 47 people in Manila.

The NBI later informed De Lima that the group was also behind similar
grenade attacks at La Consolacion College in

2008 and at the University of Perpetual Help this year.

“The authors of these incidents, of these grenade-throwing incidents, are
connected,” she had told reporters.

But more than two weeks after the disclosure, De Lima and the NBI were yet
to produce any evidence against APO or arrest a member of the fraternity,
according to Ramos.

Only Anthony Nepomuceno, 27, had been officially identified as the one who
had lobbed a grenade in front of the De La Salle University

on Taft Avenue in September.