The Supreme Court has ruled with finality on the distribution to qualified farmer-beneficiaries of the Hacienda Luisita lands as well as on the social justice valuation for computing the just compensation to the landowners, and perforce the sugar barons of the hacienda must comply.
This was stressed by Rep. Edcel C. Lagman (Independent-Albay) who is one of the three remaining original authors of House Bill No. 400 who are still members of the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress. HB 400 became RA No. 6657, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL) which was approved on 10 June 1988 during the 8th Congress. The two others are Rep. Orlando B. Fua and Rep. Thelma Z. Almario.
Aside from the late Rep. Bonifacio H. Gillego, who was then the Chairman of the Committee on Agrarian Reform, the other co-authors included former Rep. Florencio B. Abad, the incumbent Budget Secretary, and former Rep. Herminio S. Aquino, a close relative of President Benigno Aquino.
Lagman also principally authored the CARPER (RA No. 9700) which extended for five (5) years or up to June 30, 2014 the Land Acquisition and Distribution (LAD) component of CARL.
Lagman lauded the Supreme Court’s decision for giving verity and fulfillment to the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) which was the centerpiece agenda of the late President Corazon C. Aquino.
The decision also upheld the constitutional mandate that land, not shares of stock, be distributed to the landless tillers, Lagman added.
“The Philippines may soon hold the singular distinction of having enacted the first domestic law in Asia that criminalizes enforced or involuntary disappearance,” enthused Rep. Edcel C. Lagman, principal author of House Bill No. 98, the proposed “Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012”.
The House of Representatives passed the desaparecidos bill on third and final reading with 234 affirmative votes, zero negative, and no abstention on 21 March 2012, the last session day before the Lenten recess.
Essentially adopting the United Nations’ definition of enforced disappearance, House Bill No. 98 defines the offense as the “arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty committed by government authorities or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of such persons in authority, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared person, which places such person outside the protection of the law.”
According to Lagman “a two-decade gestation for this invaluable human rights legislation is not only inordinately long. It is a grave injustice to the desaparecidos and their families who are also victims as they suffer interminable pain and anguish over the unknown fate and whereabouts of their disappeared loved ones.”
“This measure reaffirms the principles of State accountability, justice and the rule of law. It is envisioned to help government prevent, suppress, investigate and penalize enforced disappearance as well as provide victims and their families effective machinery for reparation and redress,” Lagman stressed.
Members of the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) who were in the session hall gallery yesterday hailed the long awaited plenary approval.
Lagman, who is also the Honorary Chairperson of FIND, said that although the Philippines has not yet signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPAPED), the country is already poised to comply with a vital provision of the Convention that mandates States Parties to enact domestic laws penalizing enforced disappearance as an autonomous or separate offense.
“With the approval of H.B. No. 98, the Congress is laying the groundwork for the country’s compliance with the landmark international human rights convention,” the Albay solon said.
The ICPAPED entered into force on December 23, 2010 and to date has 91 signatories and 31 States Parties.
“I see no reason for the Philippines’ temporizing on the ICPAPED which is the basis of the proposed anti-enforced disappearance law,” Lagman said.
Lagman urged President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, whose father was a victim of grave human rights violations, to champion the cause of the disappeared by ensuring the enactment and full implementation of the complementary domestic and international laws on enforced disappearance.
As a human rights advocate, Lagman is also the principal author of RA 9346 prohibiting the imposition of the death penalty, RA 9745 penalizing torture as a separate offense, and HB 5990 proposing compensation to victims of human rights violations during the Marcos regime, which was also approved on third reading on 21 March 2012.
Filipino Centenarians will soon get their just rewards for longevity and healthy lifestyles.
House Bill No. 834 (“Centenarians Act of 2012”), principally authored by Rep. Edcel C. Lagman, Independent-Albay, was approved on third and final reading on 21 March 2012 before the House of Representatives adjourned for the Lenten break.
Lagman said that the “Philippines is now on the threshold of joining many countries like Sweden, Japan, the United states, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Italy which have a long and noble tradition of honoring their centenarians with congratulatory messages form heads of State, financial assistance and other economic benefits.”
Lagman underscored that HB. No. 834 goes beyond giving additional benefits and privileges to Filipino centenarians residing in the Philippines or abroad as it encourages esteem and high regard for the elderly and honors the rare individuals who live way past the national life expectancy by declaring September 25th as “National Respect for Centenarians Day”.
He added that “every Filipino must be inspired by and aspire to achieve both the longevity and exemplary lives led by our centenarians who are role models for aging well and living long.”
Under the centenarian bill, Filipinos, both in the Philippines and abroad, are entitled to the following benefits:
1) A cash gift of P100,000.00 on their 100th birthday and a congratulatory letter from the President of the Philippines;
2) An additional cash reward from the local government unit where they are residing at the option of the LGU concerned;
3) Posthumous plaques of recognition in honor of all deceased centenarians who died before the effectivity of the law which will be presented to the nearest surviving relative;
4) Fifty percent (50%) discount and exemption from the value added tax (VAT), if applicable, on the sale of goods and services from all establishments for the exclusive use and enjoyment or availment of centenarians; and
5) Declaring every 25th of September as “National Respect for Centenarians Day” wherein all Filipinos who have become centenarians during the year shall be awarded plaques of recognition and cash incentives by their respective city or municipal governments in appropriate ceremonies.
Lagman said that according to studies made in Okinawa, Japan which enjoys the longest life expectancy in the world, the key to living a long and productive life may lie in the following factors: (1) a diet that is heavy on grains, fish, and vegetables and light on meat, eggs, and dairy products; (2) low-stress lifestyles; (3) a caring community where older adults are not isolated and are taken better care of; (4) high levels of activity; and (5) spirituality and a sense of purpose.
The authors and supporters of the reproductive health bill (HB No. 4244) welcome the move of the House leadership to call for a vote before the Lenten recess-the termination of the long-winding and repetitive interpellations on the controversial measure.
Rep. Edcel C. Lagman, the principal author of the bill, said that “after 12 years of debate inside and outside the Halls of Congress, all relevant and even irrelevant questions had been asked and answered about the RH bill. There is absolutely no fresh argument or novel misconception against the bill.”
The precursor of the current bill was filed in 1999 during the 11th Congress as HB 8110. Every Congress thereafter, similar or allied bills have been filed and discussed.
It has been observed that “many registered themselves as interpellators but when their time comes to confront the sponsors, they either conveniently absent themselves or feign not being prepared,” Lagman added.
The authors of the bill are calling on all prospective interpellators to rise and question the sponsors during the remaining session days before a closure of the debates is made.
Whether the Bishops want a sit down dialogue or a grand debate on the controversial RH bill does not matter as long as they are willing and ready to engage face to face and collectively the principal authors of the bill.
It has to be clarified, however, that our initial proposal was to have non-confrontational dialogues with the “religious representatives of the Catholic hierarchy” on the core provisions and concepts of the RH bill.
The agenda should center on freedom of informed choice; the whole menu of family planning methods from the natural to the modern which are legal, medically safe and truly effective; recognition that the Philippines has a population problem; direct linkage among population, human development and poverty; and adequate funding for reproductive health and family planning services, among others.
The grand public debates could be held on the unresolved principal issues after the dialogues.
Since the Bishops are the leading oppositors of the RH bill, we also propose that they should be the principals in either or both the dialogues and debates.
However, it would be fine with us if the Bishops want to be represented by lay proxies, although the fact that Bishops are unmarried is a non-issue.
One does not have to be married in order to appreciate the import of reproductive health and its salient features, in the same manner that one does have to be a woman to espouse maternal concerns or has to die first to accept that death is inevitable.
