The Last Stand

It is the mandate of the State to promote the equal distribution of wealth among the Filipino people. It is, likewise, the policy of the government to give land to the landless and free the poor and the oppressed farmers from the bonds of their unyielding landlords to the effect that every Filipino farmer may enjoy the fruits of their labor. A farmer who tills the land for the rest of his life and leaves no property to his children but the fact of hard labor is a high form of social injustice. It is an injustice that strikes at the heart of our ideals and aspirations, a prolific sickness that would kill a man’s dream of pursuing happiness.

While it is true that no men are created equal in matters of material wealth and possession, the State must protect the interest of the unheard workforce, especially the farmers, by granting them what is due, in which case the gift would be the transfer of lands into their industrious hands. There is no denial that those who toil the land suffers severe physical stress, emotional trauma, psychological anxiety and, above all, moral pain because the blood and sweat they endure to cultivate the lot and harvest its fruits will only be subject to the disposal of the greedy rich. The latter’s objective is to accumulate wealth and brandish among his colleagues the digits under his account, while that of the former’s sole goal is to feed his hungry children and provide a measly platter of food before his family.

Thus, when an unimaginable unjust enrichment occurs due to this evil scheme, it is the court, who, as the last bastion of justice and equity, hails that the deprived shall receive that which he is entitled, by law and by social fairness. The decision of the Supreme Court, in ordering the distribution of lands owned and controlled by the Hacienda Luisita Incorporated to the farmers, is a manifestation of final justice which has long been overdue. 

The Elusive Flight

No less than the fundamental law of the land provides that a person shall have the free right to travel, unimpaired by any state regulation, save only in cases when the national security, public safety, or public health is imperilled. The state, then, has the exclusive authority to restrict one from the enjoyment of his free movement, particularly when his act of travel would lead to endanger the general interest of the public in matters of security and health. Thus, it can be gleaned that the right to travel is a superior right of an individual than that of the power of the state to prohibit such because it is subject to the conditions imposed by the Constitution.

The Former President’s issue of seeking medical attendance outside the Philippines has now become a classic clash between the obligation of the State to prosecute those who must face the portals of a courtroom and an individual’s right to travel for purposes of treatment. The denial of the President to grant the travel abroad is premised on the ground that FPGMA’s condition is non-life threatening. In addition, the government is apprehensive on the risk that the former president might take flight from the charges filed against her in the courts of law. It can be remembered that flight is an admission of guilt.

It is on this basis that the government impaired the right of President Arroyo to travel. One need not have the expertise of analysis and logic to understand that the impairment of the government of her right to travel was not anchored on national security, public safety, or public health. To grant her the opportunity of cure outside the jurisdiction of the Philippines will not mean the introduction of sedition, rebellion or insurrection, or the entrance of any contagious diseases into the land of the pearl of the orient. 

The Rebels' Haven

                          Laws are promulgated in order to regulate the affairs of men, to protect every individual from any injury, and, among others, to promote the general interest of the public. In other words, its concept is to maintain order and secure to every living citizens the enjoyment of their basic rights, privileges, and, as well as their fundamental freedoms. Most of the law created by the law-making body defines a crime, treats of its nature and provides for punishment. One of the law’s basic characteristics is territoriality, where it is applied in the territory over which the state has sovereignty and jurisdiction.

                         In cases where a State cannot effectively carry out its obligation to enforce the law in certain parts of its territory, it strikes an unparalleled failure on the part of the government to assert its sovereignty to every composite part of its territorial jurisdiction. It must be remembered that a law distinguishes neither place nor day for its application so long as it is effected within the territorial responsibility of the concerned state, with the end in view that no one goes unpunished for a crime committed.

                         The so called “Area of Temporary Stay” enjoyed by the Muslim insurgents is a blunder to the Philippines’ territorial integrity, as the law enforcers cannot extend the arm of the law on such areas since it is controlled by the rebels. In addition, for a successful entrance over the area, coordination must be made by the government to the insurgents. Where a criminal or an offender seeks refuge in the area of temporary stay, officers of the law will cease its pursuit over the former since they will be entering a haven where a need for formal offer of entrance is indispensable.

                         Accordingly, lawless elements would be free to enjoy impunity and easily escape arrest by simply laying his foot on the rebels’ dungeon. It would be to recognize an entity its sovereignty when an area of temporary stay is allowed. A law punishes its violators; it haunts them to every inch of the territory where they choose to hide; more so, it accepts no reason for its non-application. Thus, when a law is served, justice is well in place as the paramount objective of the government to bring in peace and order, but when its application stops at the doorstep of the rebels’ house, where it only gaze the offenders swiftly eluding the force of the law, it shakes the foundation of the Republic as a sovereign nation.