PHILIPPINE LAW INFORMATION CAMPAIGN:

Blind Side of Violence

Seek the truth of the extraordinary as PATTSeans gathered to one of the webinars of PATTSino Ang May Alam entitled, “Philippine Laws Information Campaign: The Anti-Hazing Act of 1995 of Philippine Laws'' on April 30, 9 AM via Zoom meetings. It was eye-opening for the students to understand hazing, including the subjective policies and principles within the society.

Guest speaker, Atty. Luisito Lopez, Trial & Litigation Lawyer, mentioned that hazing is part of Section 1, R.A. 8048 (Anti-Hazing Law) as a rite or practice that serves as a prerequisite for admission into membership in a fraternity or sorority by placing the recruit in some embarrassing situations that lead him/her to suffer physical and psychological trauma. He also tackled cases, violations, and addressed issues that can affect a person’s condition to be mindful at all costs. “Stay alert,” he said, ending with a warm and informative speech to the listeners.

Hazing is not a piece of recent news in the Philippines - it has happened so many times and can still happen anytime even in small cases such as bullying. According to Stuart Green, “When it becomes clear and enacted, you can simply see the negative acts form a pattern and see an imbalance of power.”

We are the Power

“It is the people who gave power to the government authority,” Guest Speaker Atty. De Vera said. “The government is there because we allow them to be there.”

As part of the campaign, the highly qualified Guest Speaker and batch 2013 Cum Laude from the University of the Philippines–Manila, Atty. Clarissa De Vera gave the participants a walk in the park of knowledge talking about the General Concepts of the Philippine Constitution of 1987 on April 30, 2022.

The 3-hour webinar entitled, “PATTSINO ang may Alam: Philippine Laws Information Campaign - The General Concept of Philippine Constitution of 1987”, has initially been given a backbone of information as Atty. De Vera started her discussion with the history and concepts of how the constitution came to be; from the Malolos Institution established in 1899, to the Provisional Constitution of 1986.

The prevalent qualities of a constitution should be broad, brief, and definite. As mentioned, a constitution is the fundamental law of the land and serves as a guide as citizens on how to exercise our rights and how officials perform their task and duties. She added to her discussion the basic principles and doctrines that circled around the supremacy of the constitution and separation of powers.

The Philippines is a republican and democratic state. Structures and forms of the government including the Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary were given the limelight, and how each branch plays an important role in power, compositions, responsibilities, and rules.

Atty. De Vera concluded her discussion with the topics: The Civil Service Commission (CSC), powers and functions of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), and the Commission on Audit (COA). Afterwards, the participants actively indulged themselves in the Open Forum that was interestingly and wittily answered by the guest speaker to wrap things up.

It's my right!

“Laws are important. But they can only be effective if the people know about the particular laws.” This quote by Somali model and human rights activist Waris Dirie was just part of the deeper message the law awareness webinar wanted to highlight during the sun bright event directed on May 7, 2022.

The early day webinar entitled “PATTSINO ang may Alam: Philippine Laws Information Campaign – The Bill of Rights”, provided a comprehensive and thorough understanding of the provisions of Article III of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Together with the speaker and senior legal officer of the Office of the General Counsel Atty. Auxillador Avitus Dofeliz, the audience was handed with knowledge regarding the protections as stated by the law.

The Bill of Rights was created to further serve the people with its 22 provisions whilst preserving a high purpose: equality of protection of the law. Atty. Dofeliz started the event with a brief history of the Philippine Constitution. Starting from the Malolos Constitution and the 1935 Commonwealth Constitution to the 1973 Constitution, which gives a glimpse of a parliamentary government, and finally to the current 1987 Constitution commonly called the “Freedom Constitution”.

The provisions of Article III: Bill of Rights were relatively more than that of the 1935 Constitution, this due to—according to Atty. Dofeliz—the atrocities during the late Marcos regime showed rampant human rights violations. The added provisions present more protection to the citizens even to those who are convicted of a crime

The speaker gives relevance to the due process of law which prevents any type of abuse and maintains equality. “Due process of law proceeds with an inquiry and renders judgment only after trial,” he said. The constitution ensures that the people can safely voice out their opinions even against the government. The event ended with a question-and-answer portion with the speaker.

Awakening to the Dangers of Drugs

On May 7, 2022, seven PATTS organizations collaborated to educate the students once more with a webinar titled, "The Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act Registration." The webinar focused, as the title suggests, on the dangers, different identities, and penalties of drugs. Knowing what laws we live under and how to follow them in order to live a peaceful and lawful life is a talent. With the assistance of this webinar, students and the general public can fully appreciate a section of the laws that govern our lives, specifically those pertaining to illegal substances.

The discussion begins with a warm welcome to the guest speaker, Atty. Edward S. Sipin, who is an experienced contract administrator and a managing lawyer. Atty. Sipin first introduced himself and his objectives to what the students were to learn about his presentation. He chose to discuss specific sections of Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. The different types of illegal substances or drugs are discussed so that we know what other types of substances are illegal and not just the words that we recently heard on the entertainment shows. The second explains how our federal law enforcement apprehends citizens who break the law and utilize illegal substances for personal gain or malicious intent. Finally, the discussion focused on the files that can be filed against the alleged lawbreakers and the range of penalties that the law can impose on them. Of course, justice is justice. Lawbreakers should expect that they will be free forever and they will be judged at the moment they are not expecting to be.

The discussion ended with a certificate of appreciation from the event organizers given to the guest speaker. The last get-away and farewells were warmly led by Gene Josef Apanay, 3rd year BS AeroE Student and one of the event organizers, who said that we should stay clean and live a lawful life, and in order to achieve that, we must know our rules and regulations in our daily life. We must live within the established laws and have fun with what we can do legally.