SUPREME COURT UPDATE SA KASO NI DR. IGGY AGBAYANI
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Ang title niya, Dispenser of Justice, Not Just of Rules.
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Ang nakalagay dito, mga kabatas natin, sabing ganyan,
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The sad saga of Dr. Iggy Agbayani taken up in this space on November 13 was followed on November 27 and December 4
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by a discussion of the new Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability.
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Ito po yung CPRA, ano?
01:25.1
With the aim of giving readers a glimpse of the lapses of Agbayani's lawyer.
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So, parang yung sinasabi ko sa inyo, mga kabatas natin, ano?
01:33.0
Yun din ang tingin ng Supreme Court, no?
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Yung lapses ng lawyer niya.
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Parang sinabi ko rin, ho, kasi sa inyo, yung aking punto de vista in relation sa kasong yun.
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For seemingly unjust conviction, unfair incarceration, and sudden death,
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due to heart attack of the respected orthopedic surgeon.
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So, ang dami kasi nagsasabi na parang unfair, unfair.
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Pero sabi ko nga sa inyo, parang error ng lawyer, eh.
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Kaya lang, mga kabatas natin, itong Supreme Court ngayon, no?
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Has taken cognizance of his plight.
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Nagkaroon ng press release, mga kabatas natin.
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Nakulay ng isang press briefing noong December 13, si Chief Justice,
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Alexander G. Gismundo.
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Ito po yung ating Chief Justice.
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We, referring to justices, will check what really happened.
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So, titignan nila kung ano yung nangyari doon sa kaso.
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Sabi niya, we will review it and based on the results,
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we may establish new instructions or new rules
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so that we can avoid a repeat on the same situation.
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So, pag titignan yung mga kabatas natin,
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yung nangyari talaga,
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ay isang hindi magandang pangyayari.
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Kaya nga, i-review nila at gagawa sila ng mga batayan,
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mga rules, mga kabatas natin,
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upang hindi na maulit yung nangyari kay Dr. Iggy Agbayani.
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apparently, there were some lapses committed by the lawyer.
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Yun kasi ang sinasabi ko sa inyo, eh.
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Na, ang parang sinasabi nila,
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ganun yung nangyari sa kanya,
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parang may problema ba doon sa criminal justice system natin?
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May problema ba doon sa substantive law?
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Sinabi ko naman sa inyo, mga kabatas natin,
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na sa tingin ko, medyo nagkaroon lang ng problema kasi
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doon sa finial ng abogado na grave abuse of discretion.
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Samantalang, tama naman yung ginawa ng judge.
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Ang problema, hindi ho nag-submit ng memorandum.
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Itong abogado ni Dr. Iggy Agbayani,
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wala nga evidence na naipasok,
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kaya hindi pwedeng mag-rule yung mga judges.
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Bakit wala po silang basis?
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So, ito mga kabatas natin, sinabi ng Supreme Court,
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no other than the Chief Justice himself,
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na meron ngang lapses committed by the lawyer.
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So, gagawa sila ng paraan para macheck ito.
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Sabi dito mga kabatas natin,
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obviously, the esteemed Chief Justice was referring to the disciplinary responsibility.
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Of the unnamed lawyer under the strict provisions of the CPRA
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and the penalty that can and should be meted out to him after due process.
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So, ito parang siyempre ano ba yung disciplinary responsibility na pwede niyang harapin diyan.
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Yung disbarment, pwede rin suspension, pwede rin reprimand.
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Sabi pa dito, obviously, also, this is something that under the CPRA,
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the court could motu proprio undertake on its own initiative,
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without need of any complaint by anyone.
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Kasi makikita naman sa mga, ano e, sa transcript of records ng mga korte,
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kung ano yung nangyari talaga doon.
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So, malalaman kung meron talagang lapses na nangyari.
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Kapag hindi ho, ano, hindi,
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anong tawag diyan, justifiable yung ginawa ng abogado,
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pwede ho siyang ma-punish.
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Sabi dito naman, yung si Artemio Panganiban,
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dating justice din ho ito,
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I wrote that the Metropolitan Trial Court of Manila convicted Ibuyani of reckless imprudence resulting in serious physical injuries.
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So, ito po, no, reckless imprudence resulting in physical injuries.
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And that his appeal was denied by the Regional Trial Court of Manila,
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the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court, their division, based on the same ground.
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The lawyer's failure to file an appeal memorandum.
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In the RTCN to append the documents required by the Rules of Court,
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to enable the CIA and the Supreme Court to understand his appeal.
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O di tama po yung sinabi ko sa inyo, mga kabatas natin,
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na the point here is there is no basis of the courts to reverse the decision if the decision is reversible.
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Kasi he is just attributing na may grave abuse of discretion.
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At mga kabatas natin,
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tinuro ko rin sa inyo kung ano yung ano.
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Tinuro ko rin sa inyo yung sa tingin ko,
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dapat gawin if you will ask the court to admit documents,
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you include the documents na agad.
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Ayun ang maganda.
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Ngayon, mga kabatas natin,
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sabi niyang ganyan,
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laudable as to the court's mode of proper action,
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may be, yet it falls short of what the Agbayani family yearns for.
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So okay na nga, mga kabatas natin,
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maganda naman talaga yung aksyon ng Supreme Court dito.
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Nakukunin nila yung kaso,
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motto propio, at pag-aaralan ito para hindi na ito maulit.
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Pero ano ba yung gusto ng pamilya ng Agbayani?
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Ito, a reversal of his conviction and a judicial pronouncement of his innocence.
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Ito ang problema natin dito, mga kabatas natin.
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For a reversal of his conviction, there must be basis.
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Ngayon, sinong i-require na mag-submit ng mga evidence
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o kaya arguments in relation to the side of Dr. Iggy Agbayani
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kung patay na siya?
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Sabi niya, to be fair, however,
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this desideratum cannot be taken motto proprio by the court
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because there is an adverse party that equally deserves objective justice.
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Lawyer Saul Q. Jolifena Jr., the offended party.
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Yun nga, mga kabatas natin.
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Kasi nga, tulad ng sinasabi ko sa inyo,
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sa bawat kaso, dalawang partido.
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Doon sa dalawang partido na iyon, mga kabatas natin,
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kailangan pakinggan din yung isa.
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Hindi naman pwedeng yung justice ay i-effort lang doon sa isang banta.
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So kailangan itong si Lawyer Saul Q. Jolifena Jr.
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ay maging privy o party.
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Privy o party rin dito sa nangyayari na ito
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bago magkaroon ng reversal.
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Ngayon, mga kabatas natin, paano magkakaroon ng...
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Kasi siguro pwedeng buksan itong kasong ito
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tapos ipa-remand doon sa regional trial court
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o kaya doon sa metropolitan trial court
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para magkaroon o mag-proceed again sa trial.
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Kaya lang ang problema, mga kabatas natin,
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eh patay na si Dr. Iggy Agbayani.
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Thus, in my honest opinion,
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the family of Agbayani needs to initiate a petition with due notice
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to the offended party and to the Office of the Solicitor General,
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the Council of the Plaintiff People of the Philippines,
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to reopen the case.
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Ito nga yung sinasabi ko.
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Pero yung problema talaga doon eh.
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Eh mag-reopen sila ng kaso pero ang problema pa rin doon,
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wala na yung lilitisin nila eh.
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The overarching question is may a decision that had become final
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and had been executed via the actual inquiry.
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May be the actual incarceration of the accused be reopened.
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The normal answer of jurisprudence is no.
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Decisions have been become final,
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are revocable despite occasional errors.
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Undeniably, however, several final and revocable judgments have been revoked.
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Ang sinasabi ho dito ni former Justice Artemio Panganiban na
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yung mga disisyon ng Korte, they are final and executory.
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If they are final and executory, hindi na ho pwedeng baguhin yan.
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Pero meron naman talaga.
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Ginawa naman talaga ng Supreme Court yan.
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Kasi after all, mga kabatas natin,
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the court is after justice.
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Ngayon, ang example niya dito,
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yung December 2, 1985 decision of the Sandigan Bayan
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penned by Justice Manuel Pamaran acquitting all the accused
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including then Armed Forces Chief of Staff Fabian Vera
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of the daring broad daylight murder of former Senator Ninoy Aquino
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at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport.
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on August 21, 1983.
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However, after Corrie took over the presidency in 1986,
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the Supreme Court reopened the final Pamaran verdict,
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fined the trial to be a sham and authorized a retrial
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in the 177-page decision penned by Justice Reginao C. Hermosissima, Jr.
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The Sandigan Bayan found conspiracy among the 16 accused soldiers
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including Brigadier General Luther Custodio
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and held them guilty of the double murder of Ninoy and Ronaldo Galman.
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Yan, mga kabatas natin.
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Pero this is a very rare case, mga kabatas natin.
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This is a very rare case.
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Tapos ang problema pa dito, mga kabatas natin,
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kung magkakaroon ng...
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kung bubuksan yung kaso na iyon,
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tapos i-declare na innocent itong si...
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ano, mga kabatas natin, si Dr. Iggy Agbayani,
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will it actually be beneficial to anyone?
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Ang isa pang issue kasi dito, mga kabatas natin,
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alam naman natin lahat na nakalagay sa batas natin
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na one way of extinguishing criminal liability
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is the death of a person.
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Ngayon, mga kabatas natin, kung patay na ang isang tao,
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ibig sabihin wala na siyang criminal liability,
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madidismiss na yung kaso.
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Ngayon, mga kabatas natin,
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kapag magpuporsigi pa rin yung trial kahit patay na yung tao,
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then magkakaroon siya ng conflict doon sa rule
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kung saan one way of extinguishing, no,
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extinguishing the criminal liability of a person is the death.
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Diba? So ibig sabihin, kung itatry mo ulit siya,
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ibig sabihin meron siyang criminal liability.
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Tapos ang problema dito kung magkakaroon ulit ng trial,
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how are you sure na reversal ang mga kaso?
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Diba? So I think, mga kabatas natin,
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kapag magkakaroon ng retrial dito sa kaso na ito,
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it's just a waste of time.
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I'm sorry to the ano, mga kabatas natin,
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I'm sorry to the family of Dr. Iggy Agbayani,
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pero I think it's just a waste of time.
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And it will violate some of the rules set already
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under our criminal justice system.
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Kasi nga, it's one of those rules,
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kasi nga, it's one of the modes of extinguishing criminal liability.
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Nung namatay na siya, wala na rin naman siyang criminal liability.
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So there is no need for a trial anymore.
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Yun ang problema dyan eh.
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Ngayon, mga kabatas natin, kung ano naman,
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kung kunwari, itatrial ito nga, tapos nangyari yun,
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pag acquitted siya, so yun lang kasi ang gusto nila, magkaroon ng acquittal.
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Sigurado ba sila na acquittal yung mangyayari?
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Kung sigurado naman sila na acquittal ang mga kaso,
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kung sigurado naman sila na acquittal ang mangyayari,
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bakit hindi nalang mag-pronounce yung Supreme Court ng acquittal?
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At itong sabi ni Donato, pura-pura, parang sayang lang siya sa pera at panahon.
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While Ver was indicted, he could not be included in the guilty verdict because he fled the country,
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could not be served with court processes, and was, therefore, beyond the local court.
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or beyond the local court's jurisdiction.
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Through the example referred to the accused who were freed of criminal responsibility
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and subsequently found guilty despite the finality of their prior acquittal,
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this is really the more uncommon example.
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The more common ones are convictions which were later reversed and the accused acquitted
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because of subsequent proof showing the impossibility of their guilt.
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The most common of these are rapes in which subsequent DNA evidence conclusively established
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that the accused could have not been the culprit
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because the semen found inside the vagina of the victim belonged to the man other than the accused.
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Ito mga kabasa natin sa Amerika, nangyayari ito.
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Nangyayari ito. Pero ito nung panahon wala pang DNA.
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Tapos nung nagkaroon na ng DNA doon sa Amerika, ginagawa yun.
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Also, while the writ of habeas corpus is not normally used to free those detained by reason of a valid court order,
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the extraordinary writ have been allowed in cases where the ordering court had not been allowed.
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The ordering court had not acquired jurisdiction over the person of the accused or the subject of the case
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or imposed an excessive penalty or deprived the accused of constitutional rights.
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Okay. So alam din kasi natin mga kabatas natin ng penalty o pagpapataw ng penalty mga kabatas natin,
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part of due process is also to impose the right property, proper penalty to the accused.
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To conclude, I believe the Supreme Court is both a court of law and a court of equity.
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Well, ganun naman talaga din.
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Rules of procedure should never be used as stumbling blocks to common sense, fairness, and equity.
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The court cannot be constrained by technicalities and procedural niceties.
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It is a dispenser of liberating justice, not of suffocating rules.
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It is neither a machine nor a robot.
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It is human and humane.
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Ang ganda nung sinabi niya dito ha.
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Being compassionate and just,
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cannot be replaced by the computing power of technology and artificial intelligence.
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Ngayon mga kabatas natin.
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Well, I think naipalawanag ko na rin naman na lahat.
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Maganda itong sinulat dito ni ex-justice Artemio Pangaliban.
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Dispenser of justice, not just of rules.
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Ibig sabihin yung Supreme Court hindi lang dapat sumusunod sa rules yan.
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Actually, ganun naman na talaga eh.
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kaya nga mga kabatas natin,
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kung maaalala nyo yung kaso,
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disqualification case.
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Yung technicalities, mga kabatas natin,
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they can be dispensed with
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Mahindrance towards achieving justice.
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Ganun lang mga kabatas natin.
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Pwede namang ano,
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pwede namang hindi sundin yung rules
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kapag ito ay sagabal sa pag-commit ng hostisya.
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Maraming salamat mga kabatas natin at
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siyempre tulad ng lagi kong sinasabi,
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matulog po tayo ng mahimbing dahil alam natin
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na yung natutulog ng mahimbing,
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siya yung laging panalo.
