WE seek to establish a jus- tice system whereby it is the people themselves who exercise the power to say who must be arrested and brought to trial and who exercise the power to judge if those brought to trial are guilty or not.

The power to say who should be tried in court is now exercised by the prosecutors in the Philip- pines. So that if the one being accused of rape, murder or corruption is influential, which is most likely, the prosecutors can

easily be intimidated or bought. BUT if we put this power in the hands of a Grand Jury, usually com- posing 23 persons selected by raffle from a voters\u2019 list and whose names and faces are kept secret, we are

nity for the influential crime doer to use his power, money and influence. The role of the fiscal shall be lim- ited to the presentation of evidence in court. The Grand Jury is vested with the power to compel intimi- dated or bought witnesses

to speak up or he will be jailed until they agree to speak up by the power of contempt; law enforcers will be compelled to gather evidence or they will be held in jail in contempt un- til they agree to work as detectives.

Now, the power to say whether an accused is guilty or not is exercised by one judge in the Philippines; may be of a regional trial court or a municipal trial court. As we know or hear, the powerful and rich ac- cused can easily influence

or buy decisions. BUT if we place this power in the hands of a Trial Jury, a group of 12 ordinary persons cho- sen at random from the vot- ers\u2019 list and whose faces and names are kept secret, we are alsoforeclosing any op- portunity for the decision to be bought or influenced. Here, ordinary persons are tasked only to know what is true and what is false; the application of laws shall be the duty of the judge who is learned in law.

tampering with justice, we are sure that the abusive and corrupt shall learn to toe the line and observe the rule of law.

The vision here is we see everybody to be \u201cPATAS SA BATAS.\u201d

With jury, all laws can now be implemented. If we have laws against discrimi- nation by one tribe against another, or by Christians against Muslims, or by the rich against the poor, we can say that rebellions (by NPA and MILF) will die because the root that is discrimina-

With all corruption laws assured of implemen- tation, the usually corrupt officials will be compelled to stop stealing people\u2019s money. The swindlers will stop because they know the long arm of the law will surely reach them.

Businessmen will deal fairly with the consumers because the assurance of implementation of the laws keeps them at bay.

(Editor\u2019s Note: This is the analysis the author wrote be- fore the marital law was de- clared in Maguindanao for email groups and this has been circulated for a thousand times in many websites and groups. There is a necessity for all people to know this to be aware of the unfolding of next politically-relevant events.)

AN analysis, in the wake of the Ampatuan murders, by Berteni \u201cToto\u201d Causing, a member of the board of the

National Press Club of the Phil- ippines and also legal consult- ant for the National Press Club. Mr. Causing is a columnist both of Hataw and Police Files Tonight. With the kind permis- sion of Paul Brinkley-Rogers.

You must know that Norberto Gonzales as Defense Secretary is a \u201cterror\u201d opera- tor and if he is to work with political operator Ronaldo Puno, they become a dreaded

Remember that Gonzales came from National Intelligence Security Agency, from where came the Vidal Doble who taped Garcillano\u2019s talks with Gloria. Also remember that Puno (the bad one) was instrumental in making Miriam Santiago lose to FVR and in Garci operations in Mindanao.

You must also know that before the Ampatuan massacre, there were hell-bent planning sessions on how Gloria could possibly hold over, de facto or

They were looking at how they can foment war in Mus- lim areas to have a justification for sinister plots.

Instead of launching war against MILF and MNLF which is expensive, what Gonzales did was to make \u201cchismis\u201d circulating between two possible warring clans. The timing was perfect because Datu Andal Sr. was so worried how he can stay in power be- cause of the three-term limit.

FAIR is fair. There is no other thing that is fair but such thing that is consistent with truth. And truth is truth. There is only one truth and nothing else.

While the whole country cries for justice for the mas- sacred women, two lady lawyers and 30 journalists, they reverberate around the globe. This is one rare mo- ment when the Philippines land in the headlines in any part of the world, courtesy of the evidence of impunity and the goriest manner ever the crimes were committed.

Immediately after the dis- covery of the November 23, 2009 massacre where 22 of the victims\u2019 bodies were found scattered beside the vans and the rest dug up from the huge graves dug earlier by a backhoe marked \u201cProvince of Maguinda- nao,\u201d Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Jess Dureza managed to negotiate for the surrender of the principal suspect, Andal Ampatuan Jr., mayor of Datu Unsay town in Maguindanao.

of emergency in Maguin- danao, authorizing the President to call in the mili- tary to assist the police and National Bureau of Investi- gation (NBI) agents gather- ing evidence, including tes- timonies of witnesses, most of whom were afraid to speak up due to fear of the Ampatuans.

While the investigations were being conducted the cries for justice continued from the society whose con- science clearly revolted against the impunity by which the crimes were com- mitted based on the appear- ances of the victims and the fact that they were buried in

graves along with the vans they were riding before they were commandeered by more than 100 armed men.

The three battalions of soldiers in Maguindanao were augmented with one more battalion to support the police conducting in- vestigations and the sol- diers watching over near the houses of the Ampatuans to prevent them from leav- ing.

The state of emergency was pronounced to be not enough.

So that the Malaca\u00f1ang, through Executive Secretary Eduardo S. Ermita, issued on December 4, 2009 Proclama-

IF the elections were made many months earlier, Vice- President Noli \u201cKabayan\u201d De Castro would have been the president of the coun- try today. Surveys con- ducted during those months showed De Castro as the consistent choice of the

people as to whom they would entrust the leadership of the government.

the filing of certificate of candidacy came. The dead- line passed and the public never saw De Castro at the Comelec.

It is obvious now that De Castro is not joining the elections next year, barring unexpected substitution.

Contrary to speculations that he will formally express his plan to seek the presi- dency or reelection as vice- president at the very last minute, De Castro kept many asking as to why he decided not to run.

There are many probable reasons why De Castro stepped back from the po- litical race. Let us try to find out why many are puzzled about his decision.

First, as earlier pointed out, De Castro was the trail- blazer during the early sur- veys.

During these periods, no politician was still paying for expensive advertisements on TV, radio, and print me- dia to promote himself.

In other words, in an equal and fair playing field, De Castro was the choice of

tion 1959 placing the Prov- ince of Maguindanao in the \u201cState of Martial Law,\u201d ex- cept those areas identified as being held by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front

different s u s - p e c t e d

All news articles and opinions expressed by the writers are en- tirely their own and do not reflect the opinion of the publisher, the management or the editor of this publication.

No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced nor trans- lated in any language or form for commercial purposes without prior written permission from the publisher and its writers or colum-

the people definitely be- cause he behaved and per- formed his duty as the next highest official of the land.

De Castro was the natu- ral choice of the people for so many months. Despite this, he refrained from run- ning.

Second, De Castro is the vice-president. He is just one step away from the presidency. Two of his pre- decessors, presidents Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Jo- seph Estrada, were in his shoes before they became presidents. More or less, the trend then encouraged him to take the next big step forward.

The next big step forward was easy to do. In fact, it came to De Castro so many times to offer itself.

Remember the Hyatt 10 and other events that could have catapulted him to Malaca\u00f1ang? He turned it down in the name of consti- tutionality.

The few narrow-minded pretending to be smart called him stupid for letting a chance of a lifetime pass.

But those who had a lot of sense like the silent riv- ers that run deep took their hats off for De Castro for letting everybody know that he was not inclined to take the short cut to Malaca- \u00f1ang.

If there is anybody who is closer to the Palace and does not need too much run- ning, it is De Castro.

Still, he declined to join the race and that is another puzzle.

Third, like Erap, De Castro has millions of sup- porters who have remained loyal to him ever since he became a celebrated radio commentator and news TV anchor. These are the people who brought De Castro to the Senate and made him the number one senator. They will vote for Kabayan whether we like it or not.

Aside from these people, there are the thousands of poor railway families that benefited from the national relocation program imple- mented by De Castro. Ma- jority of these families will remember De Castro even

The job De Castro as chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council stra- tegically took him early to every corner of the archi- pelago to promote the hous- ing program of the govern- ment.

During these official trips, De Castro established relationships with local of- ficials and their constitu- ents. These relationships could have been vital had he bid for president or what- ever national position.

But not even this advan- tage convinced De Castro to participate in the elec- tions.

Fourth, De Castro brought back to life the housing industry in the country. In fact, housing is one of the industries that kept the economy afloat during the global crisis. The private sector credited the robust state of the housing industry to the reforms in- troduced by De Castro.

Many believe that had De Castro ran, the rich devel- opers, contractors and realtors all over the country could have bonded together to bankrol his campaign.

But the same business- men are at a loss why the man they admire refused to run for president in 2010.

I realized there is no need for this long story if De Castro himself would only answer that question.

He would not even talk about it to the staff closest to him. Most of the people around him have to be con- tented with speculations.

One speculation was that De Castro did not like the idea of a head-on colli- sion with Manny Villar, his long-time friend from the Wednesday Club. The exist-

ence of the club dates back when Kabayan was still a senator.

Members of the club are said to be really friends of each other. It is composed of De Castro, Villar, Senators Kiko Pangilinan and Joker Arroyo, and come-backing Ralph Recto.

They helped each other when necessary. This au- thor was a witness on how the Vice-President threw his support to his friends dur- ing the 2007 senatorial elec- tions. De Castro is definitely a good friend.

Nevertheless, Villar sud- denly announced that he was gunning for the presi- dency. In fact, he was the first to do so. I am not sure if Villar told his friends about his plans prior this an- nouncement. But even be- fore the declaration, it was pretty much obvious that Manny was really inter- ested in the highest post.

This might have put De Castro in a very uncomfort- able situation. This is be- cause while he is silently being considered as the \u201cnext in line\u201d being the Vice- President, a close friend has publicly expressed serious plans for the presidency.

So serious was Manny that as early as the start of the year, TV ads of the sena- tor were already aired con- sistently. It did not take long before he overtook De Castro in the surveys.

It was said Manny is the most prepared for Malaca- \u00f1ang because he has the money. On the other hand, De Castro, who has been \u201con the job training\u201d for al- most six years, said that he is prepared to assume the presidency if a need arises.

But there is a very expen- sive election to deal with be- fore one gets to Malaca- \u00f1ang. And during elections, the moneyed is often fa-

the Ampatuans, particularly Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his son Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Zaldy Ampatuan.

However, wonders of all wonders. The arrests were made on charges of rebel- lion and not multiple mur- der.Was there ever rebel-

It was so clear that the purpose of the crime was not to deprive the government of any authority in any of- fice or any place in the prov- ince of Maguindanao.

the purpose of preventing Buluan town Vice-Mayor Toto Mangudadatu from running for governor of Maguindanao.

The secondary purpose was to instill extreme fear among all other Maguinda- naons from challenging the Ampatuans in the race for the governorship of the province.

It is of common knowl- edge that the Ampatuans have ruled Maguindanao province for more than 10 years already and they have run in every election with- out any opponent.

When the patriarch of the Mangudadatu clan, Rep. Pax Mangudadatu of Sultan Kudarat province, ex- pressed in March of 2009

that their family would field their candidate for the gov- ernorship of Maguindanao, the Ampatuan clan cannot accept it.

Actually, the Ampatuans sent out warnings to the Mangudadatu that their candidate would be killed once he sets foot in Shariff Aguak, the capital of the province of Maguindanao, to file a certificate of candi- dacy.

In other words, there was clear indication of murder and not rebellion on the part of Ampatuan.

If ever they and their men would resist arrests or tamper with evidence, it is a matter of ordinary crimes of murder and obstruction of justice.

But what the police and the soldiers have been do- ing has been arresting the Ampatuans for rebellion and charging them with re- bellion.

Will this not muddle the search for justice of the vic- tims\u2019 families?

While Dyaryo Magdalo hopes the administration of Arroyo is not using the crime as a justification for martial law, it fears more of the likelihood that the mas- sacre victims would be de- nied justice.

The victims\u2019 families would be denied justice if the charges of rebellion would prove to be a scheme to give a way out for the Ampatuans.

sibility of acquittal from re- bellion charges because the court would find that there was no rebellion, consider- ing that evidence show it was not rebellion?

Yes, it is possible that rebellion charges would end up dismissed. And if it would be dismissed, then the Ampatuans cannot be charged anymore with crimes based on the same act of murder. This is be- cause it will violate the con- stitutional prohibition against double jeopardy.

The saving grace is if those crimes of massacre or multiple murder were to be made as part of the charges of rebellion, the court may still convict the guilty be- cause of the fact that the kind of rebellion to be charged included the acts of massacre.

As another option, the prosecutors may amend the charges in the middle of the

trial, from rebellion to mur- der, without offending the double jeopardy rule.

With this, it looked more of a strategy of Malaca\u00f1ang to use rebellion charges as a means of pinning down the Ampatuans, assuming that Gloria Macapagal Ar- royo is not paying back for the votes Ampatuans gave her in 2004 and the 12-0 vic- tory of Gloria\u2019s senatorial candidates in 2007.

Now, if we talk about jus- tice, there is only one jus- tice and that is justice.

And if there is justice for the victims by means of punishment against the guilty, the Ampatuans also deserve justice.

They should be charged with \u201cmultiple murder\u201d and not \u201crebellion.\u201d

Another speculation is that De Castro must have finally agreed with the thought that if ever he be- comes the standard bearer of the administration party, his candidacy is doomed owing to what many point out as the \u201ckiss of death.\u201d

They say that whoever President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo endorses shall turn out to be the biggest loser when judgment day comes.

survives and wins, it was also believed that he had to deal with every single mem- ber of the party who will be knocking at the doors of Malaca\u00f1ang for payback.

A respected broadcaster for 20 years before entering government service, De Castro would never be the type who would entertain politicians like the Ampat- uans who massacred civil- ians and members of the media in Maguindanao re- cently.

I HAVE been to the Ampatuan house in Davao after the grand wedding I featured.

Two-feet-thick con- crete fences and 15-inch thick walls surround the palace. It has a lot area big enough for 20 upper middle-class homes, or 100 low-cost housing units or 200 tanks.

I gawked in awe at the enormity of the Ampatuan mansion in Juna Subdivi- sion in Davao City, one of at least 13 that the clan owns in this city.

This one is owned by Zaldy Ampatuan, the gov- ernor of the Autonomous Region

To describe how huge the house was, I said in jest that if a food is to be brought to one of the rooms upstairs, it would be spoiled by the time it reached its destination.

The opulence of the 2,000-square-meter struc- ture, still under construc- tion, came into full view.

I couldn\u2019t help but comment on how inordi- nately rich the Ampatuans were: \u201cGrabeng yaman naman ng mga ito.\u201d

construction, signs of just how grand the house was screamed for attention be- yond its white, pale yel- low and mocha paint\u2014 shiny marble floors, fences as tall as two men with one standing on top of another, a dressing room about the size of a bachelor\u2019s pad, 22 air-con- ditioning machines, a 20- by-30-feet swimming pool shaped like the number 8.

The main room in the house is 300 square meters, big enough to build a small house on it.

The main house is sur- rounded by what looked like servants\u2019 quarters but could pass for first-class two-story apartment units.

At the back are nipa huts that are not out of the ordinary except for the airconditioners that jut out of them.

Juna Subdivision, where lots go for P7,500 per square meter, is no stranger to display of opulence. It is known in Davao City as an enclave of the so-called \u201cold rich of Davao.\u201d But the Ampatuan mansion still stands out.

AMPATUAN MANSION -- The Ampatuan Mansion located inside an exclusive subdivision known as an enclave of the so-called \u201cold rich in Davao.\u201d It stands out due to its enormity and majesty.

The one under con- struction sits on a lot next to an existing mansion of the Ampatuans, which is owned by Andal Ampat- uan Sr. on Kasuy Street in the said subdivision. It also sits on a 2,000- square-meter lot.

Another house, smaller by the standards of the Ampatuans, is across the street and serves as living quarters for bodyguards and drivers.

entry of Senator Noynoy Aquino in the presidential race must be the biggest fac- tor that changed the course of De Castro\u2019s political ca- reer.

Noli may have consid- ered a friend and a kiss-of- death theory against joining the political contest. But his biggest consideration went to Aquino\u2019s surprise deci- sion to run for president.

With that decision, Aquino threatened the \u201cwinnability\u201d of frontrunner

LAST Saturday night, I watched the two-hour All- Star Tribute to Heroes pre- sented by CNN and was deeply touched by Efren Penaflorida\u2019s demeanor and message. There in a limelight for all the world to see and hear stood an unassuming Filipino, humble in his \u201cbarong\u201d but extremely proud of what he does for the street urchins and elo- quently telling all that there\u2019s a hero in each of us waiting to be unleashed.

I thought without hesi- tation that the universal rec- ognition of Efren\u2019s lowly pushcart in Cavite slums

deserves greater acclaim than a pair of boxing gloves in a Las Vegas casino.

His simple act has touched and changed the lives of the miserable. That of the other has touched a few and might have changed the lifestyle of an aspiring starlet.

Efren\u2019s $100,000 cash re- ward scarcely fills a bucket to continue his heroic mis- sion. That of the ring icon brims in a sea of purses to build grander mansions, sponsor more cockfight der- bies and perhaps fuel his

Why do lives of millions freeze for hours and the na- tion literally stands still to watch the national fists pummel some face to distor- tion?

Why do thousands shell out hundreds to catch it live in pricy restaurants and cin- emas or persevere in end- less commercials to view it late?

Why do congressmen and kibitzers troop to the \u201cSin City\u201d to watch it in flesh, suspending pressing matters back home? Why do national media scramble to splash pages upon pages of

a pugilist\u2019s journey and tri- umph, relegating other wor- thy news to paltry sen- tences?

And why do marketers brashly elbow each other to push endorsement deals, goading us to shift to an- other hair shampoo or branded water?

CNN is broadcast world- wide to almost countries and billions of people in four major languages. Yet the telecast hardly stirred a whimper among Filipino viewers, the vast majority of whom in all likelihood switched to telenovelas and showbiz buzz.

It\u2019s sad that most of us worship heroes with clenched fists to vanquish foes rather than open palms to defeat poverty and illit- eracy.

It\u2019s equally sad that our leaders still pump bare knuckles rather than out- stretched hands to clasp those of adversaries and end conflicts. And it\u2019s inex-

plicable as well that many flex their fingers to pull deadly triggers rather than raise them to teach kids how to count.

Manny Pacquiao is no less a hero to us. True, he inspires the poor and dis- advantaged who identify themselves in him as an epitome of a rags-to-riches achiever. Never mind if it\u2019s through violent sports.

He makes all Filipinos beam with pride after every wallop, how fleeting it may be. Each of his win is a ca- thartic relief to us who have been long starved of con- quests that bring national honor after being shamed globally for nine years by a scandal-plagued regime.

Without doubt, his im- pact on the national scene, for the good of many or for the interest of a few, is pal- pable.

But is he a hero in a truer sense? I\u2019m not so sure. He could be a flash in the na- tional pan whose glint

would have been agonizing in defeat as it had been ec- static in victory.

Indeed, he\u2019s a ring icon as deserving as \u201cThe Great- est\u201d and the \u201cBronx Bomber.\u201d But aside from boxing feats, Ali is largely adored because he saw war and tried to stop it and Louis is avidly idolized because he saw prejudice and tried to overcome it.

The Pacman in contrast seems an enigma, profess- ing concern for themasa but has done practically noth- ing to show off.

Worse, he intends to en- ter a different arena, where below-the-belt blows are common, dirty tactics abound and referees and judges are often bribed.

Will he see wrong and try to right it as Robert Kennedy did? Rarely heroes continue to be one in poli- tics and only in death.