Commentaries Archives — UP College of Law

The President’s Health: A Duty to Disclose

by Prof. Dante B. Gatmaytan “It is a ministerial duty on the part of the Office of the President to make the status of the President known to the public. What is discretionary is the manner in which it is to be released.” Professor Dante Gatmaytan discusses his observations and opinion regarding the recent dismissal by the Supreme Court of the case of De Leon v Duterte, where for the first time since 1987, Section 12 of Article VII of the Constitution which provides that "[i]n case of serious illness of the President, the public shall be informed of…

When getting ‘91% approval’ means things are really bad

by John Molo 'When you live in a shanty, you are keenly aware how one loose comment can reach the wrong person, and get you kicked out. And that was before the drug war, not to mention the pandemic.' When Pulse Asia released its findings showing that the President had a “91% approval rating,” it received a lot of pushback. Being neither Dilawan nor DDS, I was more surprised about the actual numerical rating than the fact that it was still high. The President remains popular. But a President remaining popular is one thing; getting a “91% approval rating” is…

Bombs or Disease: The false choice in Myanmar’s conflict areas

by Jenny Domino If Myanmar needs a guide in its fight against COVID-19, it need look no further than what human rights law already demands of it. As COVID-19 cases surged in Rakhine State in late August, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi affirmed that government responses to the pandemic would not discriminate based on faith or ethnicity. No one would be left behind in the fight against COVID-19, she promised. These words carry particular weight in northern Rakhine, where an ethnic-based armed conflict persists. Fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army has led to the death,…

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