Prof. Batongbacal calls for caution and transparency on Marine Scientific Research in West Philippine Sea In an interview by GMA News Report, Prof. Jay Batongbacal commented that the data from Chinese marine research and ocean current surveys could be used for military purposes. The professor reiterates the need for transparency about the results of such endeavors. The Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS) was granted permission by the Department of Foreign Affairs to conduct the study, provided that its scientists are joined by Filipinos, among other requirements. The report may be accessed at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/641692/law-expert-warns-data-from-chinese-study-of-phl-seaboard-can-be-used-for-military-purpose/story/?utm_source=GMANews&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_campaign=news Related to the topic of…

Prof. Dante Gatmaytan: Numbers Game vs. the Rule of Law? Professor Dante Gatmaytan was interviewed regarding the present “Threat to checks and balances” posed by the latest Presidential act suspending the Deputy Ombudsman in charge of investigating the President’s undeclared wealth. Recounting the voting trend in the Supreme Court, it would seem to be a numbers game versus the rule of law. The Constitutional Law expert discussed the effects of this incursion into the authority of the Office of the Ombudsman and ultimately the Supreme Court. He said that “It doesn’t stop with Carandang. This is an institutional change that they’re after.” He…

UP Board of Regents names Prof. Fides Cordero-Tan as new UP Law Dean The UP Board of Regents announced the appointment of Atty. Fides Cordero-Tan as the new dean of the UP College of Law on Jan. 26, 2018. Atty. Cordero-Tan, who currently practices as a consultant at the Tan Concepcion & Que Law Firm, was chosen from five nominees for the deanship. At the College, she is a lecturer on Evidence, and formerly taught Criminal Procedure, Corporation Law and Insurance Law. Additionally, she is the First Chairperson and a lecturer for the UP Law Center's Paralegal Training Program. The…

Prof. Dante Gatmaytan on Charter Change: "An assembly beholden to the President may not necessarily produce the best document" Barely ten years into the 1987 Constitution and under every administration after, there have been calls for amending the governing Charter of the country. However, the public has consistently shot down the proposal for just one reason alone -  a universal “skepticism that these attempts were mere ploys to eliminate term limits” for political office, said Law Professor Dante Gatmaytan when interviewed on previous attempts to amend the 1987 Constitution. With Federalism of the country being a priority of the Duterte…

Professor Tony La Viña: Legal alternatives as food for thought In a legal commentary on “Injustice in Court of Appeals: Failing Mary Jane Veloso,” Professor Tony La Viña, in collaboration with Christian Laluna— a graduate of the Ateneo School of Law — parses legal procedure to show how it sometimes does not meet with the ends of substantive justice. The article refers to the ongoing case of Mary Jane Veloso who has been languishing on death row in an Indonesian jail, since Indonesian President Joko Widodo stayed her execution for drug running in April 2015. What the reader takes away from the…

[OPINION] Filipinos exploring Benham Rise region for years JANUARY 24, 2018 (Reproduced from https://rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/benham-rise-exploration-filipinos) JAY L. BATONGBACAL This government’s claim that the Philippines cannot explore Benham Rise without China is a total sham meant to disempower and demean Filipinos and their capacity and capability as a people In the first place, Filipinos have been exploring the Benham Rise Region for years now. From 2004 to 2008, then again in 2010, the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) sent BRP Hydrographer Presbitero on multiple bathymetric and hydrographic surveys of the Benham Rise Region.…