Posts

"Vection" Illusion (The Psychological Pull)

-
  ( I'd love to write what I often experience when traveling and sailing, although the transit I was onboard was temporally stationary.) The brain determines motion by comparing your body to your surroundings.When water moves rapidly in one direction, your eyes register the motion. As the sky and horizon feel fixed, your brain misinterprets the rushing water as your own body moving in the opposite direction. This visual illusion is called vection, and it intensifies the physical feeling of being pulled or pushed by the tide. That physical sensation is caused by a combination of fluid dynamics, soil mechanics, and a sensory illusion. When a wave recedes, water flows rapidly backward toward the ocean, pulling loose sand grains from around your feet and eroding the support beneath you. At the same time, your body weight presses down on the water-saturated sand, forcing the water out and causing the sand to behave like a dense liquid through localized liquefaction, which makes you sink...
Read more

Procedures to Surrender a Person to the ICC in contemplation of Philippine laws

-
Image
  This is not a peace process roadmap. Recently, NBI/PNP/CIDG and other state apparatus are finding Senator Bato Dela Rosa. After reading some documents ( hindi pa ako tapos magbasa ) pertaining to the SC's explanation of the denial of TRO, I'm trying to figure out how the incumbent administration is dealing with the case within the context of RA 9851 (Sec 17). The assumptions in this infographic is that the (1) procedural steps of ICC's request to "surrender" Sen. Dela Rosa are within the ideal procedure as contemplated by RA 9851; and (2) Senator Bato can avail of judicial remedies which were recently cited in the decisions of some SC justices (implicitly or explicitly). The assumption also include the possibility that the government authorities will kowtow the (1) historical political move to perform an extraordinary rendition (a.k.a. kidnapping) as what transpired in the case of FPRRD, precisely because the (2) authorities relied on executive discretion.  When...
Read more

Irrelevant Character Assassination

-
 The impeachment trial in the Philippines functions as a hybrid political and judicial proceeding; any expert testimony must be directly relevant to the six constitutional grounds for impeachment, such as a betrayal of public trust or other high crimes.  Since mental instability itself is not a ground for impeachment, an expert cannot testify merely to declare an official unfit. Even if they may assert relevance, the testimony faces strict legal and ethical hurdles under the Revised Rules on Evidence, particularly if the expert attempts to diagnose a public figure without a direct clinical examination, which violates professional ethics and can be dismissed as speculative by the defense.  Historical precedents like the 2018 house hearings against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno was widely condemned by legal scholars as an irrelevant distraction and was criticized as highly politicized tactics for character assassination even if they may argue permissibility.  It i...
Read more

The Deep Divide

-
Image
The deep 12–12 structural and partisan divide in the Philippine Senate highlights a paralyzing power struggle driven by highly volatile factional loyalties, of constitutional gray areas, and the high-stakes backdrop of an impeachment trial.  The Senate reveals that this gridlock goes beyond a simple tie; it has created an unprecedented constitutional impasse over the definition of a valid legislative quorum. The 24 incumbent legislative members are split across multiple political parties (inclusive of the Nacionalista Party, PDP, NPC, and independent blocks). While numerical majorities in the Senate are historically fluid, recent events triggered a complete fracture. Following a major leadership shake-up that installed lawyer Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate President, the majority narrowed significantly when lawmakers like Migz Zubiri and JV Ejercito formally shifted to the minority. This initially left a fragile 13–11 split.  With key senators physically absent or pushed outsid...
Read more

A life's dunk — communal grief and elegy for a young MVP

-
The funeral convoy transporting the remains of 2025 Palarong Pambansa MVP Rene Clert "Bobet" Baterbonia from the Ateneo de Davao University Senior High School campus to his hometown of Talacogon, Agusan del Sur, was met with an overwhelming, emotionally charged wave of public support.  Leaving Davao City at 8:17 a.m. after a three-day public viewing, the hearse traveled a multi-provincial highway route where thick crowds of residents, students, teachers, and sports fans braved shifting extreme weather to pay their respects. In Panabo City and Carmen, Davao del Norte, supporters lined the streets to chant "We Love You, Rene Bobet!" and "Justice!", with many weeping openly as the athlete's mother briefly introduced the family to express gratitude for the public's solidarity. As the procession entered Tagum City, the skies opened into a heavy downpour, yet residents stood their ground alongside students from the Visayan Village Central Elementary Scho...
Read more

Meddling an equal branch: "the best disarray" (Thank God, its recess!)

-
Image
The 2026 Philippine Senate crisis demonstrates a total breakdown of a specialized bureaucracy, characterized by paralyzing structural design flaws and the emergence of parallel operational systems or into a dual command. While the Gatchalian faction secured allegedly the administrative apparatus by controlling salary and banking operations, both sides engaged in intense political coalition building that ultimately collide and shatter the institution's symbolic authority. Driven by a disputed 12-vote leadership change, it has caused severe operational paralysis, legislative gridlock, and a collapse of institutional standing. The conflict has resulted in dual-command chaos, halting the passage of critical legislation. But, oh, thank God, its recess! The emergence of parallel operational systems—where two competing factions simultaneously claim the leadership and operate separate administrative machineries—shatters the fundamental principles of organizational design. In organizational...
Read more

46 decades of corruption

-
Image
Corruption in Philippines' roads, bridges, and public works infrastructure began during the Spanish colonial era, though its modern, systemic form evolved significantly after World War II.  Spanning 46 decades or 461 years of documented infrastructure development and systemic exploitation inclusive of 15 elected and two assumptive presidents, it continues these days. That's 1565 to 2026. Rather than having a single starting date, infrastructure corruption has progressed through distinct historical eras, beginning with the encomienda and polo y servicios (forced labor) systems.  Under Spanish rule, local collectors and colonial administrators routinely siphoned off materials and tribute funds intended for public galleon roads, forts, and bridges. Following the nation's post-war independence, the introduction of democratic elections birthed structural patronage, where wealthy political clans used state-funded public works contracts as currency to reward loyal local allies ...
Read more

Lawyer N. Kaufman's speech during the ICC's confirmation charges of FPRRD (2nd of 2 parts)

-
Image
  (Transcript of the Final Submission of Defense Lawyer Nicholas Kaufman at the International Criminal Court during the Confirmation Charges Hearing of former Philippines' president Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Feb. 2026. Second of two parts). "Thank you, Madame President. Thank you, your honors. I don't propose to present a long rebuttal. The defense has made its submissions comprehensively and it stands by everything that it has said and presented.  I am however forced to respond just to a couple of the most egregious observations made by the learned prosecutor and the learned victim's representative.  I will start with Mr. Nichols, the prosecutor who tried to convince you that I admitted I had admitted that you cannot trust anything coming out of Mr. Duterte's mouth. Well, he took it completely out of context, didn't he? What I was saying and what everybody understood is that Mr. Duterte's speeches alone are totally insufficient to substantiate the charges aga...
Read more