Balay Drilon

Terra Plana surprised me with the Achilles today. They're pretty interested in what their test runners have to say about this unique running sandal. Yep, you read right; it's a SANDAL. First off, the Achilles is fully molded and seems to be made out of some soft plastic compound. It's comfortable to the foot and fairly flexible; more so than the Evo. It's not clear if it shares the same Kevlar sole of its older and more fashionable cousin, but I'd be concerned less with something puncturing the sole vs. small and sharp particles making their way under your feet since like any typical sandal, you really can't keep anything out.

Trying them on over my lunch break, I think the bit that will take some getting used to is the split-toe configuration. By design, a small pocket tucks your big toe in - barely. Then there are the removable straps which do an elegant job of anchoring foot and sandal. It still feels like a day at the beach for me though, but a couple of short runs will probably change my mind. Overall, I have to admit that the Achilles feels closer to real barefoot running than the FiveFingers KSO. No suprises there since it was reportedly inspired by the Tarahumara huaraches from "Born to Run".

The question is, can you actually run in these things on urban terrain? We'll see. I plan to use the Achilles for the HSBC 135 10k run in Bonifacio on November 6. I'll give my impressions after the race.

UPDATE: images removed for now. The Achilles prototype I used isn't final so the retail version will likely incorporate improvements based on feedback from Terra Plana's test runners.

We took a walk after a short siesta then it was off to a nice Thai place for dinner with KR. Ryan had a gig that night so he missed out. Or we missed out since we were too stuffed to follow and watch the show.

Welcome to our new "Home". Migration started yesterday and I've been able to import most of my old posts. I'm working on the posts of the others members now.

As I mentioned in my last email, all social networking features were removed in favor of our Facebook group which has more than 150 members now. I'm hoping for a little more activity this year, especially now that we're using the Posterous platform which is essentially blogging by email or mobile. Nothing could be simpler:

1. Type your entry using your preferred email app. Attach any pictures, audio, or video that you'd like to include.
2. Email it to Balay Drilon
3. Voila! Post magically appears on the site.

Send me a message on Facebook if you'd like to be a contributor. Include the email address that you'll be sending articles from.

Well it was a prepared speech, so either P-NOY missed De Castro by
mistake, or protocol dictates that he doesn't have to greet former
VPs. Corona though, was intentional I think. Noynoy the candidate was
particularly incensed by the Chief Justice controversy. He promised to
scrutinize all midnight appointments, and high on that list is the CJ.
Early in the campaign, there was already talk that Malacanang would
railroad this one, but there was always hope that Corona would
exercise some prudence.

It was a frank, damning speech. I'm sure some parties sitting in the
grandstand were offended.

With Frankahan.com, Franklin Drilon finally joins the blogosphere. Why did he decide to stake his claim on the Web?

"To the youth: This is the time to LEAD, not LEAVE. The future isn't looking bright. Our government is corrupt and our economy is teetering towards recession. I want to help you understand what's happening so you can think about your role in nation-building. Apathy is our greatest enemy and it is slowly destroying our democracy. One day soon, you will inherit the Philippines from our generation and the task of rebuilding it will be on your shoulders. NOW is the time to get involved."

Villafuerte’s resolution was “deceptive” when it vowed that the process would not:

• extend the terms of office of the President and the Vice President;
• the terms of other elective officials will not be extended;
• the terms of office of the 12 senators who were elected in 2007 for a six-year term ending in 2013 shall not be shortened and they shall be allowed to finish their terms; and
• that there shall be elections.

Of course, under the Kampi plan to install President Arroyo as prime minister after the 2010, all those four conditions will mean nothing. It is all a grand deception plan designed to install President Arroyo as prime minister even after the holding of the 2010 elections. This deceptive plan will pave the way for a Gloria Forever Constitution.

I agree with the statement of former Speaker Jose de Venecia that President Arroyo is the prime mover behind the plan to amend the 1987 Constitution and shift the form of government from presidential to parliamentary.

There have been persistent reports that during the birthday party of Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez, neophyte Congressmen were asked to sign the Villafuerte resolution in the presence of the President herself. Sometime during the last quarter of 2008, President Arroyo was also reported to have told a meeting of Senators in Malacanang that Charter Change must be implemented soon. The President was quoted to have said “kung hindi ngayon, kailan pa.”

Recall that I earlier called for vigilance against moves by the allies of the Arroyo government to carry out Charter changes through a constituent assembly minus the Senate. The move is illegal and unconstitutional and should be condemned by the public. Doing Charter Change at this time would only exacerbate present political instability and uncertainty.

Read more on Drilon news today:

Cha-Cha to install Arroyo as PM after 2010

Public urged to remain vigilant vs Cha-Cha moves

Define 'premature campaigning'

The impeachment complaint filed by former Liberal Party President Jovito Salonga against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez merely reflected the Filipino people’s frustration over the Arroyo administration’s dismal failure to equally apply the law on everyone.

The ouster move initiated by Salonga and the Liberal Party also represented the people’s feelings against the unabated graft and corruption in government caused by the inaction and indifference shown by the Office of the Ombudsman under Merceditas Gutierrez.

The move merely reflected the Filipino people’s frustration over the Arroyo administration’s dismal failure to equally apply the law on everyone. The failure of Ombudsman Gutierrez to implement the equal protection of anti-graft laws has become a public outrage. In most graft cases, the rich and the influential are not charged for their wrongdoings.

We saw the LP admitting it was behind the moves to oust Gutierrez, but it also said that the impeachment complaint filed by several of its members was only part of the party’s “conspiracy" to rid the government of corrupt officials. The party said in a statement that it was calling the ouster move by its members as a “conspiracy for the welfare of the country, for clean governance, and against corruption in government."

We also saw on March 2 that some 31 civil society leader led by Salonga lodge an impeachment complaint against Gutierrez before the House of Representatives for allegedly failing to resolve high-profile cases on her sala.

The LP said it had long been “itching" to make Gutierrez and her supposed “political masters" answerable for the series of controversies that have been hounding the government for several years. The party also said that it was already fed up of the corruption in government, and was determined to kick out anyone who are instigating supposed irregularities in government projects and protecting erring public officials, the statement said. We lament how the Philippines seems to have been losing the respect of other nations due to the string of controversies, one of which was allegedly even discovered not by a local agency but by a foreign entity—the World Bank.

This I say after learning of moves to amend the 1987 Constitution—only the economic provisions—to amend only economic provisions could backfire and will only cause devastating negative effects on the national economy instead of improving it.

Due to the apparent poor credibility of the Arroyo administration in the business community, nobody will buy the excuse that only the economic provisions will be touched once the Malacanang Cha-Cha train takes off.

It is obvious that the primary motivation of Cha-Cha is the extension of President Arroyo’s term. No amount of sugarcoating or media spin can deodorize that self-serving objective.

Did I hear there was a move of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments that approved a resolution, sponsored by House Speaker Propero Nograles, scrapping foreign-ownership limits on corporations and lands as part of the congressmen’s initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution?

For the information of everyone, House Resolution 737 seeks to erase the constitutional provision limiting foreign ownership of a corporation to 40 percent and disallows foreign acquisition of both public and private lands. In relation to this, according to Nograles, enabling foreign corporations and associations to hold, acquire and in any manner be granted the right to possess and utilize lands in the Philippines is a strategic policy that could encourage more long-term foreign investments in the country.

If Malacanang continues to push the Nograles Cha-Cha resolution in the national agenda, it could trigger devastating consequences on the national economy, as it would give the impression that President Arroyo was succeeding in railroading it despite massive protests from the Filipino people.

Business leaders predict more political and financial instability that will trigger another wave of capital flight from disappointed foreign investors.

The negative impact of Charter Change could be enough to cripple the national economy in the first quarter of 2009 given the projected ill effects of the ongoing worldwide economic slowdown on Southeast Asia.

If this Malacanang-supported Nograles House resolution will dominate the national agenda, we can kiss our economic recovery programs goodbye. We must not underestimate the devastating effect of Malacanang’s self-serving exercise on the national economy that is already suffering from the effects of the current global financial crisis.

Makati business leaders fear that the renewed efforts to amend the Constitution will not help any in alleviating the country's flagging economy. I heard that Makati Business Club (MBC) Executive Director Alberto Lim said business leaders were wary that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's allies at the House of Representatives were moving to extend her term beyond 2010.

I had argued before that amending the Constitution was not the appropriate solution to resolve the current political and financial turmoil in the country. The proposed charter change would not eradicate corruption in government, which is the very root cause of the country's present problems. What we need is not a change in the system but a change in the character of the people in government.

I have not come across an agreement where the violations of the Constitution are so brazen and reckless as what I have seen in the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the Government (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). In fact, the “Terms of Reference” and the entire MOA-AD cite numerous agreements, laws and international conventions, but omit any reference to the Philippine Constitution.

The MOA-AD contains the terms and conditions agreed upon by the GRP and the MILF on Ancestral Domain, or the Muslims’ historical claim over the Southern Philippines as their homeland, which was one of the three issues in the peace process under the 2001 Tripoli Agreement.

The most violent objection against the MOA-AD is the gross violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines. It creates a state, with all sovereign powers and institutions.

Under the MOA-AD “the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) shall be empowered to build, develop and maintain its own institutions, inclusive of, civil service, electoral, financial and banking, education, legislation, legal, economic, and police and internal security force, judicial system and correctional institutions, necessary for developing a progressive Bangsamoro society.”

The listing of institutions that the BJE can create is not exclusive. The BJE is empowered to build, develop and maintain other state institutions without limit.

The BJE shall have its own legislature whose laws will not be subject to national laws passed by Congress. The BJE shall also have its own courts whose decisions will not be reviewable by the Supreme Court. The most alarming and destructive power granted to the MILF is the power to “build, develop and maintain its own…police and internal security force,” in violation of express provisions of the Constitution.

BJE in UN, Asean

Moreover, the GRP recognized right of the BJE to enter into agreements with any friendly country and the option to establish and open trade missions in foreign countries with which it has economic cooperation agreements. The GRP is also under obligation to ensure BJE’s participation in ASEAN and the UN.

Under the MOA-AD, “it is the birthright of all Moros…to identify themselves as Bangsamoros”, a distinct people consisting of “those who are natives or original inhabitants of Mindanao … Palawan and the Sulu archipelago.”

The territory of the Bangsamoro homeland is well defined, referring to the “land mass as well as the maritime, terrestrial, fluvial and alluvial domains, and the aerial domain, the atmospheric space above it, embracing the Mindanao-Sulu-Palawan geographic region.”

The ownership of the Bangsamoro ancestral domain is vested exclusively in the Bangsamoro people, and such ancestral domain no longer forms part of the public domain, with the BJE given the power to revoke any such titles, permits, concessions and land tenure arrangements granted by the GRP.

The BJE shall have exclusive jurisdiction over internal waters extending 15 kms. from the coastline and shall exercise, with the GRP, joint jurisdiction over territorial waters consisting of our 200-mile economic zone.

Thus, the attributes of an independent and sovereign state, i.e. (a) government, (b) distinct territory, and (c) distinct people, are all present. The MOA-AD creates a Bangsomoro state within the Philippine territory. This is dangerous.

Groundwork for secession

There is a growing support for federalism as a means of empowering local governments. But the MOA-AD is not about federalism. It lays the groundwork for secession. We support the right of our Muslim brothers and sisters to self-determination, but this should not come at the expense of our country’s sovereignty and the integrity of our national territory.

Under the MOA-AD, the ARMM will be replaced by the BJE. The BJE is not one of the political units authorized to be created under the Constitution. The BJE will exercise powers much broader than an autonomous region. In fact, the BJE’s relationship with GRP is described as “associative”, a relationship appropriate only among sovereign nations.

The other dangerous aspect of the MOA-AD is the removal from the Philippine public domain of the Bangsamoro homeland, and vesting in the BJE exclusive ownership over its defined territory. As a consequence of that exclusive ownership over its Ancestral Domain, the BJE will exercise control and jurisdiction over all natural resources and potential sources of energy.

Under our Constitution, what MILF claims as ancestral land is part of the public domain where “all lands, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy and other natural resources are owned by the State.” Under the MOA, BJE would now be exclusive owner of such land.

The MOA-AD does not respect vested rights over private property, as it provides that “land tenure instruments of any kind or nature whatsoever granted by the Philippine Government shall continue to operate xx unless otherwise modified and or cancelled” by the BJE. This brazen disregard of vested rights is a flash point which can trigger conflict, not only between Christians and Muslims, but between Muslim and Lumads as well.

Not a mere scrap of paper

The wanton disregard of the Constitution in the MOA-AD is beyond dispute. But it is argued that its provisions shall come into force only “upon effecting the necessary changes in the legal framework”, which the defenders of the MOA-AD assert refers to amendments to the Constitution. To the Government, the MOA-AD is simply “a scrap of paper” and merely a listing of consensus points.

This is completely wrong and maliciously misleading. The MOA-AD had brought conflict and caused over 100 deaths. People do not kill and get killed for a mere scrap of paper.

Clearly in the eyes of the MILF, the MOA is both a legal and moral commitment on the part of the Government to implement its terms. A mere scrap of paper is not supposed to be signed in front of many international dignitaries in an elaborate ceremony, some of whom are endorsers or witnesses. The hollowness and falsity of this argument is belied by the actions on the ground. Perhaps the MOA is something else, but definitely not a scrap of paper.

Violation of separation of powers

It is also wrong to insist that the Executive Department can commit to amend the Constitution in an agreement with the MILF. Under Article XVII of the Constitution, the Executive Department has no role in the process of constitutional amendments.

Moreover, the GRP panel obligated itself that in “effecting the necessary changes to the legal framework,” the same must be done “with due regard to non-derogation of prior agreements.” This means that the President committed that any amendments to the Constitution must conform to the MOA-AD. The President cannot commit Congress, which has the power to propose amendments to the Constitution. It violated the principle of separation of powers.

We believe that a peace agreement should find a common ground to enable as many sectors to unite behind the agreement. The MOA-AD, instead of providing a common ground to unite us, caused division among our people.

I cannot believe that President Arroyo sincerely believed that the MOA-AD in its present form can achieve stability, unity and peace.

So what is her agenda?

I deplored the “internationalization” of the Mindanao peace process. The “unwarranted intervention” of certain foreign countries was making it more difficult for the national government to resolve its “internal problem” with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

I had been receiving persistent reports that the intervention of some countries, including Malaysia and the United States, was putting “undue pressure” on government negotiators to grant concessions to the MILF that clearly violate the Philippine Constitution, such as the giving away of certain territories of the republic. We certainly do not want to happen to Mindanao what happened to Kosovo.

I am alarmed by the appeal of MILF Chairman Ebrahim Murad to the Malaysian government to revive the Mindanao peace talks that was stalled when MILF forces attacked unarmed civilians in Central Mindanao around the second week of August last year. Murad also asked that the military be stopped from pursuing the MILF forces involved in the atrocities. The MILF commanders reportedly attacked the civilians because the Supreme Court stopped the signing of the GRP-MILF Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain last Aug. 5.

I hope Malacanang will find the moral courage to send a diplomatic note to Malaysia, saying in no uncertain terms that that the Philippine government will implement its laws against criminals who attack and murder unarmed civilians. I am sure that the Malaysian government will understand and will not give the impression that it condones the unlawful acts of the MILF, especially the unprovoked killing of innocent civilians.

We urge our leaders to resolve this Mindanao conflict as an internal matter. The equitable solution to the Mindanao problem can be achieved only through honest and sincere consultations with the people of Mindanao, and not with foreign countries that obviously have other selfish interests to pursue in Mindanao.

The internationalization of the Mindanao peace process is against our national interests.

Let me tell you also about the offer of British Ambassador to the Philippines Peter Beckingham, who said his office was willing to bring politicians and officials from the United Kingdom (UK) to share with the Philippine government and the MILF how the Northern Ireland peace process had moved forward.

I have said that while we appreciate the generosity of the British ambassador, we regret to inform him that the case of Northern Ireland is the wrong model for the Mindanao Peace Process.

Allow me to remind you that during the UK-Ireland peace negotiations, it was established that the Irish Kingdom was already a strong independent monarchy for centuries before it was forcibly annexed by the English Kings. Ireland was already a state with strong ties with papal states until 150 years ago. Mindanao has always been part of the Republic of the Philippines ever since it was established. We must find our own model.