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CASE 2010-0001: MA. SOCORRO CAMACHO-REYES VS. RAMON REYES (G.R. NO. 185286, 18 AUG 2010, NACHURA J.) SUBJECT/S: PSYCHOLOGICAL INCAPACITY; DECLARATION OF NULLITY OF MARRIAGE (BRIEF TITLE: REYES VS. REYES)

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April 2, 2016

CASE 2010-0001: MA. SOCORRO CAMACHO-REYES VS.  RAMON REYES (G.R. NO. 185286, 18 AUG 2010, NACHURA J.) SUBJECT/S: PSYCHOLOGICAL INCAPACITY; DECLARATION OF NULLITY OF MARRIAGE (BRIEF TITLE: REYES VS. REYES)

 

DISPOSITIVE:

 

        “WHEREFORE, the petition is GRANTED. The decision of the Court of Appeals in CA -G.R. CV No. 89761 is REVERSED. The decision of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 89, Quezon City in Civil Case No. Q-01-44854 declaring the marriage between petitioner and respondent NULL and VOID under Article 36 of the Family Code is REINSTATED. No costs.

 

SO ORDERED.”

 

SUBJECTS/DOCTRINES/DIGEST:

 

CONCLUSION ON PSYCHOLOGICAL INCAPACITY MAY BE REACHED WITHOUT INTERVIEWING THE PARTY WHO IS PSYCHOLOGICALLY INCAPACITATED.

 

CA REJECTED THE TESTIMONIES OF DOCTORS MAGNO AND VILLEGAS FOR BEING HEARSAY SINCE THEY NEVER PERSONALLY EXAMINED AND INTERVIEWED THE RESPONDENT. WAS CA CORRECT?

 

 

THE TOTALITY OF THE BEHAVIOUR OF RESPONDENT WAS PERSONALLY EXPERIENCED BY PETITIONER. SHE HAD OCCASION TO INTERACT WITH, AND EXPERIENCE, RESPONDENT’S PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR WHICH SHE COULD THEN VALIDLY RELAY TO THE CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGISTS AND THE PSYCHIATRIST. SECONDLY THE FINDINGS OF THE DOCTORS WERE NOT BASED SOLELY ON THE INTERVIEW WITH PETITIONER BUT ALSO ON THE INTERVIEW WITH OTHER INFORMANTS.

 “The lack of personal examination and interview of the respondent, or any other person diagnosed with personality disorder, does not per se invalidate the testimonies of the doctors. Neither do their findings automatically constitute hearsay that would result in their exclusion as evidence.

 

For one, marriage, by its very definition, necessarily involves only two persons. The totality of the behavior of one spouse during the cohabitation and marriage is generally and genuinely witnessed mainly by the other. In this case, the experts testified on their individual assessment of the present state of the parties marriage from the perception of one of the parties, herein petitioner. Certainly, petitioner, during their marriage, had occasion to interact with, and experience, respondents pattern of behavior which she could then validly relay to the clinical psychologists and the psychiatrist.

 

For another, the clinical psychologists and psychiatrists assessment were not based solely on the narration or personal interview of the petitioner. Other informants such as respondents own son, siblings and in-laws, and sister-in-law (sister of petitioner), testified on their own observations of respondents behaviour and interactions with them, spanning the period of time they knew him. These were also used as the basis of the doctors assessments.”

 

WHAT ARE THE GENERAL DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIAL FOR PERSONALITY DISORDERS? 

 

“The recent case of Lim v. Sta. Cruz-Lim,[1][18] citing The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM IV),[2][19] instructs us on the general diagnostic criteria for personality disorders:

 

  1. An enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culture. This pattern is manifested in two (2) or more of the following areas:

(1) cognition (i.e., ways of perceiving and interpreting self, other people, and events)

(2) affectivity (i.e., the range, intensity, liability, and appropriateness of emotional response)


(3) interpersonal functioning

        (4) impulse control

 

  1. The enduring pattern is inflexible and pervasive across a broad range of personal and social situations.
  2. The enduring pattern leads to clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning.
  3. The pattern is stable and of long duration, and its onset can be traced back at least to adolescence or early adulthood.
  4. The enduring pattern is not better accounted for as a manifestation or a consequence of another mental disorder.
  5. The enduring pattern is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (i.e., a drug of abuse, a medication) or a general medical condition (e.g., head trauma).

 

Specifically, the DSM IV outlines the diagnostic criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder:

 

  1. There is a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15 years, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:

 

(1) failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest

(2)    deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure

(3)    impulsivity or failure to plan ahead

(4)    irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults

(5)    reckless disregard for safety of self or others

(6)    consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations

(7) lack of remorse as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another

 

  1. The individual is at least 18 years.

 

  1. There is evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15 years.


 

  1. The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or a manic episode.[3][20]”

 

CAN DENIAL BY RESPONDENT THAT HE IS PSYCHOLOGICALLY INCAPACITATED CONTRAVENE DOCTOR’S FINDINGS?

 

  1. A PERSON AFFLCITED WITH A PERSONALITY DISORDER WILL NOT NECESSARILY HAVE PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE THEREOF.

 

“Within their acknowledged field of expertise, doctors can diagnose the psychological make up of a person based on a number of factors culled from various sources. A person afflicted with a personality disorder will not necessarily have personal knowledge thereof. In this case, considering that a personality disorder is manifested in a pattern of behavior, self-diagnosis by the respondent consisting only in his bare denial of the doctors separate diagnoses, does not necessarily evoke credence and cannot trump the clinical findings of experts.”

 

THE CA SAYS THAT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL INCAPACITY OF RESPONDENT IS NOT INCURABLE BECAUSE THE DOCTOR RECOMMENDED THERAPY. IS CA CORRECT?

 

NO.

 

THERAPY IS USUALLY RECOMMENDED ONLY TO MANAGE BEHAVIOUR.

 

“The CA declared that, based on Dr. Dayans findings and recommendation, the psychological incapacity of respondent is not incurable.

 

The appellate court is mistaken.

 

A recommendation for therapy does not automatically imply curability. In general, recommendations for therapy are given by clinical psychologists, or even psychiatrists, to manage behavior. In Kaplan and Saddocks textbook entitled Synopsis of Psychiatry,[4][21] treatment, ranging from psychotherapy to pharmacotherapy, for all the listed kinds of personality disorders are recommended. In short, Dr. Dayans recommendation that respondent should undergo therapy does not necessarily negate the finding that respondents psychological incapacity is incurable.”

 

IN THIS CASE WHAT WERE THE MANIFESTATIONS ON RESPONDENT’S PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR WHICH BECAME BASIS FOR THE FINDING ON HIS PSYCHOLOGICAL INCAPACITY?

 

 “In sum, we find points of convergence & consistency in all three reports and the respective testimonies of Doctors Magno, Dayan and Villegas, i.e.: (1) respondent does have problems; and (2) these problems include chronic irresponsibility; inability to recognize and work towards providing the needs of his family; several failed business attempts; substance abuse; and a trail of unpaid money obligations.”

…………………………………….

 

        In the instant case, respondents pattern of behavior manifests an inability, nay, a psychological incapacity to perform the essential marital obligations as shown by his: (1) sporadic financial support; (2) extra-marital affairs; (3) substance abuse; (4) failed business attempts; (5) unpaid money obligations; (6) inability to keep a job that is not connected with the family businesses; and (7) criminal charges of estafa.”

 

WHAT IS THE GENERAL RULE ON DIAGNOSES MADE BY CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGISTS OR PSYCHIATRISTS?

THESE FINDINGS ARE NOT AUTOMATICALLY BELIEVED BY THE COURT.

 

 

 

“It is true that a clinical psychologists or psychiatrists diagnoses that a person has personality disorder is not automatically believed by the courts in cases of declaration of nullity of marriages. Indeed, a clinical psychologists or psychiatrists finding of a personality disorder does not exclude a finding that a marriage is valid and subsisting, and not beset by one of the parties or both parties psychological incapacity.

 

On more than one occasion, we have rejected an experts opinion concerning the supposed psychological incapacity of a party.[5][24] In Lim v. Sta. Cruz-Lim,[6][25] we ruled that, even without delving into the non-exclusive list found in Republic v. Court of Appeals & Molina,[7][26] the stringent requisites provided in Santos v. Court of Appeals[8][27] must be independently met by the party alleging the nullity of the marriage grounded on Article 36 of the Family Code. We declared, thus:

 

It was folly for the trial court to accept the findings and conclusions of Dr. Villegas with nary a link drawn between the “psychodynamics of the case” and the factors characterizing the psychological incapacity. Dr. Villegas’ sparse testimony does not lead to the inevitable conclusion that the parties were psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations. Even on questioning from the trial court, Dr. Villegas’ testimony did not illuminate on the parties’ alleged personality disorders and their incapacitating effect on their marriage x x x.

 

Curiously, Dr. Villegas’ global conclusion of both parties’ personality disorders was not supported by psychological tests properly administered by clinical psychologists specifically trained in the tests’ use and interpretation. The supposed personality disorders of the parties, considering that such diagnoses were made, could have been fully established by psychometric and neurological tests which are designed to measure specific aspects of people’s intelligence, thinking, or personality.

 

x x x x

 

The expert opinion of a psychiatrist arrived at after a maximum of seven (7) hours of interview, and unsupported by separate psychological tests, cannot tie the hands of the trial court and prevent it from making its own factual finding on what happened in this case. The probative force of the testimony of an expert does not lie in a mere statement of his theory or opinion, but rather in the assistance that he can render to the courts in showing the facts that serve as a basis for his criterion and the reasons upon which the logic of his conclusion is founded.”

 

 

TO READ THE DECISION, JUST CLICK/DOWNLOAD THE FILE BELOW.

 

SC-2010-0001-AUGUST-2010-REYES

NOTE: TO RESEARCH ON A TOPIC IN YAHOO OR GOOGLE SEARCH  JUST TYPE “attybulao  and the topic”. EXAMPLE: TO RESEARCH ON FORUM SHOPPING JUST  TYPE “attybulao and forum shopping”.

 

[1][18]     G.R. No. 176464, February 4, 2010.

[2][19]     Quick Reference to the Diagnostic Criteria from DSM IV-TR, American Psychiatric Association, 2000.

[3][20]     See Kaplan and Saddock’s Synopsis of Psychiatry and Psychology Behavioral Sciences/Clinical Psychiatry (8th ed.), p. 785.

[4][21]     See Kaplan and Saddock’s Synopsis of Psychiatry and Psychology Behavioral Sciences/Clinical Psychiatry (8th ed.), 1998.

 

[5][24]     Padilla-Rumabaua v. Rumbaua, G.R. No. 166738, August 14, 2009, 596 SCRA 157; Paz v. Paz, G.R. No. 166579, February 18, 2010.

[6][25]     Supra note 18.

[7][26]     Supra.

[8][27]     Supra note 11.

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WHO IS MIRIAM DEFENSOR SANTIAGO?

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March 31, 2016

WHO IS MIRIAM DEFENSOR SANTIAGO?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

 

Senator of the Philippines
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 30, 2004
In office
June 30, 1995 – June 30, 2001
Secretary of Agrarian Reform
In office
July 20, 1989 – January 4, 1990
President Corazon Aquino
Preceded by Philip Juico
Succeeded by Florencio Abad
Personal details
Born Miriam Palma Defensor
June 15, 1945 (age 70)
Iloilo City, Philippines
Political party People’s Reform Party
Spouse(s) Narciso Santiago, Jr.
Alma mater University of the Philippines, Visayas (BA)
University of the Philippines, Diliman (BL)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (ML)
Maryhill School of Theology
Religion Roman Catholicism
Website Official website

Miriam Defensor Santiago (born June 15, 1945) is a Filipino politician, notable for having served in all three branches of the Philippine government – judicial, executive, and legislative. Santiago was named one of The 100 Most Powerful Women in the World in 1997 by The Australian magazine.[1] In 1988, she was named laureate of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service, with a citation “for bold and moral leadership in cleaning up a corrupt-ridden government agency.”[2][3][4][5] She ran in the 1992 presidential elections but was defeated in an election marred by allegations of impropriety by the victor.[6]

In 2012, she became the first Filipina and the first Asian from a developing country to be elected a judge of the International Criminal Court.[7][8] She later resigned the post, citing chronic fatigue syndrome, which turned out to be lung cancer.[9][10] In 2016, Santiago was invited to be part of the International Advisory Council of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), an intergovernmental body that promotes the rule of law.[11] She has also written books covering topics in law and the social sciences. She has served three terms in the Philippine Senate.

 

Early life

Santiago was born in Iloilo City to a judge and a dean. She is the eldest of seven children. Santiago was a child prodigy, winning the high school spelling bee as a freshman and then for the next three years. She graduated valedictorian in grade school, high school, undergraduate school, and law school in the Diliman campus (at that time separate from the Manila campus).[12]

In 1965, Santiago graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines Visayas. After graduation, she was elected to the Pi Gamma Mu and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies.[13]

Santiago proceeded to the University of the Philippines College of Law. There, she was champion in numerous oratorical contests and debates.[1] She became the first female editor of the student newspaper, The Philippine Collegian, and was twice appointed ROTC muse.[14][15]

She graduated Bachelor of Laws, cum laude, from the University of the Philippines College of Law. Santiago went on a fellowship to the United States, and earned the degrees Master of Laws and Doctor of Juridical Science degrees at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She finished both degrees in a period of only one and a half years.[16] Following school she took a position as special assistant to the justice secretary. She also taught political science at the Trinity University of Asia. She was law professor at the University of the Philippines, teaching evening classes for some ten years.[17][18]

She has studied at several universities, including Oxford and Harvard law summer schools; Cambridge; and The Hague Academy of International Law. She earned the degree Master of Religious Studies (without thesis) at the Maryhill School of Theology.[1]

In Oxford, Cambridge, she was a Research Fellow at St. Hilda’s College. She also took a summer program in law at St. Edmund’s Hall, Oxford. At Cambridge, she was a Research Fellow at the Lauterpacht Research Centre for International Law.

In 1970, she married Narciso Yap Santiago. They had two sons, but one died in college. They have five grandchildren.

Legal career

United Nations lawyer

After a stint of ten years at the justice department, Santiago served as Legal Officer of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees at Geneva, Switzerland. She was assigned to the Conferences and Treaties Section. She became skilled at treaty negotiation and drafting. She resigned her position when her father in the Philippines developed prostate cancer.[19]

Quezon City judge

Santiago was appointed judge of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City, Metro Manila by President Ferdinand Marcos – the youngest judge appointed to Metro Manila. Further, she was exempted from the practice of first serving as a judge outside Metro Manila.[5]

As RTC judge, she quickly proclaimed a “no postponement” policy. At that time, cases were tried in segments that were usually a month apart, resulting in trials that took years to finish. Lawyers were prone to seek postponement of trial. As a result, trial judges scheduled ten or fifteen cases a day, so that they could make up for cases postponed.

Santiago scheduled only five cases a day, and heard each case, and disposed of the highest number of cases in her first year in office.

She became nationally famous when she issued perhaps the first decision to rule against martial law. At that time, alleged illegal public assemblies were declared as crimes and were punishable by death. A large group of activist students from the University of the Philippines and Ateneo, as well as activists in the film industry, staged a rally in a central business district, and denounced the First Lady for her excesses. To retaliate, Marcos issued a Preventive Detention Action order which authorized the military to hold suspects indefinitely, without bail. The students faced the dire prospect of missing their final exams and, for many of them, missing graduation.

Santiago suspended hearings on all other pending cases, and conducted whole-day trials. In the end, ordered the military to allow the students to post bail. After promulgating her decision at the end of the day, Santiago drove herself to the state university, where she was teaching law.

The Philippine Jaycees, the Philippine Lions, and the YMCA Philippines all gave her awards for judicial excellence.[1]

Political career

Aquino cabinet

After martial law, in 1988, President Corazon Aquino appointed Santiago as commissioner of immigration and deportation.[1] At that time, the Commission (CID) was one of the most corrupt government agencies in Southeast Asia. Santiago declared the Philippines as “the fake passport capital of the world,” and directed raids against criminal syndicates, including the Yakuza. She filled the CID detention center with alien criminals, and ordered construction of another detention center. She extended to legal aliens protection from widespread extortion by requesting President Aquino to issue an executive order that authorized the “alien legalization program.”[20]

She received serious death threats, but proclaimed: “I eat death threats for breakfast.”[1][21] A member of the House of Representatives delivered a privilege speech and denounced her raids against pedophile communities in Central Luzon ran by alien pedophiles. Santiago responded by calling him “fungus face.”[1][22]

The Rockefeller Foundation named her a laureate of the Magsaysay Award for government service – “for bold and moral leadership in cleaning up a graft-ridden government agency.” The Magsaysay Award is the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize.[2][3][4][5]

President Corazon Aquino promoted Santiago to member of her cabinet, as secretary of the Secretary of Agrarian Reform.[23][24] Under a controversial law passed by Congress and signed by President Aquino, all agricultural landholdings were taken by the government and divided among the farmers. Each landowner was allowed to keep only five hectares, and each farmer received three hectares. Payment was in bonds of the Land Bank.

To subvert the law, big landowners applied for conversion of the classification of their land as agricultural, to classification as commercial, residential, or industrial. The process became the widespread “conversion scandal of agrarian reform.” The DAR officials themselves were the biggest culprits, because they sold conversion permits for bribes on a market rate set at certain amounts per hectare involved in the conversion.

Santiago stopped the conversion scandal, and appeased the landowners by enhancing the incentives for voluntary offers by the landowners for the sale of their landholdings, which entitled them to an additional five percent cash payment.

When asked if the hacienda belonging to the president’s family should be covered by agrarian reform, Santiago replied that the family’s hacienda should be distributed among the farmers. Shortly thereafter President Aquino accepted Santiago’s resignation.[25]

Election, 1992

Santiago organized the People’s Reform Party (PRP) and ran with a senatorial ticket during the 1992 presidential campaign.

While campaigning on April 28, 1991, Santiago was severely injured in car crash,[26] which she described as assassination attempt.[27] She was wearing a white bush jacket, which became splattered with blood that gushed from a wound in her head. On orders of President Aquino, she was airlifted from Tarlac to a Manila hospital. She underwent surgery on the jaw, and at one point a Catholic priest administered the last rites of the dying. Two months later, she was back on the campaign trail.[28]

Santiago was leading the canvassing of votes for the first five days.[6] Following a string of power outages, the tabulation concluded, and Ramos was declared president-elect. Santiago filed a protest before the Supreme Court as electoral tribunal, citing the power outages during the counting of votes as evidence of massive fraud. Her election protest was eventually dismissed on a technicality.[1][21][23][29][30]

The public outrage over the presidential results prompted Newsweek to feature her and her rival on the cover with the question: “Was the Election Fair?” In another cover story, Philippines Free Press magazine asked: “Who’s the Real President?”[1]

Senate

She was first elected senator in 1995.[31] During her three terms, she served as chair mostly of the foreign relations committee and the constitutional amendments committee. She was elected as official candidate of her People’s Reform Party, hence she also served as chair of the foreign affairs committee of the Commission on Appointments.

Select laws authored

  • Reproductive Health Act of 2012[32]
  • Sin Tax Law[33]
  • Climate Change Act of 2009[34]
  • Renewable Energy Act of 2008[35]
  • Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law[36]
  • Magna Carta of Women[37]
  • Cybercrime Act of 2012[38]
  • Archipelagic Baselines Act of 2009[39]

Election, 2016

Main article: Miriam Defensor Santiago presidential campaign, 2016

In October 2015, Santiago announced her intention to run for presidency in the 2016 Philippine presidential elections.[28][40] She later confirmed that Senator Bongbong Marcos would serve as her running mate for Vice President.[41]

Awards and honors

  • Magsaysay Award for Government Service, 1988, Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize, Magsaysay Awards Foundation[5]
  • TOYM Award for Law, 1985 (The Outstanding Young Men) Opened to Women 1984, Philippine Jaycees
  • TOWNS Award for Law, 1986 (The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service), Philippine Lions
  • Philippine Judges’ Hall of Fame, 2015, Philippine Judges Association[42]
  • Most Outstanding Alumna in Law, University of the Philippines, 1988[13]
  • Gold Vision Triangle Award for government service, 1988, YMCA Philippines
  • Republic Anniversary Award for law enforcement, 1988, Civic Assembly of Women of the Philippines
  • Golden Jubilee Achievement Award for public service, 1990, Girl Scouts of the Philippines
  • Celebrity Mother Award, 1991, Gintong Ina Awards Foundation
  • Spain – Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit (November 30, 2007) [43]

Writings

Santiago has written at least 30 books, many of which are about law and social sciences.[1] Among her works is the Code Annotated Series Project 2000, a series of books about laws passed by the Philippine Congress and Supreme Court decisions. The Code Annotated Series is the main part of Santiago’s Legal Outreach Program.[44] During her initial battle with cancer, she continued to work on the 2014 edition of all her law books.[45] These were published as the 2015 edition of her Code Annotated Series, by Rex Bookstore.[46]

The doctoral dissertation Santiago wrote for the University of Michigan was published as a book named Political Offences in International Law.[47] Santiago has also written two autobiographies, Inventing Myself[48] and Cutting Edge: The Politics of Reform in the Philippines.[49]

Santiago also published a joke book in 2014 entitled Stupid is Forever, a collection of jokes, comebacks, one-liners, and pick-up lines she used in speeches.[50] A sequel entitled Stupid is Forevermore was published a year later. Both books were published by ABS-CBN Publishing.[51] The first book was named the best-selling book of 2014, selling about 110,000 copies in one month.[52]

References

  1. “Sen. Miriam’s ‘stupid’ book now a bestseller”. GMA News. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2016.

 

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WHO IS BONGBONG MARCOS?

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March 30, 2016

WHO IS BONGBONG MARCOS?

 

Bongbong Marcos

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

 

Senator of the Philippines
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 30, 2010
Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Ilocos Norte‘s Second District
In office
June 30, 2007 – June 30, 2010
Preceded by Imee Marcos
Succeeded by Imelda Marcos
In office
June 30, 1992 – June 30, 1995
Preceded by Mariano R. Nalupta, Jr.
Succeeded by Simeon M. Valdez
Governor of Ilocos Norte
In office
June 30, 1998 – June 30, 2007
Preceded by Rodolfo C. Fariñas
Succeeded by Michael Marcos Keon
In office
1983–1986
Preceded by Elizabeth M. Keon
Succeeded by Rodolfo C. Fariñas
Vice Governor of Ilocos Norte
In office
1980–1983
Personal details
Born Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr.[1]
September 13, 1957 (age 58)
Manila, Philippines
Political party Nacionalista (2009-present)
Other political
affiliations		 KBL (1980–2009)
Spouse(s) Louise Araneta Marcos
Children Ferdinand Alexander Marcos III
Joseph Simon Marcos
William Vincent Marcos[2]
Religion Roman Catholicism
Website bongbongmarcos.com

Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. (born September 13, 1957), widely known as Bongbong Marcos, is a Filipino politician and senator in the 16th Congress of the Philippines. He is the second child and only son of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos and former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos.

Marcos served as Governor of Ilocos Norte (1983–1986, 1998–2007) and as Representative of the Second District of Ilocos Norte (1992–1995, 2007–2010) under Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, the political party founded by his father. He was also Deputy Minority Leader during his second term in the House of Representatives.[3] In 2010, Marcos was elected as Senator of the Philippines under the Nacionalista Party. Senator Marcos chairs several senate committees, including the Committee on Local Government and the Committee on Public Works, and is a member of several other committees.[4]

On October 5, 2015, Marcos announced his candidacy for Vice President of the Philippines in the 2016 election.[5]

 

 

Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. was born on September 13, 1957 to then Representative Ferdinand E. Marcos and Imelda Remedios Visitacion Romualdez. He studied in Institucion Teresiana and La Salle Greenhills in Manila, where he obtained his kindergarten and elementary education, respectively.

Nicknamed ‘Bongbong’, Marcos starred in his father’s true-to-life story film, Iginuhit ng Tadhana, as himself, along with Vilma Santos as his sister Imee Marcos, Luis Gonzales as his father and Gloria Romero as his mother.[6] The film was released before the 1965 Philippine Elections in which his father, who was senator at that time, was elected President of the Philippines.

In 1970, Marcos was sent to England where he lived and studied at Worth School an all-boys Benedictine institution. Thereafter, he pursued his undergraduate degree. His résumé claims he graduated with a Special Diploma in Social Studies from Oxford University in England.[7] although no record of his graduation has been found at the university.

Marcos enrolled in the Masters in Business Administration program at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, U.S. However, he was unable to complete the course because of his election as Vice Governor of Ilocos Norte in 1980.[8]

Political career

Beginnings

The political career of Bongbong Marcos started with his election as Vice Governor of Ilocos Norte (1980–1983) at the young age of 23. In 1983, he led a group of young Filipino leaders on a 10-day diplomatic mission to China to mark the 10th anniversary of Philippine-Chinese relations.[9] Marcos succeeded as Governor of Ilocos Norte (1983–1986) which he served until the People Power Revolution ousted his family from power. He then lived in political exile with his family in Hawaii, US.[10]

Congress, first term

Bongbong Marcos was among the first of his family to return to the Philippines in 1991. A year later, he was elected as representative of the second district of Ilocos Norte (1992–1995).[11] During his term, Marcos was the author of 29 House bills and co-author of 90 more, which includes those that paved the way for the creation of the Department of Energy and the National Youth Commission.[12] He was also instrumental in advancing the cause of cooperatives by devoting most of his Countryside Development Fund (CDF) to organizing the cooperatives of teachers and farmers in his home province.[13][14] In 1995, Marcos ran for a seat in the Philippine Senate but lost.[15]

Ilocos Norte governor

Marcos was again elected as Governor of Ilocos Norte in 1998, running against his father’s closest friend and ally, Roque Ablan Jr. He will serve for three consecutive terms ending in 2007.[16] During his tenure, Governor Marcos transformed Ilocos Norte into a first-class province of international acclaim, by showcasing its natural and cultural destinations. He also pioneered the wind power technology that serves as an alternative source of energy in Ilocos Norte and other parts of Luzon.[17][18][19][20]

Congress, second term

In 2007, Marcos ran unopposed for the congressional seat previously held by his older sister Imee.[21] He is then appointed as Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. During this term, one of the important pieces of legislation he authored was the Philippine Archipelagic Baselines Law, or Republic Act No. 9522.[22][23] He also promoted the Republic Act No. 9502 (Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act) which was enacted on 2009.[24]

Senate

Main article: Miriam Defensor-Santiago presidential campaign, 2016

Further information: Philippine Senate election, 2010

Further information: Philippine presidential election, 2016

 

 

 

 

Marcos was elected as a Senator in the 2010 Elections, placing seventh overall. As of February 2016, he is the chairman of the Senate committees on local government and public works. He also chairs the oversight committee on the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Organic Act, the congressional oversight panel on the Special Purpose Vehicle Act, and a select oversight committee on barangay affairs.[25]

In the 15th Congress (2010–2013), Marcos was the author of 34 Senate bills and was co-author of 17 more, 7 of which became Republic Acts. Among them are the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act, the Cybercrime Prevention Act, the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, and the National Health Insurance Act.[26]

In the 16th Congress (2013–2016), Marcos has authored 52 bills, with one enacted into law. His Senate Bill 1186, which sought the postponement of the 2013 Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, later became Republic Act 10632 on October 3, 2013.[27][28]

Marcos has also co-authored 4 Senate bills. One of them, Senate Bill 712, was approved as Republic Act 10645 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.[29]

On November 20, 2009, the KBL forged an alliance with the Nacionalista Party (NP) between Marcos and NP chairman Senator Manny Villar at the Laurel House in Mandaluyong City. Marcos became a guest senatorial candidate of the NP through this alliance.[30] Marcos was later removed as a member by the KBL National Executive Committee on November 23, 2012.[31] As such, the NP broke its alliance with the KBL due to internal conflicts within the party, however Bongbong remained part of the NP senatorial line-up.[30] He was proclaimed as one of the winning senatorial candidates of the 2010 senate elections. He took office on June 30, 2010.

Vice-presidential bid, 2016

On October 5, 2015, Marcos announced via his website his candidacy for Vice President of the Philippines in the 2016 presidential election stating “I have decided to run for Vice President in the May 2016 elections.”[5][32] Marcos is running as an independent candidate.[33] Prior to his announcement, Marcos had declined an invitation by presidential candidate, Vice President Jejomar Binay, to become his running mate.[34] On October 15, presidential candidate Miriam Defensor Santiago confirmed that Marcos would serve as her running mate.[35]

Criticisms

Criticisms have been leveled at Marcos for being unapologetic for human rights violations[36] and ill-gotten wealth[37] during his father‘s administration.[38][39][40][41]

On February 2016, Marcos answered his critics by stating:[42][43][44]

“Ipaubaya natin ang kasaysayan sa mga propesor, sa mga nag-aaral tungkol sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas. Kami hindi namin trabaho yun. Ang trabaho namin ay tingnan kung ano ba ang pangangailangan ng taong bayan ngayon.” (Let us leave history to the professors, to those who study the history of the Philippines. It is not our job. Our job is to look at what the people need at present.)

In response, over 500 faculty, staff and history professors from Ateneo de Manila University released the following statement:[45][46][47][48][49]

“In response to Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos, Jr.’s call that teachers and students of history should make a judgment about the Marcos administration, we, the undersigned members of the Ateneo de Manila community, vehemently oppose and condemn the ongoing willful distortion of our history. We deplore the shameless refusal to acknowledge the crimes of the Martial Law regime. We reject the revision of history, disturbing vision of the future, and shallow call for “unity” being presented by Marcos Jr. and like-minded candidates in the 2016 elections.

The Marcos regime’s economics of debt-driven growth was disastrous for the Philippines. The regime was not interested in inclusive development, long-term state-building, nor genuine social transformation of the country, despite its “New Society” rhetoric. Instead, Marcos was mainly concerned with perpetuating his personal hold on power by favoring family members, friends, and other cronies. Thus, Marcos simply created new elites or “oligarchs” rather than abolish them — supposedly one of his main justifications for declaring martial law. Those who dared challenge the regime’s monopoly on power, whether politicians, business people, political activists, organized labor, peasants or urban poor, Church workers, students — young or old, rich or poor — were intimidated, imprisoned, kidnapped, tortured or summarily executed.

We refuse to forget the atrocities committed by the Marcos regime, and we renew our demand that the perpetrators of these crimes be brought to justice. We also reiterate our position that the government should relentlessly pursue and reclaim all the ill-gotten wealth accumulated by the Marcos family and its cronies. Moreover, victims and their families should be given justice and compensation in full. Any call for unity, most especially from the heirs of the Marcos regime which bitterly divided the country, will be empty and meaningless unless truth and justice are upheld.”

To this, Marcos replied: “…people have their own opinion; they have the right to their opinion. We’ll agree to disagree, I guess.”[50]

On March 7, 2016, more than 1,400 Catholic Schools through the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) joined the call of the Ateneo faculty through a statement titled “CEAP Supports Call Against Marcosian Snares and Imeldific Lies.” In it, they stated:[51][52]

“The Trustees of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines, representing the 1,425 CEAP member-schools, colleges, and universities, support the faculty of the Ateneo de Manila University in their call against the attempt of Ferdinand Marcos Jr to canonize the harrowing horrors of martial rule,”

“With the same fervor, we cry our hearts out, ‘Never Again!’”

Personal life

He is married to Louise Cacho Araneta, with 3 sons: Ferdinand Alexander III (born 1994), Joseph Simon (born 1995) and William Vincent (born 1997).

References

  1. “1,400 Catholic schools slam ‘Marcos snares, Imeldific lies'”. ABS-CBN News. March 8, 2016.
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