High School Boys Kissing and Girls in Bikini with Drinks and Cigarettes barred from Graduation - Philippines

Facebook prank postings by High school students in the Philippines end up barring them from graduation rites. 2 incidents of high school graduating students where 5 boys posting prank kissing in the public and girls in a bikini with drinks and cigarettes fight to march the graduation rite.

The public official parents of the girls came dressed in formal attire and barong Tagalog while their daughters wore their school uniforms.

But the 3 p.m. graduation rites of St. Theresa's College high school went on without them, leaving a sad but calm group of families at the front gate of the campus on General Maxilom Avenue, Cebu City.

Security guards refused to open the gate, seeing they had no admission passes or invitations issued by the school administration.

"Inhuman, animal and cruel," exclaimed one of the mothers. A few other parents muttered complaints. Two of the girls cried.

After a few minutes of waiting, with verbal pleas to the guards to heed a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the Regional Trial Court directing the school to let two of the students march with their classmates for graduation, the group quietly walked away.

"The court was disrespected," said Cornelio Mercado, counsel of four of five girls being punished by STC for photos posted in a Facebook account showing the students in bikinis and engaging in what the school called "lewd" and "immoral" behavior.

The school's security guards were caught on camera blocking the student – given the pseudonym "Audrey" because she is a minor – and her parents from entry at the school's gates despite them having secured a TRO from Judge Wilfredo Navarro of the Cebu City Regional Trial Court (RTC)

Enrique Lacerna, the lawyer for one of the students, said he was informed by his client they were barred from entering the venue of the graduation rites.

 "Sinabi ng kliyente ko, they were barred (from) entering the premises lalo na to join the commencement exercises (My client said they were barred from entering the premises, much less join the graduation rites)," he said in an interview on dzBB radio Friday afternoon.

 The school earlier banned the students from joining the graduation rites, supposedly over the posting of inappropriate photos on Facebook.

 Lacerna hinted he is considering asking the court to cite the school in contempt for defying the order.

 On Thursday (March 29, 2012), Judge Wilfredo Navarro issued a temporary restraining order to stop the school from enforcing its sanction, effectively allowing the two to attend their graduation rites.

But Lacerna cited information reaching him that the school filed a motion for reconsideration Friday morning.

 He claimed he was not furnished a copy of the supposed motion.

"Walang schedule, ang alam ko ang judge sa Lapu-Lapu (There was no hearing scheduled for that motion for reconsideration. And as far as I know, the judge was supposed to be in Lapu-Lapu City today)," he said.

For now, he said there is nothing to be done to allow the girls to attend their graduation rites.

But he voiced disappointment with the school, which he said claimed last Thursday it will respect the decision of the court.

Justice system in the Philippines is still struggling for flaws in the implementation of laws as usual court orders are influenced by impartiality in favor to the more influenced families and preyed the poor.

Institutions in the Philippines defying court orders if its shows deficiency hinting the country's constitution needs transitions and fixing flaws.

The defiance of the court order shows also that the leadership of the sitting justice remains questionable to the majority Filipinos.

St. Theresa's College is a private Catholic school authorized to instill discipline among students under Department of Education (DepEd) Order No. 88 series of 2010—also known as the Revised Manual of Regulations for Private Schools in Basic Education.

But Section 155 of the same DepEd order guarantees every student the right to be formally apprised of any complaint against her, to be heard by herself and her counsel, to present evidence for her defense, and to appeal the decision on her case to proper authorities.

Although Section 131 of the Revised Manual gives the administration of each private school the responsibility to maintain good discipline among students, such disciplinary authority is limited to students' behavior inside the school campus or outside school premises but only as regards authorized school activities that the students are engaged in.

On the other hand a separate case for the 6 graduating High School boys in the Infant Jesus Academy Manila posting prank in facebook also barred from the graduation rites.

About 600 kilometers from a Catholic learning institution in Cebu City where five graduating girls are embroiled in a "bikini photo" controversy, six senior high school boys from the Infant Jesus Academy in Marikina City were not allowed to march on stage, too, and get their diplomas.

This after the teenage boys, still in school uniform, simulated a kiss in public on Monday and posted photos of their naughty prank on social networking site Facebook.

On Thursday, the boys accompanied by their parents went to Radyo Inquirer to seek the help of the AM station's "Isumbong Mo Kay Tulfo" program.

They said that as a punitive action, the school will not let them join Friday's commencement exercises. And even as they will be officially recognized as graduates, they cannot take their diplomas yet, one of the parents told INQUIRER.net.

The parent also quoted Infant Jesus Academy chancellor Peter Mallonga as saying the school diploma is "sacred."

"For them, the school diploma is sacred. They will give it to the students as the punishment will not be for life. But it will take two years, three years, four years, even eight years," she claimed.

"The officials said they (boys) are not deserving as of the moment to receive their diplomas," she quoted school officials as saying.

The boys, aged between 16 and 17, will be given certification by the school, however, to allow them to enroll in universities, even without their diplomas.

School officials said the students have violated a guideline of the institution, banning "any conduct inside or outside the campus which brings the student, his/her family and the school in disrepute."

The photos, for the officials, were "damaging" to the reputation of the Catholic institution.

But one of the students said it was only a camera trick and done for fun's sake.

"We tried to explain that those were just camera tricks, but they did not listen to us," one of the students said.

In Cebu City, two graduating girls had broken a school rule at Saint Theresa's College, which bans posting Internet pictures that show "ample body exposure", and barred the student from their graduation ceremony.

The girl's family on Tuesday filed a civil suit at a Cebu Regional Trial Court, which on Friday reprimanded the school for the harsh punishment and ordered the Catholic institution to let the girls take their diplomas on stage.

The Philippines is about 80-percent Catholic and the church is hugely influential, regularly campaigning against divorce and birth control.

Continue reading

Philippines will start the port and Airstrip development in Spratlys

The Philippines has finally determined its destiny to develop its territory to make it more accessible and open to all Filipinos who want to visit and see or tour to the controversial disputed Spratlys archipelago.

The Philippines must be thankful of China' Challenges to the country otherwise the country would be remain behind from all neighboring countries in Asia.

The act of aggressive invasion of China towards Philippines territory wakes up the Filipinos that the time has come to defend and time has come to have a good posture that the Philippines is an independent country and capable to defend its territory.

Finally, the Philippines have decided to develop the Kalayaan Municipality which worried china as they have already invested in their invasion to the undeveloped Philippines territory in Palawan province.

Last year 2011, china tried to delete the old history of the Spratlys archipelago by buying all antique maps around the world that could have a different name of the Spratlys and replaced it with a name Nansha to support the china's claim base on their self coined history for Spratlys.

Any map that would be different from what china proclaimed as the old spratlys were burned but still the UNCLOS is the strongest strength of the scared neighbor to stand and face the china's challenges.

China has expressed concern over the Philippines' plan to build a beaching ramp in the Kalayaan island group in the West Philippine Sea.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China warned on Thursday against any move by claimants that may complicate the dispute.

"China claimed that it has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands or the Spratly islands and their adjacent waters. China opposes any country's illegal activities that infringe upon China's sovereignty over the Nansha Islands," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei in a press conference in Beijing.

The china's claim for indisputable sovereignty in the spratlys is the same as claiming having indisputable sovereignty over the Philippines as the Spratlys is in the Philippine Territory.

Beijing for the national pride of china strengthen is stance in claiming the islands and waters of the Philippines territory after they submitted to the United Nations the 9 dotted lines claiming most part of the Spratlys including the Philippines territory in 2009.

Beijing China has no way to back out as it could be a big shame to the world if they will back out its claim of the Philippines territory. Even though their claim is not according to the international law of seas (UNCLOS) and considered as illegal expansion by the international communities but still Beijing insist as they are now the world super power to admit defeat against small country like the Philippines.

The Philippines municipal government of Kalayaan, in coordination with the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), will construct within the year a beaching ramp on Pag-asa, the largest of the Kalayaan group, which has been occupied by Filipino troops for decades. Apart from the troops, there are about 70 Filipino families living in Kalayaan, which is a municipality of Palawan.

Hong said Beijing is opposed to the Philippines' plan to build a simple wharf on Pag-asa, which China calls Zhongye and considers part of the Nansha Islands or the Spratly islands.

"Relevant countries should abide by the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) and avoid taking any move that may complicate the dispute so as to jointly maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea," he said.

Though Beijing is calling the ASEAN nations to abide the Declaration of Conduct (DOC) China itself keep violation it by harassing Filipino Fishermen in the Philippines waters and sending their warship in the area.

Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon of the municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan, which has jurisdiction over Pag-asa and other islets in the Spratlys, said the PPA would construct a beach ramp with the help of the Philippine Navy.

Bito-onon, who was visiting Manila last 3^rd week of March 2012 for a series of coordinating conferences with concerned government agencies for the development of the island town, said the construction of the beaching ramp has been long delayed.

He said the island municipality needs the beaching ramp for easier delivery of supplies for local residents.

Once the ramp becomes operational, Bito-onon said this would further enhance the development of the area as roll-off/roll-on (RORO) vessels could be used to deliver and unload their cargo to the island municipality.

In the absence of a beaching ramp in Pag-asa, cargo delivered by boat from mainland Palawan are hauled ashore by smaller boats.

He said construction of the beaching ramp and the repair of the 1.3-kilometer airstrip are part of ongoing efforts to develop existing facilities in the Municipality of Kalayaan, Province of Palawan.

Classified as a 6th class municipality of Palawan, Kalayaan has a regulated population of 67 families, mostly fishermen, aside from the soldiers who are deployed in the area.

At present, the island has a water-filtering plant, power generators, weather station and a private telecommunication tower of Smart Telecommunications.

Aside from the Filipino military contingent, other claimant countries except Brunei has deployed forward troops in their occupied islets and atolls in the archipelago to bolster their respective territorial claims in the region.

Continue reading

Philippines Air bases open for US Forces - P3C Orion planes deploy in Spratlys

In return for more Military warfare's to protect the Philippines territory, the country  is offering the United States greater access to its airfields and may open new areas for soldiers to use, as the Pacific country seeks stronger military ties with its closest ally, moves likely to further raise tensions with China.

In exchange for opening its bases, the Philippines will ask Washington for more military equipment and training, including a another Hamilton-class warship and possibly a squadron of old F-16 jet fighters, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said.

"As part of building up our minimum credible defense posture, we would like the Americans to come more often," del Rosario said in an interview at his office near Manila Bay.

Manila favors more frequent joint military drills, he said. One such exercise, which will be staged on western island Palawan for the first time, is scheduled for April 16.

"Let's have these joint training exercises more frequently and on a bigger scale. As many times as we can, in different places if we can, that's the objective of the exercise," del Rosario said, the first official confirmation of talks between the countries on increasing the U.S. military presence in the Philippines.

Disputes in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) are Southeast Asia's biggest security concern after a series of naval clashes over the vast region believed to be rich in energy reserves.

Chinese navy ships threatened to ram a Philippine research vessel last March 2011, prompting Manila to scramble planes and ships to the area. After that, Philippine President Benigno Aquino started building closer ties with Washington, which has signaled a military "pivot" back to Asia.

Del Rosario said the possible purchase of F-16s and the request for a third cutter for the coast guard would be among issues up for discussion at a meeting between the two sides on April 30 in Washington.

The U.S. is also looking into gaining access, under a "joint use" arrangement, to around half a dozen civilian airfields in the Philippines, where U.S. transports, fighters and spy planes can land for repairs, refueling and temporary deployment.

The talks, between among foreign and defense leaders, will precede a meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Philippine President Benigno Aquino later this year.

USA-Philippines partnership in intelligence operation over the Disputed Seas

In the last 10 years, the Philippines has received about 22 billion pesos ($512.22 million) in U.S. military aid, Del Rosario said.

Washington is Manila's closest and only strategic security partner, since the two countries signed a mutual defense treaty six years after the Philippines won its independence from the United States.

Del Rosario said he welcomed closer intelligence cooperation in the West Philippines Sea, after the U.S. last year proposed deploying P3C Orion reconnaissance planes to patrol disputed areas of the Spartlys.

"I think any method of cooperation that will provide us additional intelligence in terms of maritime domain awareness is good for us. The more information, the better," he said.

Australia announced last March 29, 2012 that  it could allow U.S. spy flights to operate from a remote Indian Ocean island, the Cocos Island which is located just adjacent of the Southern Philippines.

Manila hopes China will not feel threatened by its increased defense cooperation with Washington.

"We expressed our satisfaction when China was in the process of building up its military, increasing its military budget," Del Rosario said.

"We expect that China, in the same way, would be happy to be able to see the Philippines trying to, in some measure, build up its own capabilities to be able to protect its own sovereignty."

The United States deploys about 600 commandos in the southern Philippine. Del Rosario said it was possible there would be an increase in the number of U.S. troops, aircraft and ships visiting the Philippines, but the two sides were not discussing setting up permanent U.S. bases in the country.

Continue reading