Law in the Bland Manner

LSG Statement on the Dec. 15 incident and USC Statement

2007-01-16T15:34:00.000+08:00

STATEMENT ON THE DECEMBER 15, 2006 INCIDENT AT MALCOLM HALL

Last December 15, 2005, a group of UP students with strong anti-tuition fee increase sentiments, barged through the doors of Malcolm Hall, in search of members of the University of the Philippines Board of Regents. The group was headed by the Student Regent, and the University Student Council. Such students verbally assaulted members of the UP Law Student Government and the UP Law community who were at that time peacefully preparing for “Malcolm Madness”, the College’s Christmas program. In the attempt to find the regents, these students harassed practically everyone who was foreign to them including the UP Law Center staff, the UP Law Personnel and fellow UP students. They were hurling accusations such as, “Tinatago n’yo sila!” “Niloko n’yo kami!” “Bakit n’yo kami pinagtatagksilan?!” at the members UP Law community who were in sight. During the height of turmoil, a student of the College was pushed to the door of the Malcolm Theater in her attempt to ward off the rallyists from entering the Theater, wherein there were students preparing for the College program; a handful of other students were likewise emotionally traumatized. It was only after a five-minute, initially adversarial dialogue between the Student Regent and the Law Student Government President that the angry crowd was asked by their leaders to turn around and leave. Unfortunately, however, the injury had already been inflicted. Aside from emotional and physical injuries, the mob ultimately left the college with property damaged, specifically the door of Malcolm Hall and the Malcolm driveway was splashed with red paint. Furthermore, the “Malcolm Madness” was cancelled for the first time since its inception, causing losses for equipment rentals and decoration costs on the part of the UP Law students and the UP Law Student Government.

It is understandable that these students may have had strong sentiments against the Tuition Fee Increase issue. After all, they are entitled to express their vehement objections to the Board of Regents in accordance with their constitutional right to free speech and expression. However such forms of expression are never justifications to trample on others’ rights to safety of their persons and property.

Thus, it is with a heavy heart that we, the Law Student Government, condemn this chaotic incident initiated by our fellow UP students. We believe that their acts have crossed the borderline of freedom of expression as it tramples on propriety, ethics and any notion of reason. We have no choice but to respond accordingly – as of all institutions, the UP College of Law and the UP Law student Government will not tolerate exploits of such kind. In verbally and physically hurting other people and destroying property, these acts are no less than criminal.

We hold the Student Regent responsible for inciting this mob and leading it into our college with no sense of direction or restraint according to the purpose by which it was gathered. We implead him primarily for being the proximate cause of the incident, without regard for those who do not share his agenda.

We hold the members of the University Student Council responsible, most especially the USC Chair, according to the principle of command responsibility. The Chair was not present during the incident; the members of the USC who were in attendance did nothing to pacify the crowd during the height of chaos. We deem that they should have reasonably anticipated such consequences when a group of extremely emotionally charged individuals rally: chaos will definitely result from the mob rule - despite lack of premeditated ill intentions to inflict harm on others.

As veterans of mass action protests, the Student Regent and the University Student Council should have foreseen harmful results and consequently formulated and implemented proactive safeguards to avoid or minimize them. The damages caused by these acts of omission were not rectified by belated measures to make the crowd turn back. Such conduct of the USC betrays the very office that they occupy. Beyond advocacies, the primary accountability of the USC belongs to the UP populace, whose safety, welfare and well-being they ought to have upheld - whichever side of the fence the constituent-students sit in an issue.

We, too, in the UP Law Student Government, are scholars of the people. Like every UP Student, we are being educated to become productive members of society who are reflective of the ideals of the nation. We believe that the UP student has brilliant ideas and opinions, which have to be voiced out in a reasonable manner. Thus do we champion the spirit of activism, one of the forces for which our University is distinctly renowned. It is in this spirit that we, ourselves, participate in various rallies, fora and social action in the midst of various issues of public interest. Yet, we condemn riotous and anarchical modes of activism. No matter how noble the purpose or ends of a rally, mutinous styles of mass action will NEVER be justified, especially when they infringe on others’ safety of their persons and property. Though we, ourselves, are activists in our own right, we will never allow activism to cast a dark shadow on the conduct and character of the UP students.

We, in the UP College of Law, denounce the December 15, 2005 incident in Malcolm Hall. We deem that it is only just and equitable that those at its helm be held responsible for its outcome. We condemn all types and kinds of abuses of the spirit of activism, which has been enshrined in the history of our university. Relentlessly, we will cling to our bias for order, propriety and the rule of law.

Christina Faye M. Condez
President

Lorybeth R. Baldrias
Vice-President

Faustina Victoria E. Ochoa
Secretary

Hardy B. Aquende
Treasurer

Elgene Lawrence C. Feliciano
Public Relations Officer

Leandro Angelo Y. Aguirre
College Representative

USC statement in response to the LSG

Last December 15, 2006, the Board of Regents railroaded the passage
of the 300% increase in tuition and other fees. This illegitimate
BOR, without the two most important regents, the Student and Faculty
regents, approved the ToFI inside Malcolm Hall. Led by Pres. Roman,
the UP administration changed the venue in the last minute citing
reports that students and faculty have barricaded Quezon Hall and
prevented them from conducting their meeting. The students and
faculty led by the Student Regent and the USC marched towards
Malcolm Hall to assert that the BOR holds its meeting in the
presence of the students. Unfortunately the students were prohibited
from entering the building and even the student regent was not
allowed to enter Malcolm Hall.

When the crowd got unconfirmed reports that the illegitimate BOR
railroaded the passage of the ToFI, the students decided to
militantly assert entry inside Malcolm Hall. As the students
searched for the venue of the BOR meeting, the crowd thought that
the meeting was being conducted inside the Malcolm Theater.

Let it be clear that the USC apologizes to the student who was
allegedly "pushed" by the students; it is not the intention of the
crowd to hurt anybody not even the traitors in the BOR and the
oppressive UP admin. Definitely, no plans or commands to hurt
anybody or destroy any property were implemented. From the start,
organizers and participants of the mass action knew that any move
that would trigger chaos would not be beneficial to the students. On
the contrary, the UP admin could just use these acts to label some
students as terrorists and divide the students. Such divisiveness
would be quite advantageous to those who want the tuition increase
proposal passed.

Some statements made by the LSG need to be answered and clarified.

It is not true that the USC chair was not present inside Malcolm
Hall. The USC chair was there, and in fact he was the one who
commanded the crowd to go outside when it was clear that the BOR had
already escaped. When USC chair Paolo Alfonso saw that the Student
Regent and a student of the College of Law were already clearing
things up, he saw no need to participate in their discussion and he
deemed it more necessary to pacify the students and then lead them
outside.

It is also untrue that members of the USC present did nothing to
pacify the emotions of the students. As a matter of fact, College of
Education representative Vanessa Faye Bolibol was calming the
students using the portable public address system while standing in
one of the elevated structures outside Malcolm Theatre.

What is disturbing is the LSG's notion of holding protest actions or
rallies. In its statement, it automatically surmised that all
rallies with high emotions will ultimately lead to mob rule. Let it
be clear that despite the very high emotions of the students who
attended the protest action that day, there were no instances that
the students could be described as an angry mob.

All in all, we are just the same victims of the UP admin's deceitful
and treacherous maneuvers just to have its way of advancing UP
commercialization. First, the UP Admin attempted to prevent mass
actions last December 15, it created its own terror scare and
cancelled the yearly Lantern Parade. It then tried to pin the blame
on the faculty and students holding the protest action in Quezon
Hall. It is of no surprise then that the LSG statement, seemingly
towing the line of the UP admin would land right in the UP Diliman
Webpage.

Just recently, the UP admin through Vice President Marvic Leonen
tries to spread half-truths just to discredit the students who
oppose the tuition increase. In a text message, the UP admin even
tries to revive old issues like the egg pelting of Hello Garci
General Esperon just to project militant students as rowdy and
dangerous. The UP admin, in order to hide its devious schemes, even
pits students against fellow students.

The LSG as fellow activists together with the rest of the UP
Community should stand together to denounce and condemn the
railroading of the tuition and other fee increases. We should hold
the UP admin responsible for disregarding the right of the Student
and Faculty Regents to participate in the BOR meeting. This sham BOR
trampled all notions of order, propriety and rule of law in its
effort to eliminate all opposition to its grand design to
commercialize UP. Furthermore, the LSG together with the rest of the
UP Community should fight the intensifying efforts of the UP admin
to further divide the UP students.

Thus, we enjoin the LSG and the entire UP Community to be one with
us in the quest to overturn this illegitimate, sham, and anti-
student action of Dr.Roman and her Board of Regents. Let it not be
said that, at this very crucial point in history, the UP Admin
succeeded in dividing us when our unity is needed the most.

(Tang inang USC yan, trying to shift the blame to the admin. Sinisiraan pa si Leonen. Putang ina, eh akala ko ba, like, may apat na USC councillors na taga law? (John Fajardo, Chessa Baltazar, Robert Ty and Roy Cervantes). Anong ginawa nila tungkol diyan? They supported the writing of this USC statement? What about our law representative, Dino Aguirre? Wala ba siyang sinabi diyan sa USC? At di ba taga law din ang USC Vice-Chair, si Jill Santos?

SHAME ON ALL OF YOU.

Apologies, current updates

2007-01-12T05:37:00.000+08:00

Sorry for not posting these past few months. I don't know how, but my password was changed! I was only able to figure out how to fix it recently.

1. LSG Elections to be held 2nd week of February, 2007. Will post candidates soon. Pres, VP, Treasurer uncontested. 2 candidates for Secretar, 4 candidates for PRO.
2. Impeachment complaint against current set of LSG officers, something about supporting the current law representative Leandro Aguirre despite the fact that he's barred by the LSG Constitution from concurrently being the PLJ EIC and a member of the LSG Executive Board.
3. Malcolm madness moved from December 15 to January 13 due to rallyists physically "attacking" Malcolm Hall last Dec. 15. The UP Board of Regents held their meeting on the Tuition Fee Increase (TOFI) "secretly" at Malcolm Hall, classes were suspended at 3pm that day. The LSG has circulated a statement against the incident (www.upd.edu.ph)
4. Former Dean Pangalangan and his wife, Prof. Elizabeth Aguiling-Pangalangan, left yesterday for the United States of America. The former dean will be teaching in Harvard this February.
5. Prof. Harry Roque has been receiving death threats on his cellphone. Most probably it's related to politics.

Btw, the current batch of freshmen were required last semester by Prof. Hilbay to read an article he wrote about homosexuality. I can't see how that relates to Legal Method though. Comments I heard from students ranged from "Bulls**t" to "A total waste of time." Will try to look for a digest on it.

BAR EXAMS

2006-09-14T01:15:00.000+08:00

Busy, no time to update. My apologies. Will post updates after the last sunday of the bar (may nagsabi na wag daw ako maglagay ng bagong post at baka ma-discourage lang ang barristers).

Pero marami akong nahagilap na scandals. This semester is quite an eventful one for the citizens of Malcolm Hall. Sa September 31 na lang.

GO UP LAW!!!

NOTICES POSTED AROUND UP LAW

2006-07-16T13:21:00.000+08:00

The other day I was walking along the second floor corridor when I saw a notice posted on the PLJ board calling for applicants to take the PLJ exam. I talked to one of my friends and it seems that the exam was already administered. She also said that last year's PLJ board didn't release a single issue!!! The PLJ is supposed to release four issues per year, and many lawyers, law firms and law schools subscribe to the PLJ. It's supposed to be the best law journal in the Philippines, and some cases I've read even cite articles from the PLJ as authority! How can the best law journal in the Philippines, with an editorial board composed of the best legal writers in the Philippines, not release a single issue? Every student in UP Law pays for the PLJ, we deserve a law journal, pero lalong nakakahiya sa ibang tao!

Canvass posters saying "Report violence, text UP Barkada" are all over the campus. The LSG has released two statements against fraternity violence. May tinamaan daw sa parking lot na law student at may inabangan sa bahay at hinabol in the middle of the night na law student, in the latter case another law student was one of the alleged assailants. Mga law fraternities ang involved. Ano ba naman sila? They've too much time on their hands, and addled, childish brains to behave that way. Mag-aral na lang sila, ang hirap hirap na nga ng law school pero may panahon pa sila for such barbaric behavior? And they call non-fratmen barbarians too, such hypocrisy! They study law, they should be the first to uphold the law, not the first to break it! The most disturbing thing is that some law students I've talked to take the whole matter with a very matter-of-fact attitude. Para bang wala lang, it happens all the time. I know fraternity violence is common in UP, but among law students??? They should all be expelled from UP Law!

ass kissing in the grand manner

2006-06-26T01:59:00.000+08:00

I can't believe it. Classes have started and a new batch of freshman have enrolled. As usual, they've been asking for "tips and tricks" on how to survive law school. But more and more of them, to my horror, have been asking for advice on how to make "diskarte" their professors. Ugh.

Examples:
1. Oo, pumunta kayo sa IBP rally sa Mendiola this thursday, andun si Prof. (insert name of prof). Tapos make sure na makikita ka niya dun.
2. Dapat respectful ka at magpaka-meek ka sa prof na yan, ayaw niya ng mayabang.
3. Pag may lecture or seminar or talk yung prof, attend ka.
4. Bilhin mo yung book ng prof tapos bring it to class para makita niya.
5. Dapat malinis itsura mo (for guys) or dapat huwag kayong magpakaganda (for girls) for this prof...

Pero, maybe the upperclassmen are at fault. Hmmm. Parang may mentality yung iba na lahat ng profs nadadaan sa bola. Or for some, they seem to think na REQUIRED ang pambobola sa professors. Tsk tsk tsk.

BTW, mga frat"men"(?). Keep your childish, insecure, violent behavior out of malcolm hall.

Oh, sa mga freshmen pala. Wag kayong crab. Please. There are more than enough students in malcolm who want to get ahead at the expense of other people. Wag niyo nang dagdagan.

Good luck sa classes ninyo. There's no substitute for studying.

BAR-baric...

2006-04-02T03:29:00.000+08:00

The whole UP Law community was in high spirits after the results of the 2005 Bar Exams came in. Three of the top ten came from UP Law. We got the first, fifth and seventh spots. Congratulations all around, especially to those who topped the bar.

Yey! Who tops the bar? UP TOPS THE BAR! We're the best law school in the Philippines!

Right...sure. Our overall passing rate this year is a measly 78%. Sorry folks, I don't mean to spoil your fun. But them's the hard facts partners. May mga "sumabit," or as some polite people I know put it, "minalas." 22% FAILED THE BAR EXAM.

Oh, by the way, UP Law is a "practice-oriented" law school. At least that's what our professors tell us.

Professor Goes Back On His Word???

2006-03-31T04:55:00.000+08:00

A lot of people were surprised when a few days after GMA issued proclamation 1017 Professor Florin Hilbay released a statement saying that he was cancelling his classes in order for his students to participate in the rallies. In lieu of exams, he declared to the entire law school (in a written statement that was posted all over the college) that he was going to ask his students to individually tell him what grade they thought they deserved.

The whole proclamation 1017 thing lasted for less than two weeks. Pretty soon, after GMA declared that there no longer was a state of national emergency, things at Malcolm Hall started returning to normal. Students went back to their studies, and with the final exams fast approaching, promptly forgot about the whole thing.

Just as GMA changed her mind and decided to lift the state of emergency, Professor Hilbay also changed his mind and, in what he called an act of discretion on his part, decided to give his Consti students a sit down final exam while his Legal Theory class was made to submit a final paper. I bet his students felt like declaring a state of academic emergency! Hehehe. Rule of law indeed.

Is that what teaching law in the grand manner means? Grant your students the privilege of passing a course without taking a final exam then later on arbitrarily revoking such privilege? Well, these students are going to get screwed over by somebody sooner or later while practicing law. Better get them used to it and have their professor screw them over during their first year :P

But wait. I mind another professor who promised his students (in class, without any sort of published statement) that he too would not be giving his students final exams. And this professor STOOD BY HIS WORD, even though his word was all he gave. Some people make jokes about his being half-Chinese, or half a Chinese, but this Professor is more a man than most. Kudos to Professor Theodore Te, who, to borrow a phrase from his blog, just pulled a class act.

To their respective students, there is much to learn from what happened to you. Take these lessons to heart.

P.S. I'm not sure if Professor Hilbay's class has already taken their Consti final exam. If not, refer to my previous post regarding common cheating methods practiced in Malcolm :D

Cheating in the Final Exams

2006-03-28T02:55:00.000+08:00

Final exams started last week. Maybe because of the difficulty of the exams or the pressure to excel, a few people cheat. Here are a few of their usual methods:

1. Exams at the law school last for hours. The shortest is around 2 hours and I've heard about some people taking 5 hour exams. So professors and proctors usually allow students to go to the restroom. Some students leave a codal or a reviewer in the restroom so they can take a look at it during the exam.

2. This is a variation of number 1. Pretend you need to go to the restroom, once there pull out your cellphone and call somebody and ask him what the answers are. Your best bet is to call someone who practices in the field that your exam covers (i.e. call a criminal lawyer during your crim 2 exam), assuming that you know someone in the field. Or call someone who just took the bar, the doctrines will still be pretty fresh on their minds. Or call a trusted friend who's an upperclassman. Or if you have a fraternity, call your so called brothers.

3. Pay off whoever photocopies the exam. This is common practice in other law schools (but I haven't heard of this happening in UP Law, not recently anyway). I don't recommend actually trying it with the staff at the OCS or the Dean's office. In my opinion, your best chance would be to hope that the exam is photocopied somewhere else (i.e. Blessings or SC) and pay off the person manning the machine to make an extra copy. It's a long shot though.

4. Approach the staff or student assistant of your professor. I've heard talk that sometimes the professor has the student assistant write the exam (???).

Disclaimer: I don't cheat. But I don't think poorly of the people who do just because they cheat per se. I think poorly of those people who can't be more creative in how they cheat. If you're going to cheat do it in a way that shows off your skills. Otherwise, just study. The only reason I don't cheat is because I can't think of a way to do it that would make me proud to say I cheated.

Preliminaries...

2006-03-28T02:21:00.000+08:00

Just a few things I'd like to clarify before I get this blog going:
1. Who am I?
I'm a UP College of Law student who sees and hears about a lot of things I don't like.
2. What's this blog about?
IT IS NOT ABOUT PORN. If that's what your looking for get a myfreepaysite account or something. Go away and take your dirty mind with you.
This blog is about the things that happen within the hollow halls of Malcolm. Some people have said that the college has produced far more than its share of corrupt and dishonest lawyers, many of whom hold top government positions and play a crucial role in the rape of our country. I do not mean to take away anything from the good and noble few who graduated from the college and are fighting the good fight to try to establish some semblance of social justice in our country. But maybe by exposing the dirty deeds that happen in the college of law, somebody will do something to stop these practices.
3. So essentially I'm a spineless coward who's willing to bitch about things but not willing to do anything to change things?
Yes. I am a spineless coward. No argument there. I'm too scared to even say who I am. I don't want to ruin my future legal career by saying things about people which could come back to haunt me. But you know what? Most UP law students are like that. Iskolar ng bayan indeed.
4. Am I so sure about the truth of what I say in my blog?
No. A few things may be things I personally know about, but most of the time what I'll be posting here is based on rumor and hearsay. So please, insult me and lecture me about integrity and journalistic responsibility. Go ahead. But if you know the truth regarding the matter I'm posting about, do correct me and I will make the appropriate changes in my blog.