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NARMA Bulletin
_____________________________________ Vol. 3, No. 5 February 10, 2014
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Welcoming 2014

Iloilo City, PHLDinagyang, which literally means revelry, is celebrated every fourth Sunday of January and residents of this city are already in high spirits two months before the slated taking place of the festival.

The last quarter of the year is a season of festivities being awaited by the residents of the island of Panay in the Western Visayan region of the Philippines. The Dinagyang festival is only one of the significant celebrations in Panay and neighboring islands. The excitement extends to other parts of Panay with the Ati-atihan festival in Kalibo, Aklan. Antique on the western side of the island celebrates Binirayan while Capiz on the north carries out Halaran. The thrill induced by the pervading Christmas spirit heightens the expectation. On a Saturday before the Dinagyang proper on Sunday, residents of the city and some towns in Iloilo province undertake the Kasadyahan (Mardi Gras) with various teams competing for the best presentation of a theme through performances in dance-dramaskit fashion enlivened by the beat of drums and tintinnabulations from musical instruments. Tribes add color to the fun and enjoyment which Dinagyang brings. Members are clad in primitive but unique attires with designs created in highly imaginative fashions. Their designers try to be more creative year after year in order to spruce up the already over decorated teams with the end in view of capturing the most coveted prize in the contest that serves as the events highlight. Most noteworthy during the celebrations is the variety of ways with which the participants make known their devotion to the Holy Child Jesus. The image of Senior Santo Ninio comes in the most colourful manner a presentor can conceive, evoking a notion of whether faith can be measured by the intricacy or simplicity of the physical representation of our faith and adoration. The Jaro, Iloilo fiesta on the second day of the month of February, in commemoration of the Feast of Our Lady of Candles culminates the festive season. (Reprinted from Wecenpress)

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NRCS Inspirational
(The Lamb of God) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me. I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel. And John testified, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God. (John 1:29-34, NRSV)

Books
(Print and E-book) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Last Traces of Hope is now available both as print and e-book. It is a novel about the Mideast turmoil and how it affected the lives of those who were trapped in the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. A ship manned by Filipino crew members was docked in the international port of Kuwait on August 2, 1990 when the incursion transpired. This book tells what happened when the vessel was about to sail and after it did. The novel is available in print at www.createspace.com/3621484 and as an ebook at www.smashwords.com. It is also available in Kindle version at https://kdp.amazon.com.

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Books

(Titles with legally-related topics: Available via Cental Book Supply: www.central.com.ph/bookstoreplus/) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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NRCS Jurisprudential Survey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Construction of Penal Statutes It is well-settled that penal statutes must be liberally construed in favor of the accused and strictly construed against the state. (Campomanes vs. People, G.R. No. 161950, Dec.19, 2006) In Campomanes, the Philippine Supreme Courts ruling likewise states:
To paraphrase our ruling in Kilosbayan, Inc. v. COMELEC, no matter how believable a story may be, no matter how possible it could really have been that the FIDE and Campomanes were financial conduits for criminal elements, criminal charges cannot ever be sanctioned by mere possibilities or coffee shop rumors. Campomanes should be acquitted because neither the Sandiganbayan nor the OSP was able to show any law or regulation requiring Campomanes to render an accounting to the COA. Section 2(1)(d) of Article IX-D of the 1987 Constitution must be read in conjunction with Article 222 of the Revised Penal Code. Section 2(1)(d) of Article IX-D of the 1987 Constitution states that: The Commission on Audit shall have the power, authority, and duty to examine, audit, and settle all accounts pertaining to the revenue and receipts of, and expenditures or uses of funds and property, owned or held in trust by, or pertaining to, the Government, or any of its subdivisions, agencies, or instrumentalities, including government-owned and controlled corporations with original charters, and on a post-audit basis: x x x d) such non-governmental entities receiving subsidy or equity, directly or indirectly, from or through the government, which are required by law or the granting institution to submit to such

audit as a condition of subsidy or equity. x x x (Emphasis added) The COA has the authority to demand an accounting from the FIDE if there is a law which requires the PSC to ask the FIDE to render an accounting, or if the PSC expressly required the FIDE to render an accounting as a condition for funding the Chess Olympiad and Congress. Absent such law or contractual obligation, the COA does not have the authority to audit the accounts of nongovernmental entities receiving subsidy or equity from the government, like the FIDE. In the same manner, non-governmental entities receiving subsidy or equity from the government, like the FIDE, are not obliged to render an accounting to the COA if no law or contract requires them to do so. In the present case, the absence of the conditions contained in Section 2(1)(d) of Article IX-D of the 1987 Constitution prevents the creation of an obligation on the FIDEs part to render an accounting to the PSC or the COA. Consequently, Campomanes, as representative of the FIDE which has no legal obligation to render an accounting, cannot be liable under Article 222 of the Revised Penal Code. The laws cited by the OSP do not sufficiently show that Campomanes is legally required to render accounts to the COA. Neither the prosecutions evidence nor the Audit Report is the law or regulation contemplated by the Revised Penal Code. Moreover, it is error for the OSP to submit that Section 102 of Presidential Decree No. 1445 (PD 1445) is the law mandating the FIDE or its officers to render an accounting. Section 102 of PD 1445, read together with other Sections in Chapter 5 of PD 1445, clearly refers to official(s) or employee(s) who are accountable officers of any government agency, and not to non-governmental entities receiving subsidy or equity, directly or indirectly, from or through the Government x x x. When it comes to subsidy or equity extended by the government to a non-governmental entity, the legal obligation on the part of the non-governmental entity to account for, and the power of the COA to audit, such subsidy or equity arises only if the law or the granting institution requires such audit as a condition for the subsidy or equity. 4

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Images

(Feast of the Sto. Nino) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Images
(Tribes)

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NARMA Bulletin is an electronic periodical distributed online by Narma Books imbued with a mission of information dissemination through selective relay of significant matters of concern to the appropriate recipients, both in entertainment and informative categories. Based in the Philippines.

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Images
(Dancers)

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