Land of the Morning: Senator Miriam Santiago

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Senator Santiago Elected First ICC Judge from Developing Nation

MANILA

SENATOR MIRIAM Santiago has a lot of tricks on her sleeves to stop bringing surprises to the Filipino people. This time she aced contenders for a Judge seat in the International Criminal Court (ICC), making her the first woman judge for ICC who came from a developing nation in Asia.

On 12 December 2011, the ICC overwhelmingly elected Santiaugo in New York as a new Judge for the international court, topping the first round of elections with 79 votes out of 104 valid votes. She bested other 18 candidates from various regions.

Sources

[InterAksyon]

Quotes that History Will Remember

Would the bishops rather that we keep mum or we lie about it? Would they want us to just keep quiet about this?--Aleta Tolentino, PCSO Director

We do not want to turn over another unfinished business to the next administration. It stops with us.--Teresita Deles, Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process

I believed then, as I believe now, that the court... was overly intrusive with respect to a power that does not belong to it by restrainingh without hearing a coequal branch of government.--Associate Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Supreme Court of the Philippines

This Court, in striking down EO 1 creating the Truth Commission, overrules the manifest will of the Filipino people to start the difficult task of putting an end to graft and corruption in government, denies the President his basic constitutional power to determine the facts in his faithful execution of the law, and suppresses whatever truth may come out in the purely fact-finding investigation of the Truth Commission... History will record the ruling today of the Court's majority as a severe case of judicial overreach that made the incumbent President a diminished Executive in an affront to a co-equal branch of government, crippled our already challenged justice system, and crushed the hopes of the long suffering Filipino people for an end to graft and corruption in government.--Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, Supreme Court of the Philippines

The people's freedom to criticize the government includes the right to criticize the courts, their proceedings and decisions... And to enhance the open court principle and allow the people to make fair and reasoned criticism of the courts, the sub judice rule excludes from its coverage fair and accurate reports (without comment) of what have actually taken place in open court.--Associate Justice Arturo Brion, Supreme Court of the Philippines