Supreme Court Associate Justice Reynaldo Puno was appointed by President Arroyo as the new Chief Justice last Wednesday to replace Artemio Panganiban.

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago was fuming mad when the Judicial and Bar Council did not nominate her for the top post.

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Charter change (Cha-cha) through the people's initiative has been dead when the Supreme Court junked it by a hairline vote. With the assumption of Chief Justice Puno, would the Cha-cha through people's initiative be resurrected? Your answer is as good as mine.

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Cha-cha through a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) has been railroaded by the House of Representatives. But will the Cha-cha train via Con-Ass suffer the same fate as the Cha-cha through people's imitative?

Already, 21 senators have signed a resolution opposing the Constituent Assembly without the Senate participation with the procedure of voting separately.

Why would the House of Representatives through Speaker Jose de Venecia insist on a Con-ass with the House and the Senate voting jointly? It is because the proposed amendments initiated by the House committee on constitutional amendments would not pass the scrutiny of the Senate.

If you read some of the House proposals, they are at least self-serving. Among the House proposals are the lifting of the limit of the term of congressmen, the increase of the term of congressmen from three to five years, without term limits, and the automatic assumption of the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate as members of the interim Parliament? Why would the congressmen not approve the proposal that all the seats of the proposed Parliament be declared vacant? It's because they are afraid that they would lose in the parliamentary election. And all the dreams of Speaker De Venecia to become Prime Minister would be lost to oblivion.

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Today is Human Rights Day.

According to human rights advocate, Sen. Jose W. Diokno, the three kinds of human rights are the right to life, the right to human dignity, and the right to develop ourselves.

Human rights, in general, are the civil and political rights, and the economic and cultural rights.

How many people have been deprived of their human rights? It is for us, citizens in a democratic society to ponder today as we celebrate Human Rights Day.

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A ranking official of the Provincial Tourism Council has expressed concern over the construction of the sewerage system along San Jose Street, Tagbilaran City.

All the waste passing through the city drainage system will be drained to the sea particularly along the Balong-balong Beach of Cogon District, this city.

Considering that there is yet no treatment plant for the waste water, some environmentalists expect that the waste water would pollute the sea area of the Tagbilaran Bay. The pollution would greatly affect the Tagbilaran Tourism Port and some tourist establishments at the Tagbilaran Bay.

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One of the reasons why this writer opposed the Reclamation Project of the Tagbilaran Bay is that the reclamation project would pollute the tourism areas including beaches at the Panglao Island.

With the outlet at Cogon District, this city, the tourism areas in Panglao which is in front of Tagbilaran would likely be polluted.

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Some environmentalists are batting that a water treatment plant should be installed to protect the environment.

Whether these treatment plants would help protect the environment remains to be seen.

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For comments and reactions, send mail to Atty. Jorge D. Cabalit, Cabalit Law Office, 74 Belderol Street, Tagbilaran City or send e-mail to: viewpoints@boholchronicle.com