Can a person be murdered twice?

Can you murder a person twice? Apparently, this is what happened to Gilbert de Lima who was obviously murdered on May 9, 2016 a day before the May 10 elections in Sta. Fe, Bantayan Island. I don't blame Gilbert's mother Josefina de Lima for asking Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aquirre to review the case of her son Gilbert before the DOJ. She has requested the DOJ to reverse and set aside a resolution by Prosecutor Ludivico Cutaran turning this murder case into a case of homicide. This was also the opinion of Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Rustom Presas Jr. who found no probably cause in charging Paulo Esgana with murder.

To my first question, can you murder a person twice? Yes, if after you bring the case to our prosecutors and they end up downgrading the case of murder into homicide, this is a case of killing a person twice! Of course you can also file a case of obstruction of justice against these prosecutors.

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At the 888 News Weekly Forum the main topic was about the recently implemented Anti-Distracted Driving Act Law and Republic Act 10666 a.k.a. the Children's Safety Act which are now being enforced nationwide, although we know that the enforcement of these laws are limited to the number of traffic enforcers in a certain locality. In Dumaguete for instance, they do not enforce the helmet laws, even if it is a national law.

What is seriously lacking in the implementation of both national laws is a more thorough and nationwide consultation on the application of these laws by the Land Transportation Office and Congress. While there is no question that the issue of safety of our children riding motorcycles is paramount, I do agree with Mayor Tomas Osmeña that many school children especially in the mountain barangays have no other means of transportation, except by motorcycle. Of course the alternative is for them to walk to school!

While I do agree with The FREEMAN's editorial yesterday that blared "Before motorbikes, kids walked to school" and allow me to take an excerpt from that editorial: "There is really something out of whack in the notion that banning the transport of children on motorcycles is a hindrance to education. Osmeña apparently forgets that long before there were any motorcycles, children have already been going to school. He apparently is unaware that schoolchildren who did not have cars and could not afford public transportation had to walk, sometimes for kilometers, just to go to school."

While I do not dispute this editorial, the advantage of riding a motorcycle to school means you can sleep a little longer in bed before waking up. But if you had to walk to school it forces you to wake up earlier. We live in modern times, more so that our children have become used to riding motorcycles to school. If you take that away from them, you are actually doing a disservice to these children. This is why I suggested that each barangay come up with a census of those kids who live far from their schools so they can come up barangay-based school bus for these children so that the Children's Safety Act can be implemented.

As far as the Anti-Distracted Driving Act is concerned, we are seeking for the suspension of this law until the Land Transportation Office clearly defines what is allowed and what is not allowed in your car's windshield or dashboard. Video cameras on the dashboard, for instance, help in determining who is at fault in car accidents. In my book, rosaries hanging on the rearview mirror are not a distraction. But dolls or dogs on your dashboard or even at the back do block your line of sight. So there really is a need to clarify many issues before the LTO should implement this law.

Meanwhile, what is being done regarding jeepney drivers who never turn on their lights when they ply their respective routes at night? I have yet to see a reckless jeepney driver who has been suspended or had his license revoked because of numerous violations of this law. I have been complaining about this problem for many years now and we still see jeepneys plying their routes at night without any lights on.

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For email responses to this article, write to vsbobita@moscom.com or vsbobita@gmail.com. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.