Lessons from the SC decision on STC case
Last weekend was the 6th Year that the BiketoberFest of the Star Touring and Riding Chapter 2301 was successfully held. In all those 6-years of hosting the BiketoberFest, it has become Cebu’s foremost Motorcycle annual event. While we big bikers look forward to go to the annual Federation of Motorcycle Clubs in the Philippines annual convention, however this annual motorcycle event is rotated from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
This year the Federation of Motorcycle Clubs had its convention in Dapitan, Zamboanga, next year; it will be the turn of Luzon Motorcycle Clubs to host the annual Bike convention. So in the year to follow, the Visayas will once more host the convention. This means, there is a strong chance that Cebu could host this annual event. But then, we have not heard whether the Panay Riders would vie to host this annual Bike event.
Meanwhile, kudos to the members of the Star Touring Group, notably to the Star’s International Director of the Western Pacific Region Worldwide, Mr. Danny Libron, who was the Overall Event Organizer for keeping the faith. They have somehow overcome the challenges in hosting this annual event. And last weekend was clear proof that the BiketoberFest was very successful, where the AsiaTown IT Park played host to all kinds of motorcycle, big and small that embraced the brotherhood of motorcycling. It was not easy to control more than two thousand bikers converging in the AsiaTown IT Park’s open field. But thankfully there were no incidents that happened over the weekend, which means, here is to looking forward to next year’s 7th hosting of the annual BiketoberFest.
***
It was a big news two years ago, when we learned that senior students at the St. Theresa’s College were not allowed to march in the graduation from high school because they broke the rules written in their Student Handbook. Apparently, those students were caught posting in their Facebook accounts wearing only their bra and panties in a party and obviously drinking liquor and smoking. Because of this, STC sanctioned the students, which led to the filing of this case, which in my book is a good test case.
Earlier, the parents of the students filed a petition for a writ of habeas data against STC to look into whether the school violated the right to privacy of the students. Regional Trial Court Judge Raphael Yrastorza dismissed this petition and ruled that the petitioners lost their privacy when they uploaded those photos in their Facebook accounts. Indeed, even if you uploaded your photos only to your friends, how sure you are that those friends of yours did not also show them to their friends who are not friends of the students?
Thanks to the Supreme Court, in its ruling penned by 3rd Division Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco, it says there was no proof that STC violated the rights of the students. What is crystal clear in this case is that the students violated STC’s Student Handbook, which details all the duties and responsibilities of students when they enroll in STC.
What I like in this case are the lessons that we can all benefit from. First of all, my congratulations to Atty. Joan Largo in defending the integrity and discipline of STC, which should be a lesson to all other schools and universities. Secondly, I also congratulate my good friend, Atty. Cornelio Mercado, the lawyer of the students who succumbed to the ruling of the Supreme Court. One can be magnanimous even in defeat.
Atty. Mercado is sending the right and proper signal that indeed, the Supreme Court is the court of last resort and when they rule for or against us, we have to abide by their ruling. I just hope Pres. Benigno “PNoy” Aquino III learns to accept the SC ruling on the Disbursement Acceleration Program and Priority Development Assistance Program, both of which were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
This case is a clear cut warning to net users who are in many social networking sites that when you are up in cyberspace, it is a real jungle out there where privacy is really non-existent. Hence it is your own lookout what you post on your Facebook accounts and if you send lewd photos, chances are, it can be traced back to you.
To the women folk, especially those naïve girls, if you have fallen in love with your boyfriend and he wants you to prove your love by taking your nude photograph or worse, asking you for sex and record it via video camera or a camera phone, then you are only courting for real trouble. Just ask those women who were involved in all those sex tape scandals that began with Hyden Kho and Maricar Reyes, then lately there was the Paolo Bediones sex tape and now the Governor Tallado Facebook scandal. So do not be stupid and allow your boyfriend to dishonor you on video or photos.
- Latest
