Lair of Indolence

To the great disappointment and shock of animal welfare advocates, the UP Student Disciplinary Tribunal in its two-page decision dated November 5, 2009 dismissed the case filed against Joseph Carlo Candare, a BS Physics major of the UP College of Science for allegedly deliberately stomping a kitten to death last April 13, 2009.

Candare earned the ire of many animal lovers, and consequently, many animal rights groups for bragging about the incident on his personal log on the world wide web (web log or “blog”).

Excerpts from the infamous blog are as follows:
“I pulled it on its tail and threw it. Then like some pro wrestler I jumped on it and my feet landed on it's torso. Slam! Felt good!”

“This isn't the first time I've killed a cat but this time it's different. It didn't occur to me back then that the cat had a leash. So I think somebody owns it. Well it's very well loved in NIP from what I heard and I just ended it's life. So there you go I'm sorry. And I wont be striking another one for maybe about a month.”

Questions about Candare’s state of mind cropped up when blog-readers came across these statements from the 19-year old student:
“It feels good when your beating it(a cat) up but you suddenly feel something strange when it turns off permanently. That's how I feel right now. And maybe for the next days. Dang, am I a cat serial killer?”

“It is worrisome when a university declares that there is “no misconduct” in killing a helpless kitten in plain view of fellow students right within the school premises,” said Nancy Cu-unjieng, President of Compassion and Responsibility for Animals or CARA, the animal welfare organization that filed the instant complaint before the UP Tribunal.

Anna Cabrera, Program Director of The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), agreed that the dismissal was “a dangerous precedent for a university to make”.

In a statement to the press, PAWS said: “The violence and deliberateness of the act which should have evoked outrage from school officials and a call for immediate disciplinary action was instead met with a shrug of the shoulders and a pronouncement that ‘killing animals – though it is a national crime – is, as ‘not even classified as an actionable misconduct under the university’s Rules.’”

“What message is the Tribunal sending out? Basically, it is implied that students can openly hurt animals and not face any consequences for their actions. We think that it is deplorable and shameful for an institution not to strongly condemn acts of animal cruelty,” commented Cabrera.

The three-member UP Tribunal composed of Ma. Crisanta Flores, Ma. Theresa Payongayong and Chairman Jonathan P. Sale stated in its Resolution that: While “it is true that Section 1 of the (Rules and Regulations on Student Conduct and Discipline) RRSCD states that, as the basis of discipline, ‘ a student shall at all times observe the laws of the land..’ and that part of the law of the land is Republic Act No. 8485 (the Animal Welfare Act), Section 6 of which makes it unlawful for anyone to torture or maltreat animals; and that Mr. Candare did to the kitten clearly constitutes maltreatment , if not outright torture... not all violations of laws are actionable misconducts.”

“Candare’s actions – deplorable though they may seem to some, if not most, people, do not constitute any misconduct actionable under University rules.”

“Consequently, it is thus respectfully recommended that the Tribunal DISMISS the instant complaint”

Violation of the Animal Welfare Act is considered a criminal act punishable with six months up to two years imprisonment or a fine ranging from P1000 to P5000.

While recorded prosecutions under this special law have been few since its approval in 1998, PAWS, who spearheaded the lobbying of the said law, is slowly making headway by helping an increasing number of ordinary citizens file cases against animal offenders in Court.

PAWS filed a criminal case against Candare before the QC Hall of Justice where the case is for resolution at the QC Prosecutor’s Office.

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While the UP decision is lamentable, PAWS is hopeful that the criminal case it filed, which is still pending for Resolution at the QC Prosecutor's Office, will have better results.

Source: http://animaladvocates.multiply.com/notes/item/654

Many have scrutinized with regards to the language I am using when creating such a blog entry. Some said that why use English when your topic is all about your country and such related issue. Some say that it is like abandoning our own language, Filipino, which I totally do not agree with. I could care less about what they say since this is my bandwith and not theirs. As stated in my first entry, "I am not in this world to live up to your expectations. . ." and I had already anticipated that it was understood.

Anyhow, it doesn't matter what language you use in expressing what you want. You can roll around like a lunatic just to show how much you care for a person and since that is how you show it, I guess they will understand. If that does not work, try to roll some more.

Using English will not hurt your own country any more than using Filipino will hurt the world. You can use whatever language you want for we have our free will to do so.

Translation:

Marami na ang pumuna sa paraan ng pagsulat ng mga blog ko. Sabi ng iba na bakit kailangang gumamit ng wikang Ingles kung ang paksa mo naman ay patungkol sa iyong sariling bayan at mga pangyayari na may kaugnayan dito. Sabi naman ng iba na parang tinatakwil mo raw ang sariling wika, ang Filipino, sa paggamit ng mga banyagang salita at ito'y pinabubulaanan ko. Wala akong pakielam sa mga pinagsasabi nila sa kadahilanan na espasyo ko ito at 'di sa kanila. Gaya ng sabi ko sa unang lathala ko dito, "Hindi ako nabubuhay sa mundo sa paraang gusto mo. . ." at inaasahan kong naintindihan nila yun at di lang binasa.

Hindi naman gaanong mahalaga kung sa anong lenggwahe mo gustong iparating ang nais mo. Maaari kang gumulung-gulong na parang nawawalan ng bait upang ipakita mo na mahalaga sayo ang isang tao at dahil sa paraang ganun mo ito ipapakita, maiintindihan ka naman siguro ng taong yun. Kung hindi epektibo, magpagulung-gulong pa.

Ang paggamit ng wikang Ingles ay hindi makakasakit sa sarili mong wika gaya ng paggamit mo ng wikang Filipino sa bansang banyaga. Maaaring gumamit ng kahit anong lenggwahe dahil may kakayanan kang gamitin ito.

What is Vaedant? It's the subject of the anagram of my name. What are anagrams you ask?

With that being said, the title of this first entry is also an anagram. Can you decrypt what is its subject of the anagram? I'll give you a clue. In Latin, its meaning is "spoken before".

Anyhow, this idea came to be when I was bored one day while wasting my time sitting infront of the computer browsing forums and spamming... err..posting in sensible threads. I said to myself that I needed a new name to use in the said forums. To cut the boring story short, Vaedant was invented.

You may happen to be bored by now reading such nonsense, so let's fast-forward everything. What will you expect in this space of bandwith? I'll be typing such things which I deem of importance or simply because I-want-to-criticize-this-and-that. Do not worry, I happen to do the latter if I am bored wherein most of the time, I am.

Before I close the tip of my 'cyberpen', let me quote Fritz Perls:

"I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are not in this world to live up to mine. You are you and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, then it is beautiful. If not, it can't be helped."