Exclusive
By Raïssa Robles
Kerry Kennedy is urging Philippine Senate majority leader Vicente Sotto to apologize for lifting a famous passage from the speech of her father, the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
Ms. Kennedy, 43, 53, [Note: She was born 1958. I added wrong.] wrote in a letter dated November 9, 2012:
I urge that he (Sotto) apologize for his unethical, unsanctioned theft of Robert Kennedy’s intellectual property and the intellectual property of all those whose work he has plagiarized.
Kennedy, who wrote her letter on official stationery of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, added:
In addition, I am particularly offended to see a speech my father gave in support of global human rights distorted by Senator Sotto as an argument against the right to contraception. Expanding and protecting access to contraception is a global priority I have promoted for years, and limiting that freedom was in no way the topic of the 1966 Day of Affirmation speech.
Ms. Kennedy is the founding President of the Center and has been a human rights advocate for the last 30 years. She is the former wife of the incumbent New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Her father, the late senator, had delivered his Day of Affirmation speech on June 6, 1966 before the National Union of south African Students in Capetown, South Africa, in support of a person’s right to liberty and the civil rights movement that was beginning to flower then. Kennedy was gunned down almost to the day of that speech two years later on June 5, 1968, just as he had secured the Democratic nomination to run for president.
Philippine fiction author Miguel Syjuco told me that Kennedy’s letter will be part of an ethics complaint that will soon be filed before the Senate Ethics Committee against Senator Sotto.
The letter of Ms. Kennedy therefore understandably starts with the following paragraph:
As President of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, I wish to inform you that Senator Vicente C. Sotto III, Majority Leader of the Philippine Senate, flagrantly and deceptively plagiarized Robert Kennedy’s 1966 Day of Affirmation Speech in his remarks to the Philippine Senate on September 5, 2012. Neither Senator Sotto nor anyone associated with him contacted us for permission, and he failed to cite the remarks as those of Robert Kennedy, presenting them instead as his own words.
Syjuco confirmed to me just now that it was he who got in touch with the Robert F. Kennedy Center to obtain their reaction to Sotto’s use of a famous passage from the late Bobby Kennedy’s speech without attribution or authorization.
Syjuco explained that the RFK Center had asked him for an English translation of what Sotto said. Syjuco sent them one.
This is their reply below, signed by the Center’s founding president, Kerry Kennedy:
Sotto himself said on the Senate floor – in reaction to a question posed by Senate president pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada – that Sotto had deliberately uttered his speech wholly in Tagalog in order to avoid any insinuations of plagiarism.
Unfortunately for Sotto, however, a curious netizen quickly uncovered the fact that a portion of his Tagalog speech came from a famous Kennedy speech, but translated into Filipino. Someone else posted the poster below on Facebook detailing side by side what Sotto had copied [NOTE: To enlarge the text, simply press the “CONTROL” and “+” keys at the same time on your keyboard]:
Sotto pointedly denied plagiarizing Kennedy and said the original English passage came from “a friend” whom he has declined to name. He also accused other bloggers, who had earlier complained that he had lifted from them, of being publicity hungry.
But Ms. Kennedy noted in her letter that translating a copied passage into another language was still copying. She said:
The Day of Affirmation speech is an internationally well-known and frequently referenced piece of American rhetoric. The “ripple of hope” line in particular is one of Robert Kennedy’s best known quotes and it is absurd to suggest that Senator Sotto came up with identical remarks himself. Senator Sotto has claimed that because he recited my father’s speech in Tagalog, rather than English, the words are his alone. This is an argument that has no ethical merit.
The Senate leadership, including its ethics committee, has chosen to ignore the charges of plagiarism hurled at its third highest official. This is even though the committee could motu propio (on its own volition) launch investigations on issues that reflect negatively on the body and on any senator.
Plagiarism – that could get students and professors expelled – is apparently not worth the while of the Senate ethics committee.
Let’s see if the committee will simply throw Kennedy’s letter into the dust bin.
Below are samples of Kennedy’s signature and another letter written by her, written on the Center stationery.
You can get in touch directly with the Kennedy Center by going to this page: https://www.facebook.com/RobertFKennedy
joseph says
i think miss raissa you should shut up macspeed. i bet you he is fanatic or a loney. what he says had no ingridients. macspeeds should read my response below
macspeed says
Dear Raissa,
I couldnt find my comment, is this place only for pro Raissa? Well, that is not fair, you should read all those who responded to my comments and see who are are pro life and those who wanted the child dead or aborted because the so called rights of the woman.
God created whom He will, when a sperm cell swam to an egg cell, and form a paste like in few hours, God will provide a spirit on it and its appointed time to live in this very earth. So those who will stop the growth of this tiny union of cells and egg to more or less nine months baby, has commited sins against God.
You are created by God, as well as me and all the readers in your column, even if the unwanted child, product of illicit sex or a rape victim, each baby has the right to live because God created them, us. God has its purpose and no one knows what.
bye for now…expect the signs of God when you wake up, from the air you breath and the warmth of the Sun, to a tasty breakfast and to your laptop, all these and that are from God…..that is why we say or shout>>>
Allah hu Akbar!!!, God is Great!!! Amen…
Hence
Victin Luz says
[email protected] ……what discussions do you want about the RH BILL? On your opinion , when was life BEGAN?
Do you believe that God created us or your Allah created us ?
macspeed says
Good, i got some comments…
Dear Victin Luz,
God in Arabic is Allah…
God created you or your mother and father…
God created the ants, spider and all kinds of insect…
God created the molecule and the universe…
God created me and my children…
God created Raissa and her relatives…
God created the particles of laptop and all devices in it…
Without God, the internet is not existing…
If ou like to knw about God, just go to google and type Did Allah or God created humans?
bye, thanks…you have just contributed to the will of God>>>LIFE<<<<
pinay710 says
sir victin , eto po ang na search ko sa internet
http://teachingsapiens.wordpress.com/2010/10/11/when-does-life-begin-a-scientific-perspective/
baka po makatulong sa tanong nyo. pero alam ko po na alma nyo ang sagot,. pero dagdag na lang po ito,
Victin Luz says
@pinay…. Thanks more complete basis and readings
baycas says
@macspeed, sabi mo…
Maitanong ko lang…
Walang kinalaman ang relihiyon…wala ring kinalaman ang Pro- o Anti-RH na pananaw…
Kailan natitiyak ang pagbubuntis? Ilang araw bago ang tinatawag na “fertilization”?
macspeed says
Dear Baycas,
The egg in the womans fallopian tube is a symbol of life ready to be process by an entry of a valiant sperm cell.
Sperm Cells are product of mens reproductive organ, the sperm cells are considered part of human, since humans are created by God, it is a sin to masturbate.
Life begins right after the single sperm cell unite with the egg cell, just imagine only a single sperm is needed to fertilize an egg. In few hours, the egg and sperm will form a clot like that of blood, the unification will grow as seconds go by into larger clot until it become an embryo and so on and so forth.
If you dont believe in God, perhaps, this is the right time for you to use the net to know God…
Below is one of the verse in Al Qur-an Al Kareem…Salamu alaikom (Peace be with you)…
“Verily We created man from a product of wet earth; then placed him as a drop (of seed) in a safe lodging; then We fashioned the drop into a clot, then We fashioned the clot into a little lump, then We fashioned the little lump into bones, then clothed the bones with flesh, and then produced it another creation. So blessed be Allāh, the Best of Creators!” [23:12-14]
baycas says
Kaibigang Macspeed,
Kailan po natitiyak ang pagbubuntis? Ilang araw po bago ang tinatawag na “fertilization”?
macspeed says
Dear baycas,
I am not a doctor or a specialist in that matter, however, our body is a composition of billions of cell, hence for me, a spern and an egg unification is already a life matter, let it grow and it will show, i dont need to know the exact period of how it will be transformed, to me it is sacred and should not be aborted…
salam…
Victin Luz says
@mcspeed…..clarify further egg in the falopian tube is a symbol of life. ….. So does it mean to you that egg and sperm are already part of human life or a human life itself?
But i am glad we both agree that God created us , human being as he created Adam and Eden @mcspeed
Victin Luz says
Is it really prohibited by Allah to masturbate, and it will be a sin if you do it? @Mcspeed ……masturbation excempted no one . Even the priest the nuns so as your propeths isn’t.
macspeed says
i am in Saudi Arabia, no sex nor wine ( i dont really drink), because of the high protien intake, my reproductive organ most of the time erect especially in the morning. I tried to avoid chicken, beef and lamb, but what to do? No choice, every restaurant only sells these, i avoided these meat and turn to fish everyday plus vegetable, yet,still the same, sometimes i could not sleep, so i will think of my wife and imagine what we were doing, when the ejaculation is over, sleeping becomes easy, i only do the mastubation ones a month, i ask for forgiveness from God, then for weeks i can avoid it….My wife and i did one time in skype, however, next time i asked her she said, it is awfully awkward and foolish.
It is a sin indeed, perhaps this is why i am stuck in Saudi Arabia for 15 years,off course i go vacation every year. Maybe if i can avoid masturbation completely in one year, God may give me a good business back home…insha Allah, kaya ko ba magtiis? I’ll try for two months this time he he he he salam bye
Victin Luz says
Masturbation once or masturbation 3x or 100x…..it does not make difference , you still masturbate.. But @mcspeed, masturbation was never prohibited by your Allah isn’t it? As long if it was done secretly.
pinay710 says
@mcspeed, hindi sa ako ay makaluma pero paran hindi na maganda na isiwalat mo pa ang ginagawa nyong magaswa dto sa internet, at sa skype pa. eh may mga kabataan din na nagbabasa ng blog ni raissa. eh parang hindi na tama ito ah. pasensya na po pero parang dapat medyo itinatago nyo na ang ginagwa nyong magasawa.
joseph says
@macspeed
I think you are NOT religious based on your blogs in here, ABSOLUTELY YOU ARE FANATIC CHRISTIAN OR MUSLIM OR A RETARD OR BOTH
macspeed says
Yes it is, an egg and a sperm once united is already alive, anyone who aborted it, has sinned to the Almighty. That unification is sacred no one should abort it…
Victin Luz says
@mcspeed….How about if the sperm and the egg cell never ” UNITE ” with each other , does it mean to you that no life to speak of.?
Victin Luz says
Correction @mcspeed… No human life to speak?
macspeed says
The sperm itself is a life, hence it is bad to masturbate, and i will be asked on the judgment day for all these bad doings, i may or may not be forgiven if i could not repent before i die.
there is only one sin that cannot be forgiven>>to praise other creation other than God himself<<<this will never be forgiven
insha Allah, i hope i can avoid masturbation till i get back home to my wife, hu hu hu…
Victin Luz says
So @mcspeed….. So sperm itself was a HUMAN LIFE…. Is this your position then sir.
macspeed says
@pinay 710:
for me, telling the truth is not a mistake nor bad influence to youngster, instead it is an eye opener, some youngster may say to themselves “ganun pala sa saudi, no sex, no wine, no gambling, no cinema, no critical crimes, do i need to go there and work when i grow up?”
just imagine, i am 56 years old and never have sex to any filipina except my wife and one prostitute when i was in Iraq in 1987 just because my boss told me i am a gay if i dont make sex with that prostitute. I am proud to shout to the world, having sex with the only woman i love is a joy forever. And having sex to a lot of women is a bad act and punishable here on earth and the last day. Those youngster who will be able to learn about this would avoid bad act…amen…
pinay710 says
@sir mcspeed, i understand your position. i know telling the truth is a virtue but you know my granddaughter is 12 hyrs old and my grandson is only 14. i told them to read raissa robles blog so that they can learn some about what is happening in our govt. i dont want them to have an idea of how to use the internet. althoug i know thiese kind of comments cannot be avoided. but the part of the skype in your comment disturbed me. sorry sir. i know it is your freedom to do what you have to. but your act that you are doing with your wife in skype is it not only for your private? only asking.
ric says
You are implying that God is the primary murderer by letting all those egg cells be killed by the body during the process of menstruation.
Also, for women’s masturbation, no egg cell is ever destroyed. Therefore, it is right for women to masturbate.
Do you agree?
macspeed says
Dear Ric,
A process created by God is not a crime nor a sin, I am not implying, it is you who say so, it seems you have no faith in God.
God create whom He wills from a molecule, an ant, a spider, a human, a universe, the morning sun, athe air you breath, the dog in the street, everything and everyone is God’s creation, including the internet. The internet<>>Blasphemy. I know God and you know not…
ask forgiveness because you have made a wrong assumptions and putting to words what is not my thought…Blasphemy is bad act as well, may or may not be forgiven, it is God or Allah alone that has the right to judge….
macspeed says
Dear Ric,
That was truncated, here are the missing lines: The internet is also creation of God, from your mouse and keyboard or keypad, made of plastic, if you break it down to atom, and break even further to a molecule and break that molecule to an electron which is the smallest creation of God, then you will say, God thank you. When you send your message to yahoo or wordpress blog, that message is converted to electrons, electrons travels at the speed of light hence it passes through fiber optic in the sea to say saudi arabia here on my laptop, your message is back to text, and i can read it…Alhamdullilah, thanks be to God, alone worthy of all praise.
A sin that may r may not be forgiven is Blasphemy. i know…
Victin Luz says
@mcspeed…. It seems your beliefs about ALLAH or GOD contradicts your position about RH BILL. Profound your explanation/comments in order to convince us on your teachings otherwise you are just an ordinary ANTI RH .
macspeed says
@Victin Luz,
@mcspeed…. It seems your beliefs about ALLAH or GOD contradicts your position about RH BILL. Profound your explanation/comments in order to convince us on your teachings otherwise you are just an ordinary ANTI RH .
I dont know the debate about RH Bill pros and anti, however below is my stand about creation:
What i know is any form of destruction on the creation of God is against God or any form of blockage against natural formation is against God.
If the sperm is block by a condom or the process of human production is stopped by a pill, then that is destruction.
If mining waste is not neutralize and just thrown in the earth, then, the toxins will penetrate down to the water table and it will contaminate and destroy its properties unfit for any forms of life, human, bacteria and aquatic creations.
So, tell me, does RH Bill pro life? If it does, then i am pro RH Bill, if it will abort life or stop the unification of sperm and egg then i am anti RH Bill. I am not a killer…nor a destroyer of Gods creation, i am a servant of God who is trying the best to follow Gods will on my life, long time ago, i never wished to be here in Saudi Arabia and embraced Islam, however, God dominates, whatever God wills happened in any way.
By the way, sperm is part of human life, it is human and has a very limited life span, an hour in open air and longer life span in womans sex organ.
good nite sadik, may Allah bless you with wisdom of life…
Victin Luz says
@mcspeed…..what abortion are you talking? You were advicing us about science like protons and neutrons, about sperm cells to have a human life , and yet you also believed that GOD or your ALLAH created us.
@mcspeed…….. You can never harmonized the bible that ALLAH created the 1st human being with science where man was created thru evolution .
You are the same with the Roman Catholics who believed that god created ADAN and at the same time man was also created by science .
macspeed says
God created all matters and wisdom, including science and bible or Al Qur-an, simple equation, an electron is the smallest unit of creation. Your body or anybody is composed of millions of elecrtrons in the body, if there is no electron, we are not here…
God created the science, the earths gravity is from God, gravity is science,so why separate?
Albert Einsten was created by God,because he shared his wisdom to mankind, scientist made him equal to God? God is one, worhty of all praise, not even the greatest prophets of all is worhty to be praised but God alone.
God indeed created Adam >>then from Adam, God created Eve…a faith is required for you to accept that science did Created by God. How then Adam and Eve produced babies if science is not included. Our body is a proof of science, you got CPU your brain, you got pump station your heart, you got pipeline your veins. Your self is science, i think i would not reply to anyof your response if you dont recognised you are science. You got eyes equivalent to cameras, ou got ears equivalent to microphone which convert the signal to sound waves known by the CPU, these are all science, since you are created by God, then God created science.
Not even one scientist can tell where the electrons came…the whole universe was design by God in a similar fashion Sun as the Neuclus and the electrons are the planets.
Check in the microscope the property of any elements in the Table of chemicals, the fashion is similar to the universe there are molecules, atoms and electrons.
Victin Luz says
@mcspeed……study the EVOLUTION of MANKIND…… Their are 30 trillions of cells in our human body and one of them is the sperm cell , If your belief was the latter has a human life then any of the cells in our body if united to other cells in the universe then the probability or percentage was to produce an infant( life ). OR the most , if we are going to believe you that sperm cells has human life itself then thru the EVOLUTION THEORY we came from an APE MAN not by GOD who created ADAM and EVE.
You are talking of electron and proton and a sperm cell to have a human life , then if you are really well versed in science then you knew that that in a qualitative and quantitative analysis ( billions of formulas that can be equated and presented ) , paleontology, antrhopology even in a MOLECULAR BIOLOGY then again because you @ mcspeed BELIEVE that SPERM CELL was HUMAN LIFE itself then the ORIGIN of MANKIND is thru EVOLUTION ,…………. Not by GOD or your ALLAH to which we believe since it was written in the Bible and your Koran @mcspeed .
You @mcspeed and the other Roman Catholic priests can never embraced EVOLUTION of MAN and the BIBLE ( as ADAM was a creation of our GOD ) at the same TIME.
Tell you fellow anti-RH BILL….. You can not even harmonized the two . A scientist never believe the BIBLE especially the creation of ADAM. They believe on the EVOLUTION of MAN.
The DEMACRATION LINE @ mcspeed when you said that sperm cell is a human life which was wrong and concluded us that you were ONLY a MERE ANTI RH BILL, Clothed as if you knew science but in reality you were only justifying that contraceptive before conception was abortion and a wrong CONCLUSION .
Victin Luz says
@mcspeed…… Ha ha you have to study thoroughly what you were commenting ANTI MCSPEED . Your example was Albert Einstein but you are not telling us that EINSTEIN does not believe on PERSONAL GOD and believe’s only on PANTHEISTIC GOD of Benedict Espinosa,…that their is NO DUALISM between GOD and the WORLD .
EINSTEN does say ” God does not play dice with the Universe ” and believes that science witouth religion is lame and a genuine scientist must have a profound FAITH. But further he said Religion without Science is BLIND. So myself was created by GOD and when part of me still a sperm cell on my fathers body ( having ordinary life like those trillions of cells in our body ) I am science , but the moment the moment the other part of me the egg cell UNITES with the sperm cell and consequently SPIRIT of GOD was given and had a HUMAN LIFE I, like you and everybody of us is a CREATION of GOD.
You @mcspeed must be interpreting Science in correlation to our Human body so as proton, neutron and EINSTEIN theory was wrong . Tell the other’s ANTI RH BILL , to study carefully how and why TEST TUBE BABY and artificial insemination were successful.
It was SCIENCE first before GOD gave spirit and the Human Life.
So contraceptives before UNIFICATION of sperm and egg is SCIENCE , their is no illegal act, not against GOD’s WILL , no Abortion to speak likewise Corruption is of no moment and poverty in the Philippines will be solve.
joseph says
to macspped
so when egg & sperm cell unite and becomes a fetus is ablessing of your god? then what about pregnancy on on rape victims? is this the blessing of your still? then SCREW YOUR GOD whether jesus christ, his so called father in heaven or allah. you are working overseas because you can not make it in your own miserable country. is that a blessing of your god too?
Victin Luz says
@mcspeed………..we do believe that GOD created ADAM so as the Universe an the accessories ( everything ) but GOD or your ALLAH created specifically the more than trillions of cells in our body and others to have an ordinary lives ( that includes your SPERM CELL ).
The sperm cells you were talking about must UNITE ( key word ) to an egg cell ,… and at the same time when upon successfully UNITING,…… a spirit coming from our GOD gave them that HUMAN LIFE.
Look @mcspeed ..to those couples who were childless and who cannot procreate ,…..their sperm cell MEETs the egg cell,……but it was not GOD’s doing or fault for not having THEM united and not giving them the spirit and human life,….it was the sperm cell or egg cell scientific composition ( low counts on both parties to UNITE ) that prevented them to have Human Life ……….and again it was science that made them UNITE and had a HUMAN LIFE , THRU a chemical/molecular biological process of increasing both the sperm and egg COUNT’s.
Facts were TEST TUBE BABIES were successfully produced.
If all those processes initially were not on GOD hands then preventing the UNIFICATION of sperm cell and egg cell thru a responsible parenthood ( ex. Contraceptives ) …again I reiterate that sperm cell has ONLY an ordinary life and NOT a HUMAN LIFE as you implying @mcspeed ….then RH BILL is not against GOD’s or your ALLAH’s WILL….. It’s a RIGHTEOUS STAND by us PRO…… And it’s not exterminating the Filipino Race and an injustice to us but will definitely solve poverty in our COUNTRY.
joseph says
@macspeed
I will quote you “I dont know the debate about RH Bill pros and anti, however below is my stand about creation:
What i know is any form of destruction on the creation of God is against God or any form of blockage against natural formation is against God.”.
1. What the heck are you doing in this forum which according to you and i quote “I dont know the debate about RH Bill pros and anti,”. Are you stupid arguing in something you don’t know about? Don’t answer that question I got a better one for you to answer.
2. About YOUR STAND ON CREATION. According to you and again I quote “What i know is any form of destruction on the creation of God is against God or any form of blockage against natural formation is against God.”. Im absolutely sure that YOU HAD WALK ON A GRASS OR TURF, isn’t this is a form of destructiion on the creation of your god and against your god. Forget about the eggs and sperms. Just those poor little grass turf and im sure those grass is created by tour god.
3. Alrighty here is the question IF THERE IS REALLY GOD THAT YOU BELIEVE SO MUCH, WHY IS HE LETTING CHILDREN DIE IN ILLNESSES, WAR ETC. WHY IS YOUR GOD NOT EVEN LIFTING A FINER TO STOP IT. Forget about the sinful adults like you & me (don’t tell me your sinless). Just the children which I am sure is a form of life. And don’t give me the reason ITS GOD’S WILL FOR IT WILL ONLY PROVE MORE THAT THERE IS NO REALLY GOD. AND DON’T REASON WE CANNOT UNDERSTAND GOD’S WAY. Just give a logical reason that people like you and me can digest and absorb.
No offend if ever you get an answer from your god and people like us can understand then this world will be a better place to live in (as if we had a choice)
joseph says
to macspeed
science created your god thru bible and quoran. and wriiting is one invention of man which is science. so now tell me how would your so called god exist which is thru the bible or quoran only which is a book detailed by writing which wrriting is invented by man.
so your god is like fairy as in children’s fairytale book because it was written. AND DON’T TELL ME YOUR GOD PUT IT IN MAN’S BRAIN TO INVENT OR DISCOVER WRITING METHOD.
COME ON GIVE ME A BREAK. YOUR ARGUMENTS ARE UNFOUNDED. NO FACTS ALL THEORY
joseph says
to macspeed
are you a loney? why did you say god created whom he will. so those pregnancies in rape is created by your so called god?
then f%#* your god. if thats the kind of god you had then i would rather be godless.
your right! allah hu akbar!! god is great!! with explosive strap around my chest BOOOOOOOOMMMMMM
thats your god not mine
Michael R. says
Gloria & Sotto? are they referring to the same god/lord?
https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=426749587390590&id=425741310824751&set=a.426709090727973.95215.425741310824751&refid=17
simon olivares says
Sotto has issued an insincere apology, and only to the Kennedys. He still insists he did not plagiarize. Namimilosopo pa rin.
Johnny Lin says
Latest News Rappler
“Sotto apologized to Kennedy family earlier today inprivilege speech”
“if the Kennedy family is upset, I am sorry” Sotto said but still adamant in accepting guilt of plagiarism.
Whoa! is this serious apology or technical evasion of civil complaint?
“Apology for what? Huh!” spoken by Sotto yesterday in ambush interview.
nene says
Just in… hahaha… walang hiya talaga…. arogante pa rin.
“copying or imitation is the highest form of flattery” – Tito Sotto
http://www.rappler.com/nation/16045-sotto-to-kennedy-i-m-sorry
raissa says
Thanks for this link @baycas
Interesting take from the legal viewpoint. But in the end, goes to the moral and ethical viewpoint:
IP Views
“#Sinotto: Copyright over Translations”
September 12, 2012
By : Jasmine Solivas-Dayacap
Did Senator Tito Sotto III commit actionable infringement of Robert F. Kennedy’s copyright over the Day of Affirmation Address when the senator translated portions of the speech and used the same in his Turno En Contra? There is basis to argue that there was no actionable infringement committed. Atty. Hector A. Villacorta’s favorite defense of “public domain” may fit the bill this time around, because it appears that under the copyright laws of the United States, Mr. Kennedy’s Day of Affirmation Address is in the public domain. [See: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/oS_BHcFynUepnkv95-EnSg.aspx%5D This is most likely because Mr. Kennedy’s Address is considered a work of the U.S. government. In 1966, Mr. Kennedy, then a U.S. Senator, travelled to South Africa upon invitation to speak by the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS), an anti-apartheid organization. On 6 June 1966 at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, Mr. Kennedy delivered his “Day of Affirmation Address,” also dubbed “A Tiny Ripple of Hope.” Arguably one of the finest speeches ever delivered in the history of civilization, it is also available for public consumption as an unprotected work of the U.S. government which lies in the public domain.
In the Philippine jurisdiction, subject to certain conditions, no copyright subsists in any work of the Government of the Philippines. You may use without liability Mr. Sotto’s works as a statesman. But under our copyright law, Mr. Sotto has the exclusive right of making a collection of his speeches, lectures, sermons, addresses, and dissertations—so, for those planning to make a compilation of Mr. Sotto’s eloquent speeches, you will need to obtain license from Mr. Sotto first.
But for purposes of academic discussion, assuming the speech is not in the public domain, what are the arguments for and against the accusation that Mr. Sotto committed copyright infringement for translating an English work into Tagalog without permission from the author?
To read further , pls click on this link below
http://www.iplaw.ph/ip-views/Sinotto-Copyright-over-Translations.html
Coco says
There is the law and there are good manners. I don’t know if there is a law on farting in public, I know we all did it as children on the playground, but from a senator on purpose it plain session it would be totally unacceptable. In the same line I expect in the august environment of the senate that when you use someone else’s text that you list the references at least in a footnote, if you don’t it is shameful and creates a very unpleasant smell. That’s all, I don’t mind what lawyers say.
baycas says
Constitutionally, senators are not liable (legally answerable) and cannot be questioned.
Thus, senators enjoy parliamentary immunity, that is, if the forum is held “in any other place” other than the Senate itself.
http://www.senate.gov.ph/senators/terms.asp#A._Privilege_from_Arrest_
With freedom comes responsibility, so says the Supreme Court in Osmeña v. Pendatun…
The onus is on the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges (SCEP) once the ethics complaint is lodged and, as what Tomas Gomez III said at Comment No. 42:
Two-thirds of all its members will punish an erring member.
http://www.senate.gov.ph/senators/terms.asp#Manner_of_Imposing_Discipline_
We will soon find out if the present composition of the Senate passes the test and wins the hearts and minds of the electorate, not only the netizens.
baycas says
Btw…
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/281953/news/nation/kennedy-daughter-confirms-plagiarism-complaint-vs-sotto
Johnny Lin says
Legislative immunity applies only in the Philippines.
Plagiarism is covered by international law.
Is there a provision that bloggers and Kennedy could not file civil charge against Sotto in US?
Anonime says
no such thing
everyone is free to file suit if the individual warrants that the courts decide on the legality or criminality of something…
Cha says
The question is, will the senators even show up for the test? Or will this go the way of the FOI Bill in the Lower House where apparently no meeting rooms can be had?
baycas says
The reelectionists beware…
http://www.iplaw.ph/ip-views/Sinotto-Copyright-over-Translations.html
Joe America says
When the highest governing body in the land can’t find a place to meet, you know that solving problems is not a high skill of the members of that body. Or you can figure there is a nefarious agenda at work.
X says
I posted this tidbit earlier, Section 28.3, FYI. Immunity is granted but it is in no way absolute.
Annie von Nebenan says
Copying is not really a crime as long as we have the author’s permission! But if one is caught on the act and still refused to apologize then by all means that person needs to go back in the grade school and learn his GMRC (Good Manners & Right Conduct, baby) again!
Simple, di ba?
Rafael Lagahit says
Sotto’s constant plagiarism is a disgrace to the Philippine senate and heaps a great shame on our country the Philippines. He has such a thick face for blatantly ignoring to apologize for what he has done. I,for one, am truly ashamed for what this senator has done.
PLAGIARISM IS WRONG says
Hi Ms. Raissa,
I made this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFGYkOA2kGY
Not only piracy is wrong… Plagiarism is also wrong!
pelang says
gusto! (like). i posted this on my FB account. everyone should too!
baycas says
No rules yet in SECP…
http://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2012/1112_cayetanoa3.asp
Sotto an ex officio member of the SECP…
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/281969/news/nation/sotto-enrile-senators-can-t-be-held-liable-for-speeches-in-senate
Cha says
The members of the Senate Ethics committee chaired by Allan Peter Cayetano are Senators Honasan, Legarda, Marcos, Jr, Lapid and Joker Arroyo.
Sotto is an ex-officio member and so is Jinggoy Estrada.
Sigh..
Johnny Lin says
Senators Cayetano, Legarda and Honasan are relectionists.
Jinggoy does not want his half brother JV Ejercito to be elected senator.