Forensic DNA evidence and the death penalty in the Philippines

The death penalty remains a contentious issue even though it has been abolished in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, European Union member nations and some Asian countries such as Cambodia, East Timor and Nepal. Many argue that the irrevocability of the death penalty, in the face of potential erroneous convictions, can never justify its imposition. The Philippines, the first Asian country that abolished the death penalty in 1987, held the record for the most number of mandatory death offenses (30 offenses) and death eligible offenses (22 offenses) after it was re-imposed in 1994. Majority of death penalty convictions were decided based on testimonial evidence. While such cases undergo automatic review by the Supreme Court, the appellate process in the Philippines is not structured to accept post-conviction evidence, including DNA evidence. Because of the compelling nature of post-conviction DNA evidence in overturning death penalty convictions in the United States, different groups advocated its use in the Philippines. In one such case, People v Reynaldo de Villa, the defendant was charged with raping his 13-year-old niece that supposedly led to birth of a female child, a situation commonly known as \u27criminal paternity\u27. This paper reports the results of the first post-conviction DNA test using 16 Short Tandem Repeat (STR) DNA markers in a criminal paternity case (People v Reynaldo de Villa) and discusses the implications of these results in the Philippine criminal justice system

Synergistic effect of Annona squamosa (Sugar apple) leaves and allium sativum (Garlic) bulb ethanolic crude extracts as Larvicidal agent against Aedes aegypti

This study used experimental research design. A. squamosa leaves and A. sativum bulb were extracted using ethanol. Stock solution (1000ppm), 100 ppm, 150 ppm, 200 ppm, 250 ppm were also prepared, individually. For the synergistic solution, 50 mL. A. squamosa stock solution was added to 200 mL dechlorinated water to make a 200 ppm concentration of A. squamosa with 0 ppm of a. sativum (4:0). The same procedure was done for 3:1, 1:1, 1:3 and 0:4 ratios. 25 early 3rd instar larvae A. aegypti were subjected to each test concentration. For A. squamosa\u27s larvicidal activity alone, 250 ppm has the highest number of mortality with 52% and for A. sativum, 250 ppm with 97.78% mortality. In the combined concentrations of A. squamosa and A. sativum, respectively, 0:4 concentration has the highest number of mortality with 98.22% followed by 1:3 (92.895), 1:1 (80.44%), 3:1 42.67%) and 4:0 concentration with 29.33%. The LC50 and LC90 for A. squamosa were 232.85 ppm and 419.34 ppm and 164.98 ppm respectively. The LC50 and LC90 for A. squamosa were 232.85 ppm and 419.34 ppm, respectively. For the combination of both plant extracts, the LC50 was exhibited at 18.67 ppm of A. squamosa and 181.33 ppm of A. sativum while the LC90 at 122.18 ppm of A. squamosa and 77.82 ppm of A. sativum. The computation for the synergistic factor of 1.28, while, A. sativum over the LC50 of the combined is 4.49. The data collected showed that A. sativum and A. squamosa\u27s ethanolic crude extracts have a synergistic effect on each other

A business plan for the personally-T and personaly-P

Executive Summary. Imagine Nation Inc. is composed of 9 individuals who share the same goal of providing people with an instrument for expressing their creativity and individuality Imagine Nation Inc.\u27s reason for choosing this name is because it best describes their mission of being able to foster the imagination of the young and the adults. The company will be a home-based type of company at the onset of the business with an initial funding of Php 21,285 as initial investment of the incorporators for the business of producing personalized T-shirts and pillows. Customers may choose from any of the group\u27s library of images. They can even bring their own pictures, or have their own images taken on the spot. These images are then printed on a T-shirt or pillow. They also have the option to combine several pictures made into a collage, which can hold a maximum of 25 images. The mark-up for the Plaine white T-shirt and pillow is at 25.30% while the colored shirt has a mark up of 19.13%. The selling price for the Plain white shirt, colored shirt and the pillow are at Php 250, which is relatively lower by Php 50.00 than some of the visible competitors. In determining the selling price of the T-shirt and pillow the corporation applied the cost-based pricing. The return on investment of the group for ten months is 207% and has a payback period of approximately 25 days. In order to break even, the proponents will need to sell 96 units for the plain white shirt, 181 units for the colored shirt and 208 units of pillows. Basic skills such as photography, scanning, printing, downloading of images into computers, and ironing will be needed in providing the service. In making the product, the proponents will adopt the assembly line method which is composed of editing section, the cutting section, drying section (1), ironing section, dying section (2), peeling section and the packaging section. The maximum time needed to produce a single product is 43.63 mins. with a maximum output of 22 units per production day and a minimum output of 11 units. In order for the company to maintain the highest quality of the output produced, it is necessary to establish camaraderie and rapport among the members