Before I proceed with my serious political reflection on the word, “treason,” I would like to lay the academic and referential framework for this journalistic treatise.

According to Oran’s Dictionary of the Law, (1983) treason is a “citizen’s actions to aid a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the (parent nation). In many nations, it is also considered treason to attempt or conspire to overthrow the government, even if no foreign country is aided by such an endeavor.”

The same authoritative reference, the word “traitor” may also be used to describe a person who betrays (or is accused of betraying) their own political party, nation, family, friends, ethnic group, team, religion, social class or other group to which they belong. It is also interpreted as a “slur against officials in power who are perceived as failing to act in the best interest of their constituents.”

In Article 275 of the Criminal Code of Russia, treason is defined as “ espionage, disclosure of state secrets, or any other assistance rendered to a foreign state, a foreign organization, or their representatives in hostile activities to the detriment of external security of the Russian Federation committed by a citizen of the Russian Federation.”

In Australia, according to the Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia,” anyone who engages in conduct that assist by any means, whatever, with the intent to assist an organization or a country to overthrow the Australian Government, commits the crime of treason. In Canada, according to the same reference, anyone who assists an enemy at war with Canada, or any armed forces against whom Canadian Forces are engaged in hostilities, whether or not a state of war exists between Canada and the country whose forces they are, commits the crime of treason. “

The Reader’s Digest Family Word Finder, Copyright 2006, states that “in time of war, treason is a crime punishable by death for betrayal of your country, aiding an enemy, sedition, subversion, insurrection, mutiny, disloyalty, treachery, perfidy, and apostasy.”

There are two acts that have been commonly defined by the above-cited references as falling within the crime of treason which I would like to give focus and importance in this article. These are the acts of “giving aid to an enemy of the state and “a slur against officials in power who are perceived as failing to act in the best interest of their constituents.”

Obviously these “acts of treason” were committed in my personal opinion by those public officials of the Republic of the Philippines who gave financial aids to two revolutionary groups. Strictly from my own viewpoint, by giving financial assistance to these two anti-government forces they clearly failed to act in the best interest of the Filipino people who is the source of all governmental authority of the Republic of the Philippines because:

1. The money given to these belligerent groups came from the taxes of the Filipino people and that it was given without their prior consent under circumstances of secrecy and non-transparency;

2. The financial aids for these two belligerent groups without any Memorandum of Agreement or any other official document specifying the terms and conditions under which this monetary packages are to be spent and for what purpose; if there were agreements which were secretly entered into with these revolutionary forces by previous administrations, such agreements are still contrary to the laws of war, ethics, and morality, and therefore, treasonous to the Filipino people; and

3. These two belligerent groups are still pursuing actively their secessionist aspirations and have not yet pledged allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines or manifested their desire to surrender and return to the folds of the law, and therefore, are still considered enemies of the state and the Filipino people.

Being enemies of the state, any assistance given to them by our President or any of his cabinet officials in private or public capacity, to my honest opinion, is grossly treasonous and patently perfidious to the Filipino people. Don’t fault the MILF or the ABB for this financial assistance. Knowing fully their belligerent status, they don’t expect any financial assistance from the government. Most likely from their standpoint, receiving money from the government might also be construed as act of treason for their cause.