Well, fortunately or unfortunately enough, I AM in fact a lawyer, and as I already pointed out in the post, even “illegal” vendors and settlers are entitled to some form of process under the Constitution and the laws. Public officials and law enforcers are explicitly required to follow a clear set of standards and procedures when cracking down on those who violate the law — this is called “due process,” and in case you’re not aware, this has been a standard and fundamental feature of all democratic states for the last 200 or so years.

Public officials can’t simply do what they want in the manner that they want, solely on the pretext that their targets are “violating the law.” If they do, they act not as civil servants accountable to the law and the public, but vigilantes who are criminally liable themselves.

In this particular case I’ve already mentioned some of the laws that apply — the Constitution (look up Article XIII, Section 10, for starters) and the Urban Development and Housing Act (RA 7279, go look it up).

As regards Mr. Fernando’s fitness for President, well, all I’ll say is if we judge fitness for higher office on the number of full-color posters with one’s (non-smiling, take note) face (printed with public money, no less) one is able to put up all over the place, then by god, I’m sure he’ll make an outstanding President.