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Acquittal doesn’t shield accused from karmic debt
No matter how a former government official commits abusive and criminal acts while in office, followed by prosecution and incarceration after stepping out of office, there are rabid partisans who will express their support and sympathy either out of misplaced loyalty, or out of gratitude for past favors or out of ignorance of the past misdeeds. When such government official is acquitted by reason of failure of the prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt, the partisans, as well as even those who genuinely pity the accused who has been clamped to jail before the acquittal pour out their sympathetic sentiments claiming that the detainee has been imprisoned unjustly for many years before being acquitted, as in the case of former senator and justice secretary Leila de Lima. Charged with three drug cases, she was jailed in 2016. Despite scoring two acquittals, with the last remaining drug case still pending she remains languishing behind bars, although relatively with less restrictive movements and enjoying some privacy being confined solo in her jailhouse, unlike ordinary convicts who suffer more. Given the change in the political environment from the time of her incarceration, where fortunes are altered for various reasons, it will not be surprising if she will be again exonerated in her last court case. Sympathizers lament that her six years of being deprived of freedom is undeserved and unjust since she has been acquitted in two cases and most likely will snatch another judicial victory unless the trying court strictly follows the rules on evidence. Let us grant that indeed she is really innocent in the drug cases filed against her, is it correct to say that her six years of being deprived of her liberty is an injustice? The answer must be negative because the law of karma applies to her. The accused has to pay a karmic debt she owes to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. For those who have forgotten, let us revisit the past, particularly 15 November 2011. On that day, accompanied by her husband, former First Gentleman, and son, Congressman Mikey Arroyo, the former President, in an ambulance arrived at the Manila International Airport. She was wheeled into the departure VIP lounge wearing a face mask and a neck brace. Armed with a Supreme Court restraining order overturning an earlier travel ban issued by the late former President Benigno Aquino III, their lawyers tried to persuade the Immigration officials to allow them to depart for Singapore for medical treatment of a bone ailment The accused, as then-Secretary of Justice, in willful, brazen and blatant defiance of the Supreme Court order, commanded her subordinate officials in the Bureau Immigration, who of course complied, to prevent Arroyo from boarding the plane. On 16 July 2012, a P366 million plunder charge was filed against her. On 12 October 2012, a warrant of arrest was issued against her by the Sandiganbayan, which granted her plea for a hospital arrest owing to her illness. She was a virtual prisoner at the hospital and deprived of her liberty until 19 July 2016 when the Supreme Court freed her after it dismissed the plunder case against her. Undoubtedly, it was the accused who not only inhumanly stopped her from getting urgent medical treatment abroad and as the head of the prosecution arm of the Aquino government, but contributed greatly to her subsequent arrest and detention for more than four years. Accused De Lima may have escaped her criminal culpability by reason of a flawed acquittal in the drug cases but she could not dodge her accountably for the illegal act of stopping FPGMA from seeking medical treatment abroad. Her continued detention despite her acquittal is a deserving substituted punishment for the cruel and criminal offense she committed against the former Chief Executive. Her acquittal is not a shield to the unstoppable and inexorable operation of the law of karma. As an aside, this writer cannot fathom why FPGMA has not filed any criminal or administrative case or both against her tormentor, except to consider that the former has a forgiving heart. It is also a wonderment why the Supreme Court, on its own initiative, has not sanctioned the criminal, contumacious, and outrageous act of the former government official, when her act was in open defiance of its restraining order. The post Acquittal doesn’t shield accused from karmic debt appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
OSG calls on the court anew to reverse the acquittal of 10 human rights defenders
"Such frivolous yet retaliatory charges pursued by government counsels also show how public funds are being wastefully utilized to go after those who defend and uphold human rights.” The post OSG calls on the court anew to reverse the acquittal of 10 human rights defenders appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
Pia, Saab, Maxene sama-sama sa 15th death anniversary ni Francis Magalona
BILANG pagpupugay sa ika-15th death anniversary ni Francis Magalona, nagsama-sama ang mga mahal niya sa buhay – ang kanyang misis na si Pia Arroyo-Magalona, pati na rin ang dalawang anak niyang babae na sina Maxene at Saab. Sa pamamagitan ng Instagram Stories, ibinandera ni Maxene ang ilang moments ng naging intimate gathering sa Loyola Memorial.....»»
Jemboy mom: ‘Cop will only be jailed for years, but my son is gone forever’
The police suspects in the killing of Jemboy Baltazar all received lighter penalties. The sanctions range from acquittal to imprisonment of up to six years......»»
ICHRP welcomes acquittal of Maria Ressa in Philippine tax evasion case
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) welcomes journalist and Nobel Prize recipient Maria Ressa’s acquittal from a Philippine tax evasion case......»»
Dindo Arroyo tsinugi na sa Batang Quiapo; McCoy ‘pinapapatay’ na rin
KAYA pala nag-viral ang pakiusap ng netizens na “Save Severino” ay dahil tsinugi na ang naturang karakter sa seryeng “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” nitong Lunes. Si Severino ay ginagampanan ni Dindo Arroyo bilang trusted staff at kanang kamay ni Christopher de Leon as Ramon Montenego/Alberto Frias. Umabot din ng isang taon si Dindo sa programa at.....»»
SC upholds Philippines-Japan economic pact
The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, a bilateral trade and investment deal entered into by the two countries during the Arroyo administration and ratified by the Senate in 2008......»»
Chinese presence at NGCP
The Chinese presence at NGCP can be blamed on former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who allowed it to happen. She was very close to China, trying a pivot to China away from the United States through Chinese supported infrastructure projects......»»
Court upholds acquittal of 10 activists
A Quezon City court has dismissed a petition for review filed by National Security Adviser Eduardo Año and his predecessor, Hermogenes Esperon Jr., which sought to overturn a decision acquitting 10 activists of perjury......»»
Remulla sees De Lima acquittal in last drug case
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla thinks former senator Leila de Lima will likely be acquitted in her remaining drug case after a Muntinlupa court granted her bail on Nov. 13......»»
Who’s destabilizing who?
Allies of Speaker Martin Romualdez have been busy explaining why Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Davao Congressman Isidro Ungab were stripped of their deputy speaker positions......»»
House ousts Arroyo, Ungab as deputy speakers
House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe says Pampanga Representative Gloria Arroyo and Davao City 3rd District Representative Isidro Ungab 'chose not to sign a pivotal House resolution sponsored by the entire leadership'.....»»
Malolos court asked to reverse Palparan acquittal
Manalo, the witness who led to the conviction of Palparan in a 2018 case asked the Malolos Regional Trial Court on October 23, to take a second look at the decision saying that their evidence was enough to prove conspiracy against Palparan and the accused......»»
PCG’s problematic dualism
There is a world of difference between the roles of a civilian agency and those of a military command. No civilian agency or military command should be doing the role of the other, lest they overlap, conflict, or render redundant their authority. The role of the Philippine Coast Guard is a good subject for legislative review — whether it fulfills a purely civilian function or a purely military one. The fact that it’s an attached agency of the Department of Transportation as much as an attached service of the Department of National Defense “confers” upon it a dualism that may be at cross purposes. While the PCG can fit either role, it shouldn’t. For in so doing, the line between maritime law enforcement and national defense is blurred. One may be led to think that, perforce, the PCG is unadulteratedly a military organization as it used to be part of the Philippine Navy, a major branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Something explains this duality, but it may require assessment as to whether it must continue to have this dual character. In principle, any individual or unit that performs a task or mandate that essentially belongs solely to the military must forthwith be under a military commander or military organization. Who can even begin to fathom what it means when the Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard reports directly to the Transportation Secretary in the enforcement of maritime law, but also reports to the Defense Secretary if not the President in wartime? If one should take a cursory look at those who served as commandants of the PCG since its founding in 1967 under different presidents, one would find, viz.: 1) During Rodrigo Duterte’s term, only three served for over a year, while four served for less than a year, and one for only 18 days; 2) Under Benigno Aquino, four barely completed a year, one just a year, and one more than two years; 3) Under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, three served for barely a year, two served over two years or so; 4) Under Joseph Estrada, one served for two years; 5) In Fidel Ramos’ time, five served for less than a year, one for 32 days, and one for almost three years; 6) Under Corazon Aquino, two served for two years, one for three years, and two for a week or so; 7) Under Ferdinand Marcos Sr., four served for over a year, three served for 3, 4, 5 years, respectively. This tells us that commandants, as presidential appointees, must be the personal choices of the presidents they serve. With a change of the occupant in Malacañang, a change in the leadership of the PCG also takes place, good or bad. It’s said that the PCG’s “transformation into a non-military organization” and its “civilian character” allowed it “to receive offers of vessels, equipment, technology, services, cooperation and other needed assistance from other countries,” that otherwise would not have been feasible were it a military agency. President Fidel Ramos signed Executive Order 475 on 30 March 1998 to separate the PCG from the Philippine Navy, and Executive Order 477 to transfer it from the DND to the DoTC, a month thereafter. Thus, even FM Jr. has been heard saying, “Our friends from other countries will help strengthen the PCG’s capabilities.” Today, the President envisions the PCG as a “central actor” insofar as West Philippine Sea matters are concerned; thus, he ordered several 40-foot long patrol vessels to be built in Cebu to improve the PCG’s capabilities in maritime territorial disputes. In the face of China’s unprecedented coast guard expansion — the largest in the world — “civilianizing” the PCG makes little sense. It’s a Catch-22 on how to “reinvent” the PCG. Military strategists had miserably failed. The post PCG’s problematic dualism appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
PCO corrects blunder
The Presidential Communications Office, or PCO, on Saturday, retracted a false claim that it had been four decades “since the last time a sitting President of the Philippines” visited Saudi Arabia. “Forty years since former President Ferdinand E. Marcos (Sr.) visited Saudi Arabia, the last time a sitting President of the Philippines traveled to the country, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited the Filipino community in Riyadh to personally express his gratitude for their significant contributions,” part of the PCO’s deleted Facebook claimed. A few hours later, Malacañang issued an erratum in a new Facebook post. “In a previous version of this caption, we erroneously stated that President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.’s visit to Saudi Arabia in 1982 was the last visit by a sitting Philippine president,” PCO said in another post. “We wish to clarify that both President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and President Rodrigo Duterte in [sic] also visited Saudi Arabia in 2009 and 2017 respectively.” Noticeable was the misplaced “in” in the erratum of the PCO, an office tasked with combating fake news on matters about the government, particularly the Office of the President. The post PCO corrects blunder appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Enforced Disappearances Still a Scourge in Philippines
The acquittal last week of a former Army general for the 2006 abduction and torture of two brothers highlights the persistence of impunity for enforced disappearances in the Philippin.....»»
Enforced Disappearances Still a Scourge in Philippines
The acquittal last week of a former Army general for the 2006 abduction and torture of two brothers highlights the persistence of impunity for enforced disappearances in the Philippin.....»»
Ang aga? Sara Duterte, Arroyo visit Iglesia ni Cristo leader Manalo
The courtesy calls come at a time when cracks are beginning to show in the Uniteam of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte.....»»
Impunity still persists, says tortured farmer after Palparan acquittal
"It pains me because in all the cases where I testified in, the courts believed in me except this - Branch 19. I am confused why he was acquitted." The post Impunity still persists, says tortured farmer after Palparan acquittal appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
Topacio: ‘President Arroyo has done no wrongdoing during her term’
The camp of Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo deemed "baseless" the graft and malversation raps filed against the former president before the Ombudsman last week, accusing her of abuse of discretion over the disbursement of P38.807 billion in Malamapya funds during her presidency. Arroyo's legal counsel, Ferdinand Topacio, said that while they have yet to receive the copy of the complaint-- and learned about it through the news-- they have no doubt that the accusations will be disproven. "Suffice it to state that based on newspaper reports, the complainant admits that the funds concerned were used for public purposes," the lawyer said. "In accordance with settled legal principles, Pres. Arroyo has done no wrongdoing during her term, and we are confident that these charges will be proven false, in the same manner, that other accusations made before them have been shown to be baseless," he said. Topacio was referring to a 34-page complaint filed by National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms or NASECORE president Petronilo "Pete" Ilagan and Boses ng Konsyumer Alliance Inc. president Rogelio Reyes, suing Arroyo of 96 counts each of graft and malversation. The complainants cited irregularities in the utilization of Malampaya funds during Arroyo's incumbency, specifically the realigning of the revenues to finance government projects for which the funds were not intended. Arroyo was the Philippine president from 2001 to 2010. Ilagan and Reyes accused Arroyo of taking advantage of her post in allowing the use of P38.807 billion of Malampaya funds for purposes other than the avowed intention of Presidential Decree 910 and as highlighted by a 2017 special audit on the fund by the Commission on Audit. PD 910, signed in 1976, mandates that the profits from Malampaya remitted to the government should be used to finance energy resource development and exploration activities. However, it also stipulates that Malampaya earnings can also be used for "other purposes as directed by the President," which the complainants argued was abused by Arroyo. "Respondent Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo whimsically took the opportunity of the said law's inadequacy and deliberately twisted the interpretation of the said provision to mean that she, as President, had the discretion to use the Malampaya Fund for whatever purpose she deemed fit," the complainants said. Ilagan and Reyes heavily emphasized Arroyo's command to direct the Malampaya funds to agricultural and irrigation programs, disaster rehabilitation, transport projects, national security activities, and cash assistance to the transport sector under the Pantawid Pasada Program, which they claimed was entirely unrelated to energy development. "In short, the Malampaya fund became a discretionary fund of the Office of the President, and disbursements therefrom became subject of whims and caprice of the respondent without regard to the purpose and policy of Presidential Decree No. 910," the complainants said of Arroyo. In the meantime, Topacio expressed their intention to defer it to the justice system and thereafter present a counterargument against the charges in due time. Arroyo and three of her Cabinet secretaries were previously sued for plunder by the National Bureau of Investigation before the Ombudsman for purportedly stealing a P900-million Malampaya fund intended for the impoverished back-to-back typhoon victims in 2009. She was cleared of the charges in 2016 following then-Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales' verdict that the NBI "failed to prove" that they colluded in the illegal diversion of Malampaya fund. The post Topacio: ‘President Arroyo has done no wrongdoing during her term’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»