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7 nanlaban drug suspects dead after Baste Duterte declares drug war
Less than a week after Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte declared a "war on drugs" in the city, at least seven drug suspects were killed during a buy-bust operation in the city — violence that highlights the seriousness of the mayor's recent threat of outright killing persons caught using illegal drugs......»»
CHR alarmed by war vs drugs in Davao City
THE Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is alarmed by Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte’s “war against drugs”, as seven drug users were killed from different barangays in the city over the weekend, just a few hours after his declaration......»»
Mandaue drug bust: P476,000 ‘shabu’ seized from HVI
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Authorities seized suspected shabu worth at least P476,000 from a 45-year-old man described as a high-value individual during an anti-illegal drugs operation in Mandaue City early on Wednesday morning, March 27, 2024. The operation took place along Realty Road in the North Reclamation Area in Barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City, Cebu. The.....»»
CHR probes Davao drug war deaths
The Commission on Human Rights yesterday expressed grave concern over Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte’s recent declaration of a war on drugs in the city......»»
7 dead after Davao City Mayor Duterte declares war vs. drugs
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 26 March) – Two more drug suspects died in separate buy-bust operations in Toril District here before dawn Tuesday, after they allegedly resisted arrest, a police official said. This brought the number of fatalities to seven since Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte declared a “war” on illegal drugs last March […].....»»
ICC can t probe Philippines drug war, Marcos tells Germany s Scholz
MANILA, The Philippines: This week, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz the International Criminal Court (ICC) has no authority to probe the bloody war against drugs conducted by his predecessor. Marcos discussed the Hague-based ICC's probe during a bilateral meeting with Scholz while visiting Germany. Former President Rodrigo Duterte officially withdrew from the i.....»»
Remulla: Anti-hunger TF still existing
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla confirmed the continuing existence of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger even after the abolition of the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, which was initially designated as the head of the task force. Remulla provided legal clarification, stating, “We opine that, being a completely different entity, the IATF-ZH subsists despite the abolition of the office of its designated chair, i.e., OCS.” The Justice official issued the legal opinion in response to the query of Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa of the Department of Health regarding the dissolution of the OCS by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The defunct OCS was established in 2020 during the presidency of Rodrigo R. Duterte. Herbosa raised the issue due to the government’s loan agreement with the World Bank-International Bank, which required IATF-ZH to lead the project steering committee for the Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Project. Since the DoH serves as the lead agency for the PMNP, Herbosa inquired whether the functions of IATF-ZH, as the steering committee lead, could be transferred to the National Nutrition Council Governing Board, which the DoH also chairs. He noted that the membership of the NNC is identical to that of IATF-ZH. Remulla informed Herbosa that “the government has recently recognized and strengthened IATF-ZH when it issued EO (Executive Order) 27, series of 2023.” Reorganized “Under EO 27, the IATF-ZH was reorganized with the Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary as its Chair and the Executive Director of the NNC as its Co-Chair, in lieu of the Cabinet Secretary,” Remulla stated. “Further, Section 2 of EO 27 expressly states that except as expressly modified, all other provisions of EO No. 101 shall remain in full force and effect.” EO 101, issued in 2020, established IATF-ZH and designated the OCS as its chair. Remulla emphasized, “Since the IATF-ZH still exists, its responsibilities, with respect to the PMNP, cannot be transferred to the NNC.” He clarified that although the loan agreement allows for a successor to IATF-ZH, the continued existence of the inter-agency task force means that it “remains the leader in the Project Steering Committee for the PMNP, as provided in Paragraph I0(A)(1), Schedule 2 of the Loan Agreement.” The post Remulla: Anti-hunger TF still existing appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
India using anti-money laundering rules to ‘silence critics’ — Amnesty Int’l
India is exploiting recommendations by a global money-laundering watchdog as a "draconian" tool to shutter civil society groups and suppress activists and critics, Amnesty International said Wednesday. Government critics within civil society organizations and the media have long complained of harassment in the world's biggest democracy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist administration, a charge it strenuously denies. Amnesty said the recommendations of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) were being abused to bring in "draconian laws to stifle the non-profit sector" and block organizations from funding. The 39-nation FATF, of which India has been a member since 2010, is mandated to tackle global money laundering and terrorist financing. Critics say Modi's government has sought to pressure rights groups by heavily scrutinizing their finances and clamping down on foreign funding. "Under the guise of combatting terrorism, the Indian government has leveraged the Financial Action Task Force's recommendations to tighten its arsenal of financial and counter-terrorism laws which are routinely misused to target and silence critics," Amnesty International India chair Aakar Patel said in a statement. In the last 10 years, India has canceled the licenses of more than 20,600 non-governmental organizations, with nearly 6,000 of these taking place since 2022, the report said. In 2020, Amnesty International had to suspend its Indian operations after its bank accounts were frozen. The Indian government defended its move, accusing Amnesty of "illegal practices" involving the transfer of "large amounts of money" from Amnesty UK to India. Journalists critical of the government also complain of increased harassment, both on social media -- where Modi's ruling party has a powerful presence -- and in the real world. The post India using anti-money laundering rules to ‘silence critics’ — Amnesty Int’l appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Southeast Asian air force chiefs to snub Myanmar meeting
Several Southeast Asian air force commanders will shun an upcoming meeting chaired by Myanmar's military rulers, officials told AFP, deepening the junta's regional isolation as it struggles to crush resistance. The annual ASEAN Air Chiefs Conference gathers top air force leaders from the 10-nation bloc to discuss cooperation in defense, combating extremism, and disaster relief. Current chair Myanmar is set to host the meeting next week but at least three Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries told AFP they will not send their top officials. The junta has been accused of war crimes over air strikes carried out by its jets -- mostly Chinese and Russian-built -- in support of ground troops battling opponents of its 2021 coup. Its air force chief Htun Aung, who will chair the conference, has been sanctioned by the United States and Britain. The air force chiefs of the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia will not attend the meeting, officials told AFP. Malaysia's air force chief will not attend, a spokesperson said, while the Philippine commander will send a video message to his counterpart rather than go in person. Indonesia's air force chief "will not be attending and won't be sending anyone to represent him either," air force spokesperson Agung Sasongkojati told AFP without giving a reason. At a summit this week, ASEAN accused the junta of targeting civilians in the grinding conflict sparked by its coup, and of ignoring a peace plan agreed with the bloc to end violence. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said there had been "no significant progress" in the five-point plan agreed with the junta more than two years ago. ASEAN has barred junta officials from high-level meetings over their refusal to engage with the plan and their opponents. Cambodian air force commander Soeng Samnang declined to comment on whether he would attend, and the defence ministry could not be reached for comment. The air forces of Singapore, Brunei and Vietnam did not respond to requests for comment. But Thailand's air force chief will make the trip to neighboring Myanmar, a defense ministry official told AFP. While ASEAN has halted high-level meetings with Myanmar's generals, Thailand has held its own bilateral talks with the junta and deposed democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in recent months, further dividing the bloc. War crime claims Amnesty International said last year the junta was likely using air strikes as "collective punishment" against civilians supporting anti-coup fighters, and in March the United Nations said the military had carried out more than 300 air strikes in the past year. Also in March, the junta held a parade to mark Armed Forces Day, with flyovers by Russian-made Yak and Sukoi Su-30 jets. The military bombed a gathering in northern Sagaing region in April that media and locals said killed about 170 people, sparking renewed global condemnation of the isolated junta. Human Rights Watch said it had evidence the military had used a thermobaric "vacuum bomb" in the attack, saying it likely amounted to a war crime. Air strikes on a concert held by a major ethnic rebel group in northern Kachin state killed around 50 people last October. The junta has said reports civilians were among the dead were "rumors". AFP has contacted a Myanmar junta spokesman for comment. The post Southeast Asian air force chiefs to snub Myanmar meeting appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
NSC denies NTF-ELCAC’s links to 2 missing youth activists
The National Security Council on Thursday challenged Human Rights watchdog Karapatan to provide proof that the government's anti-insurgency task force is behind the reported abduction of two youth activists involved in an anti-reclamation campaign in Bataan province. NSC Assistant Director-General, Jonathan Malaya, insisted there was no way that the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict would do such an act. “As if on cue, the alleged abduction of the two individuals has once again been blamed on the NTF-ELCAC, without any shred of evidence whatsoever,” Malaya said in a statement. According to Karapatan, Jhed Tamano, 22, and Jonila Castro, 21, have gone missing as of Monday. Amador Cadano, Karapatan-Central Luzon spokesperson, cited accounts of witnesses that suspected armed men were seen forcing Tamano and Castro inside a gray Toyota Innova in front of the Orion Water District in Barangay Lati around 8 p.m. on 2 September. “Before they went missing, the two reported being tailed by men wearing civilian clothes. The two stayed in Sitio Ormoc in Barangay Balut (also in Orion) for at least three days, consulting the community for a possible relief operation,” Cadano said. The group held state forces, the NTF-ELCAC, and the Marcos administration should be held “accountable for the enforced disappearance of Jhed and Jonila and all others who disappeared in the region and in the nation.” Malaya described this as a 'usual playbook' of the group saying, “The NTF-ELCAC is the convenient scapegoat by this front organization for any alleged deficiency of government.” “We challenge Karapatan to come up with any evidence or proof of wrong-doing by the NTF ELCAC and submit the same to the Department of Justice for preliminary investigation,” Malaya said. Should there be no evidence be presented, Malaya said the group must let the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group do their job. “If they have none, then they should let the PNP CIDG conduct its investigation rather than pointing fingers at the NTF ELCAC with complete disregard for the truth,” he added. The NSC serves as the vice chair of the anti-communist insurgency body. The post NSC denies NTF-ELCAC’s links to 2 missing youth activists appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
PBBM appoints new NLRC chair
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Grace Tan as the new chairperson of the National Labor Relations Commission, the Presidential Communications Office announced on Saturday. Tan has served as presiding commissioner of the NLRC, which is an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment. NLRC is mandated to adjudicate labor and management of disputes involving both local and overseas workers through compulsory arbitration and alternative modes of dispute resolution. The post PBBM appoints new NLRC chair appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Mexico town mayor, 3 others sacked
Mexico, Pampanga — The Office of the Ombudsman on Sunday announced that it has ordered the dismissal of Mexico, Pampanga Mayor Teddy Tumang and three other officials for their alleged involvement in anomalous purchases. A 17-page consolidated decision of the Ombudsman revealed that Tumang, municipal accountant Perlita Lagman, municipal engineer and former Bids and Awards Committee vice chair Jesus S. Punzalan, and Administrative Officer V and former BAC member Luz C. Bondoc, were found guilty following the anomalous purchases of construction materials. The dismissal order was implemented by the Department of the Interior and Local Government on Friday, which also installed Vice Mayor Ruding Gonzales as the new town mayor. The mayor and three other local officials were also meted with forfeiture of retirement benefits, perpetual disqualification from holding public office, cancellation of eligibility, and barred from taking civil service examinations. The dismissal order from the Office of the Ombudsman disclosed that the four have been found “administratively liable for grave misconduct.” A separate consolidated resolution also recommended the filing of 41 counts of violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, by way of conspiracy, against Tumang, Punzalan, Bondoc, BAC chair Marlon Maniacup, BAC members Lucila Agento, Romeo Razon; as well as William Colis, the supplier of the construction materials. The resolution also recommended the filing of 23 counts of violation of Section 3(e) of RA 3019 and seven counts of violation of Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code against Tumang, Maniacup, Agento, Punzalan, Bondoc, Razon, Lagman and Colis. The post Mexico town mayor, 3 others sacked appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
BI operations at NAIA looked into by Anti-Trafficking Council
The Bureau of Immigration said on Sunday that the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) conducted an inspection visit to immigration operations on Friday evening at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3. BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco shared that immigration operations at the NAIA 3 were presented to the IACAT. The said inspection, conducted by Department of Justice Undersecretary and IACAT in-charge Nicholas Felix Ty, aimed to review procedures on departure formalities as part of the inter-agency’s regular assessment. During the inspection, Usec. Ty confirmed that the BI is implementing the same procedures as it had in the past. Earlier this week, the IACAT released revised guidelines on departure formalities to streamline requirements for departing Filipinos. Tansingco reiterated that the new guidelines pose no additional requirements for departing tourists. Tansingco said that in the updated guidelines, regular tourists are only required to have a passport valid for at least 6 months, a valid visa if one is required, a boarding pass, and a confirmed round-trip ticket. The BI Chief stressed that the guidelines list requirements for other categories of departing Filipinos as well as those who may undergo secondary inspection. Tansingco also said that in the past, only Filipinos that are subjected to secondary inspection due to red flags may be required to show additional supporting documents, which are now specified in the guidelines. He added that the new guidelines issued by the IACAT would ensure that immigration officers look at specific requirements and do not require frivolous documents. Previously, the IACAT highlighted the importance of the guidelines in protecting all departing Filipinos from human trafficking and illegal recruitment. The guidelines on departure formalities have been in place since 2012 and were later revised in 2015. Tansingco also stressed that there is no new policy for departing tourists being implemented by the BI, and for departing tourists, especially Filipinos, there is no need to worry. The DOJ and the Department of Social Welfare and Development jointly chair the interagency IACAT. Their members are from the BI, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the Department of Tourism, the Department of Migrant Workers, the Commission on Filipinos Abroad, the National Bureau of Investigation, and the Philippine National Police. The International Justice Mission, the Coalition Against Women Trafficking-Asia and the Pacific, and the Blas Ople Policy Centre and Training Institute are non-governmental groups that are also members of the council. The post BI operations at NAIA looked into by Anti-Trafficking Council appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Barangay chair, 6 others slapped with graft raps
A Barangay Kaligayahan kagawad (village councilor) slapped his six colleagues and their chairman with graft and falsification charges before the Office of the Ombudsman Thursday, 24 August. Barangay Kaligayahan Kagawad Allan Butch Francisco Jr. in his complaint obtained by DAILY TRIBUNE, said barangay chairman Alfredo ‘Freddy’ Roxas, kagawad Jim Mahusay, kagawad Alexander Rivera, kagawad Perla Adea Mallari, kagawad Arnel Gabito, kagawad Dionisio Gascon, kagawad Sofronio Grimaldo, and barangay secretary Josephine Penarada violated Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Falsification of Public Documents, and Grave Misconduct for faking an approved resolution. Francisco claimed the said barangay officials made it appear that the Barangay Resolution No. 087 Series of 2023, “Interposing no objection to the application of M.M. Ledesma Laboratories Corp., located at Zabarte Ext.,” was approved on 15 April 2023. It was also certified by Penarada. However, Francisco explained that while they agreed to establish that regular session of their council shall be held every 1st and 2nd Saturdays of each month, 15 April fell on the 3rd Saturday, Roxas postponed it to give way for the Barangay Assembly Day held also on that day. “No session was actually conducted on that day,” Francisco said in his complaint referring to the date the said resolution was passed. He added that neither the supposed notice for the regular session was nor a notice for special session was issued by Roxas for the resolution to be passed. Roxas earlier was also charged of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act by Hernando Compendioa, barangay watchman, who suffered a stroke, and was told by the chieftain to stop working, but later learned that his name was still on the payroll list but not receiving a single centavo. Meanwhile, Graft and Falsification charges were also hurled against Barangay Pasong Tamo chairwoman Mae Tagle before the Office of the Ombudsman by three of her own village staff over a dozen “ghost employees.” Tagle had just been served with another six months suspension for leasing the space barangay pharmacy to private fish and meat vendor by the Special Investigation Committee of the City Council. Florence Andre Fabre, Ruvelinda dela Isla and Mary Lyne Casinos showed that Tagle hired them upon assuming her post on 1 July 2022. Tagle became the village chief because of rule of succession for being the number one kagawad (barangay councilor) when then barangay chairman Banjo Pilar won as a councilor in May 2022 polls. Fabre in their joint affidavit of complaint averred that he was a book keeper and assistant of barangay assistant treasurer Gloria Sareño who was in-charged of preparing payroll for the entire staff of their village. He said that from July to September 2022 nothing unusual happened in their payroll, until came October 2022, when there were 10 other names added to the list of their payroll, and was instructed by Tagle’s daughter Mary Jean, who acted as their admin aide IV, to also sign on behalf of the additional names on the list and be quiet about it. Fabre also found out that one of the names added was Tagle’s maid Melina Barcelo with a work item as “contact tracer” receiving a monthly salary of P6,500. To his estimate, about a million pesos has been pocketed by Tagle since that month until April 2023, as the names added in their payroll list were not really receiving their salary. Dela Isla, on the other hand, worked as an assistant trainer along with her daughter Florbhy who worked as a traffic enforcer from 1 July 2022 to 30 November, 2022. But the younger Dela Isla had resigned the following month. To her surprise, Dela Isla learned that the name of her daughter was still listed in their payroll when Tagle got her first suspension on June 2023, pocketing her daughter’s salary for six months. Casinos, on another end, who was also hired by Tagle as an Auxiliary member of the village watchmen team, also learned that even her husband’s name who was working at the nearby Himlayang Filipino was also listed as “ghost employee.” The three complainants also attached the affidavit of Daniel Tecson whose name was also listed as “ghost employees” who did not even received a single centavo from Tagle, when they filed the charges on 13 June 2023 for fear of being implicated in Tagle’s scheme. The post Barangay chair, 6 others slapped with graft raps appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
QC barangay chair suspended anew
Two 30-day suspension was again slapped against Quezon City Barangay Pasong Tamo chairperson Mae Tagle by the City Council’s Special Investigation Committee Friday. Tagle who was supposed to be back next month as barangay chairperson (village chief) from a 90-day suspension over abuse of power charges was meted another two months’ suspension over three cases filed against her by concerned citizen and the Sangguniang Kabataan officials at City Council’s SIC. The SIC Administrative Order 449-23 was issued for violation of Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and Grave Misconduct, when Tagle allowed the space used as the Barangay Pharmacy to be rented by a private individual. The Botika ng Barangay located at Barangay Pasong Tamo Annex along Luzon Avenue has been turned into a fish and meat store. Such act, the SIC noted, required the concurrence of the Barangay Council documented by a resolution. The second charges for Acts Prejudicial to the Best Interest of Service was due to Tagle’s appointment of Diosdado Velasco as the Barangay Administrator. Velasco ran and lost during the May 2022 polls but Tagle after the polls appointed him, violating the one-year prohibition ban for those who ran and lost in the last national and local elections. The case of nepotism for appointing her daughter as Barangay clerk was dismissed, leaving the two cases to impose a 30-day suspension each, thereby prohibiting Tagle to assume as the Barangay Pasong Tamo Chairman. The SIC resolution order was concurred by the City Council to be implemented for the month of September and October where the next barangay election slated on the 30th. The Special Investigation Committee was an offshoot of a Memorandum of Agreement between the Office of the Ombudsman and the Quezon City Council’s 38 members, led by Quezon City Vice Mayor Gian Sotto as the presiding officer, granting the council authority to hear cases against barangay officials to lessen the Ombudsman office of loads of this kind of cases. The post QC barangay chair suspended anew appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Sandigan junks NLDC officials’quash bid
The Sandiganbayan has junked the bids of two ex-officials of the state-run National Livelihood and Development Corp. to quash graft and malversation raps filed against them in connection with their alleged involvement in the misappropriation of P5-million pork barrel funds of ex-La Union Rep. Victor Francisco Ortega. Finding sufficient evidence to sustain their indictment on the charges, the anti-graft court’s Second Division denied the motions of NLDC president Gondelina Amata and assets management division chief Gregoria Buenaventura seeking leave of court to file demurrers to evidence. Amata and Buenaventura were indicted of graft and malversation of public funds along with Ortega and businesswoman Janet-Lim Napoles — the alleged pork barrel mastermind — for the misuse of the lawmaker’s pork barrel funds or Priority Development Assistance Fund amounting to P5 million. The Ombudsman, which filed the case in, said Amata and Buenaventura colluded with Napoles and former Energy Regulatory Commission chair Zenaida Ducut. The NLDC erstwhile officials were accused of funneling Ortega’s P5 million PDAF supposedly for the implementation of livelihood projects to the bogus non-government organization Social Development Program for Farmer’s Foundation Inc. or SDPFFI, believed to be governed by Napoles, in exchange for kickbacks. However, Amata and Buenaventura both argued in their motion that the prosecution failed to prove that it was indeed a conspiracy and there is no competent evidence supporting the allegations. Moreover, Amata contended that PDAF was repeatedly upheld as valid and constitutional. In November 2013, the Supreme Court ruled PDAF unconstitutional as it became a source of corruption. The prosecution, in response, countered that the evidence on record established that Amata and Buenaventura’s participation in the scheme that permitted the release of funds to SDPFFI are both “essential.” “The validity and constitutionality of PDAF are not in issue, as the charge against the accused is hinged on the illegality of the utilization, disbursement, and release of PDAF to an incompetent, non-qualified and bogus SDPFFI that resulted in misappropriation of public funds,” the prosecution pointed out. Meanwhile, the Sandiganbayan underlined that the case is merely a determination of whether the evidence on record is sufficient to sustain the indictment or support a verdict of guilt and does not lead to a conclusion of the guilt or innocence of the accused. “Finding sufficient evidence to sustain the indictment for the crimes charged at this point of the trial, all the accused now bear the evidentiary burden to controvert the evidence of the prosecution,” the court said in a six-page resolution signed on 8 August. The post Sandigan junks NLDC officials’quash bid appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Former DILG Usec. Martin Diño dies at 66
Martin Diño, former Interior and Local Government Undersecretary, who paved the way for then-Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to become a candidate for president as his substitute, died early morning, Tuesday, 8 August 2023, due to a lingering illness. He was 66. In a social media post, his daughter Liza Diño, former chair of the Film Development Council of the Philippines, wrote: [He} peacefully died at 2:15 am on August 8, 2023, surrounded by his family. Lisa Diño said her father, fondly called "Bobot", had been battling lung cancer for over a year. “He suffered from acute respiratory failure and has been battling with stage IV lung cancer for more than a year,” Liza wrote in a statement. “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Martin Diño, former undersecretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)," she added. In 2015 Diño filed his candidacy for the 2016 presidential elections but later withdrew before he was declared a nuisance candidate by the Commission on Elections, allowing PDP-Laban to substitute Duterte in his place. Diño was the barangay captain of Barangay San Antonio, Quezon City's First District, and gained some fame when he took up the cause of the victim (then a minor) of Leo Echagaray, the first convict to be executed (vial lethal injection) after the death penalty had been reinstated in 1993. Diño became an active member of the advocacy group Violence Against Crime and Corruption, and later on served as its chairman. He became chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, a reward for Diño’s last-minute withdrawal from the 2016 elections by President Duterte, who appointed him to the position. During that stint, Diño filed a complaint before the office of the Ombudsman against 13 SBMA officials for alleged malversation, grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, and grave abuse of authority over unaccounted assets. Because of his anti-drugs and anti-corruption crusade at SBMA, Duterte appointed him as undersecretary for barangay affairs of the Department of the Interior and Local Government. "Only God knows why, despite all the outpour of love and support, things have to come to an end—but for now, at least no more pain na papa ko (there is no more pain my papa),” his daughter Liza said. The post Former DILG Usec. Martin Diño dies at 66 appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Solon slams BuCor’s Catapang over lack of CCTV in Bilibid
A rookie lawmaker lambasted the leadership of the Bureau of Corrections for not installing adequate CCTV in the facilities of the New Bilibid Prison despite having a big chunk of the budget. On Tuesday's motu proporio inquiry of the House public order and safety committee probe into the case of Michael Angelo Catarroja, 25, an inmate from NBP who was reportedly missing since 15 July, 1-Rider Partylist Rep. Bonifacio Bosita stressed that it might be less complicated to track down Cataroja's whereabouts only if there is sufficient CCTV in the area. "If the NBP has CCTV, I think after Mr. Cataroja was reported missing and unaccounted for, it would have been found out immediately. You have millions of funds, this CCTV is very basic. Even those small stores, cafeterias have CCTV," Bosita told BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. The lawmaker was provoked when Catapang told lawmakers that NBP when it was turned over to his superintendence, lacked CCTV installed in the facilities. "There were CCTVs, but they weren't working. So we replace the ones that don't work one by one," the BuCor chief said. "When I sat down (in the position), I put it [CCTVs] because there was none before. But now they are slowly installing [CCTVs] in the facilities," Catapang said, noting that 20 to 25 percent of CCTVs have already been installed around the BuCor headquarters. Catapang emphasized that BuCor is working with a "very limited budget," and it would cost them P25 to P30 million to fill the corners of BuCor with CCTVs. He disclosed that the BuCor had allocated more or less P600 million for the NBP's budget for logistics in 2024. For this year, the budget was only pegged at about P20 million, according to Catapang. Bosita said installing CCTVs should be at the top of the list to safeguard PDLs while also catching corrupt officers off guard. "Mr. Chair, it seems that the NBP management is weak. Because when it comes to security, protection, dedication to service, with all due respect, you should think about it first," Bosita told Catapang. "I think, Mr. Chair, if this is not given priority, attention, the problems, issues, and concerns involving personnel of NBP and our PDLs, it will happen again and again. And I hope I'm wrong, maybe we don't want to prioritize this because maybe we're protecting something that we're involved in," the solon pointed out. The panel, chaired by Santa Rosa Rep. Dan Fernandez, held its first motu proporio with a heated exchange between lawmakers and some BuCor officials as the latter has yet to locate the whereabouts of Cataroja. According to Catapang, and two other BuCor officials, Cataroja, whose body is suspected to be the remains found inside a septic tank, would still be under "missing" status until all the septic tanks at NBP were checked. "If we really can’t find him, then we can declare him to have escaped or AWOL," Catapang told the panel. The "missing" PDL is serving his 10-year sentence at the NBP, where he was admitted in 2022. He also faced a violation of the anti-fencing law. According to BuCor deputy director Angelina Bautista, it is still unknown if the piece of bone and underwear inside the septic tank belongs to Cataroja, whom she claimed has a long history of hiding. "We didn't see a dead body. We saw the brief and then a piece of bone," she said. The National Bureau of Investigation’s Forensic Unit, which examines the bone, has yet to release the result, according to Bautista. The post Solon slams BuCor’s Catapang over lack of CCTV in Bilibid appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
EC: Phl rights situation ‘improved’
The state of human rights in the Philippines has improved under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday. Von der Leyen, in Manila for a two-day visit, said the Philippine government is now “more cooperative.” “The government now is much more cooperative with the United Nations and other international organizations; this is very important. Therefore, we see progress,” she said. “As I said, there’s much improvement. Still, [there are] topics that we have to discuss, issues that are raised in the constant dialogue that we have with the Philippines. But the environment is much better, and it’s important for us that there’s improvement in the steps forward,” she added. Earlier this year, European Union Subcommittee on Human Rights Chair Hannah Neumann made a similar observation when she visited the Philippines. Neumann noted that the human rights situation in the country was “better” than it was during the term of Marcos’ predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte. “It is better than it was under President Duterte. I think that is what we can clearly state,” she had said. “We had an impression that everyone was very willing to discuss human rights issues with us which had not been the case during the previous administration.” Neumann, likewise, welcomed the new government approach in terms of its anti-narcotics campaign under the Marcos administration. ‘GSP+ extended’ Duterte is accused of committing crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court about his campaign against illegal drugs that resulted in the deaths of about 7,000 people, according to government data. However, both local and International human rights groups disagreed with that figure, claiming that the number of dead could have reached as high as 20,000. Von der Leyen also announced the Philippines would still be able to enjoy perks under the EU’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), as it was extended until 2007. “We evaluated the situation and we found that we can extend the status quo; that is good news... till 2027,” she said. Under the EU’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), developing countries are given special incentives, which include cutting import duties to zero on more than two-thirds of the tariff lines of their exports. The Philippines is among the developing nations that currently enjoy perks under the EU’s GSP+. The trade preference allows the duty-free entry of 6,274 Philippine products into Europe. In 2021, the European Parliament warned then president Duterte that it would suspend the country’s trade privileges under the GSP+ unless it complied with human rights obligations and ensured free and fair elections in 2022. The post EC: Phl rights situation ‘improved’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Graft buster clears Cusi
Citing the presumption of regularity, the Office of the Ombudsman threw out the graft complaint of a New York-based billionaire against former Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, other Department of Energy officials, Davao City-based executive Dennis Uy, and several others over the sale of 90 percent of the shares of the Malampaya natural gas consortium. On 18 October 2021, US-based geologist Balgamel Domingo and Filipino-American anti-Duterte leaders Rodel Rodis and Loida Nicolas-Lewis filed charges against Cusi, Uy, and the others involved in the sale of the Malampaya stake to the Udenna group of Uy. In a copy of the ruling obtained by the Daily Tribune, the Ombudsman said it could not delve into the complaint on the legality of the transaction since “the authority to make such a determination belongs to the court.” “Seemingly, this complaint is in actuality a collateral attack on the validity of the Share Sale and Purchase Agreement,” it said. The decision declared that “matters of such tenor are not determinable in a preliminary investigation before the Ombudsman’s Office.” “Without any judicial determination decreeing the illegality of the Share Sale and Purchase Agreement, this Office is left with nothing but to acknowledge its validity,” the ruling said. The Ombudsman cited a precedent in the case of Teresita Buenaventura vs Metrobank, in a ruling that stated: “The burden of showing that a contract is simulated rests on the party impugning the contract.” “This is because of the presumed validity of the contract that has been duly executed,” the Ombudsman ruling read. “Wherefore, the criminal charges for violation of Section 3(e) and of Republic Act 3019 against the respondents are dismissed for lack of probable cause.” The ruling was signed by members of a Special Panel of Investigators composed of Ronald Allan Ramos, Josephine Mae Rosapapan, Francisco Alan Molina and Bonifacio Mandrilla. Prime takes control The operation of the Malampaya project was recently assumed by the Razon group’s Prime Energy which bought a 45-percent stake from Malampaya Energy XP, or MEXP, of the Udenna group. MEXP had bought the shares of Shell Philippines Exploration B.V., or SPEX, in the consortium. The Department of Energy had branded the complaint a political move since the two Fil-Am lawyers in the suit were prominent in the “Oust Duterte” movement in the United States. The complaint alleged that Cusi and other energy officials had granted “unwarranted benefits and advantage” to Uy’s UC Malampaya in the buyout of Chevron’s share in the consortium. Udenna, through spokesperson Raymond Zorilla, said there is “no law requiring approval of the transfer of shares of companies that have an interest in Malampaya.” Zorilla said the transfer of Chevron and Shell shares underwent strict bidding processes and due diligence by both multinational oil and gas players. “The share sales were above board and legal and had to pass scrutiny by Philippine regulators, international lenders, and the said private multinationals involved,” Zorilla added. Cusi, in an interview with Daily Tribune, had said the DoE was not involved in choosing the buyer of the shares of Shell and Chevron in the Malampaya project. “The DoE did not get involved in the sale (of shares). We don’t know that they are selling. Our question was what their standards are for choosing Udenna. Why didn’t you choose the big companies, and why Udenna?” he said. Industry experts said the sale of shares was a private transaction that the accusers, who are US lawyers, should have been very familiar with. Cusi said the DoE, during his watch, went beyond its mandate by reviewing the technical, legal, and financial aspects of the transactions, the results of which were provided to the public. Political agenda The complaint, he said, had an underlying political agenda connected to his being the head of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan or PDP Laban. “It is not only political propaganda against me, but it also has a destabilization background… because I’m the president of the PDP.” The complaints, in turn, stemmed from the unending Senate inquiries on the Malampaya deals. The DoE said the Senate probes and the controversies that resulted from them had caused costly delays in the review process that would ultimately affect the country’s energy security. To refute a recent remark by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, the DoE, in a statement said: “The inquiries of Senator Gatchalian are causing undue delay to the timeline of the consortium corporations, and this may eventually take its toll and put our energy security at risk.” The DoE’s approval of the sale of shares of stock of Chevron Malampaya LLC, one of the three corporations in the Malampaya Gas Field Project Consortium, had been dubbed by Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, as “lutong Macau.” It also backed the Udenna assessment that the deals were above-board. “When the sales were made, both Chevron Philippines, which owned Chevron Malampaya, and Shell Petroleum NV, owner of SPEX, followed rigorous global standards,” the DoE said. Nicolas-Lewis was part of a 25-person delegation from the US-Philippines Society, a private group comprising business executives and diplomats, who met with Duterte a week before his inauguration as president in 2016. Nicolas-Lewis was then accompanied by former Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia, PLDT chair Manuel V. Pangilinan, retired American diplomats, and executives of Coca-Cola, SGV, JP Morgan, and other top corporations. Nicolas-Lewis is the sister of former National Anti-Poverty Commission chairperson Imelda Nicolas, who was one of the “Hyatt 10” Cabinet members who turned against then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2005. Imelda and most of the Hyatt 10 members ended up getting key posts in the administration of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. Imelda was made head of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas. Nicolas-Lewis plot bared In February 2018, former President Duterte bared intercepted conversations that indicated Nicolas-Lewis was behind efforts to push the International Criminal Court, or ICC, to probe his war on drugs. Duterte revealed a recorded conversation between Lewis and another political opponent whom he did not name. “I was listening to the tapes of their conversation. It was provided to me by another country, but the conversation was somewhere in the Philippines and New York,” Duterte said. He said that among the recordings was one in which Lewis allegedly told another person: “See you in the headquarters when the case is filed.” Duterte then said in a public address that he was aware of developments on the ICC case and that lawyer Jude Sabio, the main complainant in the case, was a paid hack of Magdalo Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and Rep. Gary Alejano, both failed putschists. Sabio withdrew his complaint before the ICC and revealed that the case was the handiwork of the dirty tricks factory of Trillanes. In 2016, Duterte pointed to Lewis as the financier of an alleged destabilization plot against his administration. Nicolas-Lewis invested heavily in the failed presidential campaigns of Liberal Party bets Mar Roxas in 2016 and Vice President Leni Robredo in 2022. The post Graft buster clears Cusi appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»