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Local amnesty boards pivotal in rebel amnesty program
At the Laging Handa press briefing on Monday, National Amnesty Commission Executive Director Atty. Maria Victoria Cardona said the commission is engaged in the careful evaluation of the granting of amnesty to former rebels to ensure the effectiveness of the program in the context of broader peace initiatives. "Our main mandate is to receive and process applications, ensuring that all applicants granted amnesty by our President are qualified under the law," Cardona said. She added that the Commission's role is pivotal in implementing the government's amnesty program, particularly in tandem with the issuance of amnesty proclamations by the President. Elaborating on the process through which amnesty is sought and granted, Cardona said the procedure involves the establishment of Local Amnesty Boards, which serve as the initial point of contact for applications. These boards are responsible for conducting preliminary verification, ensuring the applicants' identity, affiliation and the nature of their crimes. The applications are subsequently forwarded for thorough verification to various entities, including the Department of Justice, the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines and the National Bureau of Investigation. Emphasizing the significance of the Local Amnesty Boards, Cardona said, "They screen and confer, thoroughly examining all applications to ensure that they are qualified, that the applicants possess no disqualifications and that the crimes committed fall under those enumerated and none of the excluded crimes." Following this comprehensive assessment, the Local Amnesty Boards make recommendations on whether to grant or deny the applications, which are then submitted to the National Amnesty Commission. The Commission further evaluates the applications before making its own recommendations to the Office of the President. This two-step process ensures that amnesty decisions are thorough and well-founded. While the Office of the President has the power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of Congress, Cardona said the actual processing of amnesty applications has been temporarily suspended due to the expiration of the application period. "We are currently waiting for a new issuance to extend the application period. We are hopeful that with the pronouncement of our President during the SONA, a proclamation will be issued soon so the commission can fulfill its main mandate," Cardona said. The post Local amnesty boards pivotal in rebel amnesty program appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Zubiri: 22 measures ready for signing
As the first regular session of Congress ended Wednesday, a total of 22 proposed measures moved a signature of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. away from becoming laws. Of the 22 approved bills, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri boasted that eight were approved by the Senate. “The Senate produced a total of six measures enacted into law — four of national application and two local laws,” Zubiri said in a statement on Thursday. “Twenty-two bills are now also up for the President’s signature — seven of them national, 15 local. Two national bills are pending in the bicameral conference committee, and six more national bills have been approved on third reading,” he added. Zubiri said eight measures approved by the Senate are priority measures of the administration. Three of these measures had passed into law, namely, the SIM Registration Act, the Act Postponing the Barangay Elections and the AFP Fixed Term Law. Meanwhile, the Condonation of Unpaid Amortization and Interest on Loans of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Act, the Regional Specialty Centers Act, the Extension of the Estate Tax Amnesty Act, and the Maharlika Investment Fund Act are awaiting the signature of the President. The Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act was approved by the Senate on the third reading and needs only its House counterpart before it can move forward. The Maharlika Investment Fund bill was one of the last measures approved by the chamber after a 12-hour marathon session that ended at 2:32 in the morning of Wednesday. Zubiri stressed that the Senate in the first regular session of the 19th Congress had stood up to its mandate by making sure that the bills approved by the chamber were “quality” measures. “While this scoreboard shows the quantity of our output, it does not describe the quality of each of these measures,” he said. “True to our tradition, we do not agree to proposals without discussion, nor embrace ideas without debate. We improve before we approve. We do not trade scrutiny for speed,” he said. He credited the performance of the Senate to his colleagues. “All of the senators across the majority and the minority have toiled very hard, from the committee hearings to the rigorous debates and interpellations in plenary,” he said. “If the Senate has had an excellent performance thus far, it is all thanks to them,” he added. He also highlighted various local measures taken up by his fellow senators, which he said would “infuse much-needed funding into local governments and schools.” The post Zubiri: 22 measures ready for signing appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
SEC extends deadline for amnesty application
The amnesty program is part of the Commission’s efforts to encourage its supervised entities to comply with their reportorial requirements under Republic Act No. 11232, or the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines......»»
Dela Rosa hopes De Lima’s acquittal ‘devoid of politics’
Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said he hopes the acquittal of former Senator Leila De Lima in one of two drug-related cases against her is “devoid of politics.” “Well, if that decision — I hope — is devoid of anything or any consideration [but] if it's based purely on the merits of the case, then I am glad if justice be served in that case,” Dela Rosa said in a radio interview on Friday. Dela Rosa emphasized that all court decisions “should be devoid of politics.” “But if that has consideration of something or under the influence of what or there’s questionable — questions behind that, ay ibang usapan yan (that another topic). Justice must be served properly sa mga ganitong kaso regardless kung sino siya. Ganun dapat ang mangyari (in cases like this regardless of who the person is. That's how it should happen),” he said. Meanwhile, Amnesty International’s interim Deputy Regional Director for Research Montse Ferrer said De Lima’s acquittal was long overdue. “We urge the authorities to also quash the remaining drug case and to ensure that her application for temporary freedom in this pending case is processed speedily and fairly,” she said. Ferrer called on the Marcos administration to make “those responsible for De Lima’s arbitrary detention” accountable. “Beyond Leila de Lima’s long-overdue release, the Marcos administration must work towards holding accountable those responsible for her arbitrary detention, which clearly violated her rights to liberty, presumption of innocence, and other fair trial guarantees, ” she added. The post Dela Rosa hopes De Lima’s acquittal ‘devoid of politics’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Tax Amnesty Act extension now moving
A proposed law that seeks to extend the deadline of application for estate tax amnesty for another two years has moved forward in the House of Representatives. The House committee on ways and means, chaired by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, adjourned its deliberations on Tuesday with the approval of House Bill 7409 after garnering 31 pro-votes from its members. The measure, filed on 2 March, seeks to extend the Tax Amnesty Act, or Republic Act 11213, from 15 June this year to 14 June 2025 to provide taxpayers with economic relief and the opportunity to settle estate tax obligations, which procedure was hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic’s multiple lockdowns. Speaker Martin Romualdez and his nephew, Senior Deputy Speaker Sandro Marcos of Ilocos Norte, are among the bill’s proponents, with three other House leaders. Salceda, during the deliberation, stressed the significance of the bill’s passage, explaining that the provision of additional time is necessary as many families have not yet settled the estates of their deceased relatives. “An estate tax is a tax on the right of the deceased person to transmit the estate to lawful heirs and beneficiaries. RA 11213 was passed to provide taxpayers immunity from the payment of estate taxes until 15 June 2021. However, the pandemic hampered the settlement of estates, which to begin with, is inherently challenged by family sensitivities,” said the chairman. “To give people more time to settle estates, we extended the estate tax amnesty from 15 June 2021, to 14 June 2023, by enacting RA 11569 last Congress. We also streamlined the procedure by removing the requirement of proof of settlement in the payment of the estate tax under the same law. Now that the extended deadline — 14 June 2023 — is upon us, we are informed that this tax amnesty is yet to be optimized.” RA 11213, signed on 14 February 2019 by then-President Rodrigo Duterte, provides taxpayers with a one-time opportunity to settle their tax obligations through an estate amnesty program that offers reasonable tax relief to estates with outstanding estate tax liabilities. On 30 June, he signed RA 11569, which amended Section 6 of RA 11213, extending the estate tax amnesty until 14 June 2023. However, proponents of the bill are advocating for a two-year extension to account for those still struggling to meet the documentary requirements due to the pandemic rage. Meanwhile, during the proceeding, Nueva Ecija Rep. Ria Vergara motioned that a provision stating that heirs who received a donated estate worth P1 million or less no longer have to pay the 6 percent donor’s tax to be included in the proposal, which Salceda later approved. People seeking amnesty under the current system are expected to pay tax at a rate of 6% based on the decedent’s total net estate (or net undeclared estate if a previously filed estate tax return) at the time of death. HB 7842, filed by AGRI Rep. Wilbert Lee on 11 April, also pushes for a two-year extension of the estate tax amnesty period, but it has yet to be referred to Salceda’s panel for deliberation. Last week, Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to certify the bill as urgent, claiming this move will make people “save billions” while the government will “earn billions.” The post Tax Amnesty Act extension now moving appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Calida, NTC chief attend House probe on ABS-CBN franchise
Solicitor General Jose Calida and National Telecommunications Commissioner commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba attended yesterday’s hearing of the House of Representatives on the franchise application of television giant ABS-CBN after they snubbed it on June 26 last year......»»
Año urges rebels to surrender, avail themselves of amnesty program
Año urges rebels to surrender, avail themselves of amnesty program.....»»
Sarangani Writers League welcomes 11 new members, all women
ALABEL, Sarangani (MindaNews / 24 March) – The Sarangani Writers League (SWL) recently welcomed its new members, all of them women, for helping develop the literary community in the province of Sarangani. The new members successfully navigated the application process, fulfilled all requirements, and surpassed the evaluation criteria: Catherine R. Discorson, Mariele M. Gallego, and Eva […].....»»
Russian Media Accuses Ukraine of Moscow Concert Hall Attack – The Daily Guardia
In a shocking turn of events, President Putin has attributed the recent concert hall assault in Moscow to radical Islamists for the first time. However,.....»»
New Zealand accuses China of hacking parliament, condemns activity
The revelations that information was accessed through malicious cyber activity targeting New Zealand’s parliamentarian entities comes as Britain and the US accuse China of a wide-sweeping cyber espionage campaign.....»»
Philippines accuses Chinese coastguard of firing water cannons at supply boats
Manila [Philippines], March 23 (ANI): The Philippines has accused China's coastguard of firing water cannons at one of its supply boats in South China Sea, Al Jazeera reported. The Armed Forces of the Philippines said that BRP Cabra managed to manoeuvre and reach Unaizah May 4 to provide assistance to the Philippine supply boat, which had sustained "significant damage."According to the Philippine military, the confrontati.....»»
DFA launches e-Apostille service; first in Asean region
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs Office of Consular Affairs (DFA – OCA) announced that it launched an e-Apostille service for civil registry documents. DFA said the system will allow the public to apply online for e-documents and e-Apostilles from the Philippine Statistics Agency (PSA) without having to appear in both offices. Foreign Affairs.....»»
Philippines accuses Chinese coastguard of firing water cannons at supply boats
Manila [Philippines], March 23 (ANI): The Philippines has accused China's coastguard of firing water cannons at one of its supply boats in South China Sea, Al Jazeera reported. The Armed Forces of the Philippines said that BRP Cabra managed to manoeuvre and reach Unaizah May 4 to provide assistance to the Philippine supply boat, which had sustained "significant damage."According to the Philippine military, the confrontati.....»»
Unmask NFA exec blocking documents – Laurel
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. is trying to unmask the official of the National Food Authority (NFA) who was allegedly blocking the release of documents to the Office of the Ombudsman......»»
Indonesia catches illegal Philippine fishing vessel
JAKARTA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia has caught an illegal fishing vessel from the Philippines and its four crew members with fake documents in the Sulawesi Sea, the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has reported. Acting Director General of Marine Resources and Fisheries Supervision, Pung Nugroho Saksono, said Thursday that the vessel was caught on Monday, when it was transporting around 2 tons of tuna to.....»»
PSE approves listing of GSIS-owned Alternergy preferred shares
Alternergy disclosed that the PSE has approved its application to list the 100 million preferred shares that it sold to the Government Service Insurance System at a price of P14.50/share......»»
Man jailed for stealing items from school
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A 26-year-old man landed in jail after being caught stealing from an elementary school in Barangay Langtad, Naga City, Cebu, early Wednesday morning, March 20, 2024. The suspect was identified as Angelito Cudias Apeliano, 26, an unemployed resident of Barangay Pasil, Santander, Cebu. In a phone interview with CDN Digital, Police.....»»
Premium Leisure Corp to be voluntarily delisted
The PSE suspended trading in Premium Leisure Corp yesterday after PLC’s parent company, Belle Corp., announced that it would conduct a tender offer for all of PLC’s outstanding common shares “for the purpose of eventually causing the filing of an application for the voluntary delisting of PLC.”.....»»
MILF lauds Senate for adopting House rebel amnesty resolutions
COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 7 March) – The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) lauded the Senate for adopting three resolutions of the House of Representatives that concur with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s grant of amnesty to former rebels. Bangsamoro Interim Chief Minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim, also the MILF chair, said the granting of […].....»»
Marcos denies family’s ill-gotten wealth anew, accuses critics of propaganda
Marcos sought to downplay well-documented evidence that the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had stripped government coffers of at least $5 billion and that his family acquired millions-worth of stolen loot that they even took with them to exile in Hawaii......»»