5 NATION/WORLD
EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 74 • THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2013
MANILA
Palace renews call to speed up Maguindanao trial M
ALACANANG on Tuesday reiterated the directive of President Benigno Aquino III to government prosecutors handling the Maguindanao massacre case to help speed up the trial by thwarting any “dilatory tactics” by the defense. Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte, in a press briefing, said the government stands ready to assist the families of the massacre victims as discussed during their previous dialogue with the President. “The offer of assistance has always been there dahil alam po nating mabigat po ‘yung kanilang pinagdadaanan. And, again, the instructions of the President stand -- para sa mga public prosecutors po natin, hindi po dapat dine-delay ‘yung pag-prosecute doon sa kaso at labanan po lahat ng any dilatory motions or dilatory tactics na pwede hong i-employ ng depensa,” she said. Private prosecutor Harry Roque earlier said at least 14 of his clients
MANILA
were offered money by a third party to drop the charges against the Ampatuans last February but the deal did not materialize because the negotiator died two weeks later. He urged the government instead to provide compensation to the victims’ families so they can resist any monetary offer from the Ampatuans. Valte, however, said they don’t agree with the interpretation of the private prosecutor and government prosecutors will never support moves to settle the Maguindanao case out of court. “We don’t agree with the interpretation kasi, in any criminal case, syempre may akusado at understood na ‘yon na, kapag napatunayan na sa korte, kasama na doon ‘yung civil aspect of the case,” she said. “Our public prosecutors will never support a move like that. The President’s instructions stand -- for our prosecutors to avoid delay in trying the case and to object to dilatory tactics,” she added. (PNA)
NIA ANNIVERSARY. President Benigno S. Aquino III converses with Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala during the 50th Anniversary of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) at the NIA Open Grounds, NIA Building Complex, EDSA in Diliman, Quezon City on Tuesday (June 25, 2013). With theme: NIA at 50: Serving the Farmers with Excellence and Commitment
Lawyers group opposes nomination of DILG exec A
n association of corporate lawyers has called on the Judicial and Bar Council to exercise great care in choosing the next Presiding Justice of the Sandiganbayan following the nomination of an outsider with close ties to Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas. During last week’s interview of Sandiganbayan top post aspirants, one of the nominees, DILG Undersecretary Rafael Santos, said his move to vie for a post in the Judiciary has a blessing from Roxas. Santos made the remark after one of the JBC members asked if it is okay for Roxas to lose an able undersecretary. “A nominee for the Presiding Justice of the Sandiganbayan who openly admitted that he had obtained the ‘blessings’ of a political patron before applying for the said post is clearly not suited for the role. More so if that same nominee was previously a Senior Partner in a law firm known for its political ties,” Atty. Maribert Q. Pagente, president of the
Legal Management Council of the Philippines, said in a letter dated June 24, 2013 to the JBC. The JBC is an independent constitutional body mandated to screen aspirants to the Judiciary and the Office of the Ombudsman. Santos was Transportation Undersecretary for Operations at the time when Roxas was DOTC Secretary. When Roxas succeeded Jesse Robredo who died following a plane crash off Masbate in August last year, he appointed Santos as DILG Undersecretary. “The Sandiganbayan’s mission is ‘to give life and meaning to the constitutional precept that a public office is a public trust and to impress upon the public offices and employees that they are at all times accountable to the people,’” the LMCP said. “It is a basic precept of judicial ethics that a judge, like Caesar’s wife, must be above suspicion. He must not only be impartial but should also
appear impartial,” the letter said. Pagente said she has nothing against any of the nominees to the Sandiganbayan post. “However, I believe that great care should be taken in the selection of the next Presiding Justice of the Sandiganbayan to preserve the credibility of the institution,” Pagente added. Aside from Santos, others vying for the post vacated by retired Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Francisco Villaruz, Jr. are Court of Appeals Associate Justice Apolinario Bruselas, Jr., Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang, Atty. Jasper Lucero, and Sandiganbayan Associate Justices Efren Dela Cruz, Teresita Diaz-Baldos, Gregory Ong and Alex Quiroz. The JBC will come up with a short list of nominees of at least three names on July 1, 2013 which will be submitted to President Benigno S. Aquino III who will make the final decision. (PNA)
to Continue its Legacy in the Years to Come . NIA is primarily responsible for irrigation development and management. It was created under Republic Act (RA) 3601 on 22 June 1963. (Photo by: Exequiel Supera / Malacañang Photo Bureau / PCOO/ PNA)
B R I E F S Gov’t inquiry into sex for flight controversy to be out in July The result of the investigation by the government’s three-man fact-finding committee on the alleged “sex for flight” is set to be out next month. This, was revealed on Tuesday by Atty. Lea Fortuna, head of the Dept. of Labor and Employment committee that was created by Labor and Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz to look into the allegations involving officials of the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices abroad. “We will come up with the result of the probe next month,” she said. Fortuna said that they are going to three countries, Kuwait, Riyadh and Jordan, where the alleged controversy happened to start their investigation. “Our first stop is Kuwait, we will be going there on June 29 until July 3, then we will fly to Riyadh, we will be there until July 9. Our last stop will be Jordan from July 9 to July 13. Then we will return back to the country to report to the secretary,” she said. (PNA)
Obama unveils first U.S. national climate action plan U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled Tuesday afternoon the country’s first national climate action plan, pledging to limit carbon emissions from American power plants. Delivering a speech at Georgetown University, he said Earth is changing in ways that will impact all of humankind. He noted the 12 warmest years in recorded history were all during the last 15 years. “Americans across the country are already paying the price of inaction,” he said. “As president, father and American, I’m here to say we need to act.” President Obama noted power plants, which account for one-third of all U.S. carbon emissions, “can still dump unlimited amounts of carbon pollution into the air for free.” “That’s not right... and it needs to stop,” he said. “I’m directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to put an end to limitless dumping of carbon pollution from our power plants.” Mr. Obama described a low-carbon clean energy economy as being an engine of growth for decades to come.