october 10-16, 2019 • LAS VeGAS ASIAN JoUrNAL
Dateline PhiliPPines
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BuCor, police demolish prisoners’ shanties in Bilibid by Kristine Joy
Philstar.com
PataG
MANILA — Authorities on Wednesday, October 9, ordered the demolition of “kubols” or luxury cottages and illegal structures at the New Bilibid Prison. Bureau of Corrections Director General Gerald Bantag, Police Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar and Maj. Gen. Amando Empiso led the demolition of the illegal structures within Bilibid’s Maximum Compound. Eleazar is director of the National Capital Region Police Office while Empiso is chief of the elite police Special Action Force. SAF are stationed at the Bilibid in an effort to curb illegal drug activities inside prison walls. The BuCor, in a statement, said that the operation started at 5 a.m. and involved 1,800 personnel from law enforcement agencies and from the Department of Public Works
and Highways. Demolition equipment from the DPWH, fire trucks from the Bureau of Fire Protection and two police armored personnel carriers were also used in the demolition. According to the bureau, there are 18,000 prisoners detained inside the maximum security compound, which houses those who are considered highly dangerous or pose high security risks. .The bureau said that the illegally built structures “breed corruption” since prisoners pay personnel to allow construction materials in. “It was noted that, in the past, the roving personnel find it hard to conduct custodial functions because of these shanties thus, empowering the convicts or Persons Deprived of Liberty to continue their unlawful activities,” BuCor said. Corruption in BuCor Bantag earlier said in an interview with GMA that bribery of officials continues at the NBP.
He said drug lords continue paying prison officers, despite the change of leadership at the bureau. Early in October, Bantag relieved more 300 jail guards at the Maximum Security Compound of the New Bilibid Prison. “We have a directive coming from the president for a total revamp and to clean up the BuCor. There are allegations of irregularities, so we relieved them,” BuCor spokesperson Wena Fe Dalagan said. Asked for comment, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Bantag has “personal knowledge of facts on the ground.” The Justice chief added that moneyed inmates would continue PET LOVERS. Owners had their pets vaccinated for free at the Malate Church in Manila to honor Saint Francis of Assisi and to close the Season ManilaTimes.net photo by Enrique Agcaoili to “buy convenience, luxury, and of Creation in the Christian faith on Sunday, October 6. freedom to engage in nefarious activities while in detention.” Eradicating corruption in the country’s penitentiaries is Bantag’s Reynaldo Santos Jr., to file a de- that Keng had lent his sport utility challenge, Guevarra added. n by niKKa G. Valenzuela murrer to evidence — a motion to vehicle to impeached Chief Justice Inquirer.net dismiss the case based on insuf- Renato Corona. He also alleged MANILA — A Manila court has ficient evidence presented by the that Keng was under government allowed Rappler and its executive prosecution. surveillance. editor Maria Ressa to file a moThe one-page order also gave Although the article was pubtion to dismiss the cyberlibel case the accused 10 days from Tuesday lished in 2012, the complaint was lodged against the online news site to file the plea, while the pros- only lodged in 2017, way beyond 5th Division and the public respon- by businessman Wilfredo Keng. ecution was also given 10 days to the one-year prescriptive period dents-justices of any jurisdiction In an order dated Oct. 8, Manila respond. of ordinary libel under the Revised over their persons, hence, it is not Regional Trial Court Branch 46 Should the court grant the Penal Code. possible to pierce the veil of their Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa demurrer, the cyberlibel case will But the justice department excorporate fiction in order to deter- granted Ressa’s motion and that be junked. tended the prescriptive period to mine their alleged true ownership,” of Rappler and its former employee In his Rappler story, Santos said 12 years after publication. n the petition read. When the Sandiganbayan junked Estrada’s demurrer to evidence, it held that testimonies of the whistle-blowers, including that of star witness Benhur Luy, “show to the court every step or layer of the crime charged.” interview during the Cine Europa the 500th year of the Christianizaby dale israel Among the prosecution’s eviInquirer.net film festival held at the SM City tion of the Philippines, Moragas dence cited by the court was the Cebu last Friday. said their country and the Europroject listing from Estrada’s office Spain is among the countries pean Union are closely coordinatCEBU CITY –– Despite clashes identifying the Napoles-linked over some issues, Spain believed that called for an investigation into ing with the national organizing non-governent organizations Mathat their relations with the ad- the Philippines’ drug war, citing committees that are preparing for saganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka ministration of President Duterte possible human rights violations. the celebrations. Foundation Inc. and Social DePresident Duterte earlier said remains “fine, good, and improv“We are working with the navelopment Program for Farmers he would not support the 500th tional committee that has been set ing.” Foundation Inc. as partners in the The Spanish government is anniversary of the Christianiza- up. The Philippines is celebrating implementation of his supposed looking forward to participating in tion of the country, saying it also the arrival which is in two years livelihood projects. the activities leading to the 500th commemorates the arrival of the (from now). We (Spain) are comNapoles is following the steps anniversary of the Christianization Spaniards who conquered the Phil- memorating the whole trip that Arroyo took to her freedom, as the of the Philippines in 2021 and ippines for over three centuries. started 500 years ago in Spain,” former president also challenged Moragas said the Philippines Moragas added. the commemoration of the first the Sandiganbayan’s dismissal of circumnavigation of the world, and Spain trade relations, however, He believed that Spain should be her demurrer to evidence before describing it as an important feat are on the rise. He said there are present and ready to play a role in the SC and was eventually ordered increased imports and exports like the commemoration activities here in the history of mankind. freed. Spanish Ambassador to the Phil- in the brandy and liquor sectors as their country is also celebratIn December, the Sandiganbayan ippines Jorge Moragas said while as well as the textile and services ing the first circumnavigation of convicted Napoles for plunder in a they may have “disagreements” industries. the world, part of which was the separate case involving the PDAF These trade relations are grow- establishment of Christianity in the with President Duterte, the Spanallocations of Sen. Ramon “Bong” ish government remains support- ing each year, he added. Philippines. Revilla Jr. In infrastructure development, ive of the government’s projects, “We will talk with Philippine Estrada ran in the same slate with including the “Build, Build, Build” Moragas said the Acciona Con- authorities to have a common celRevilla but failed to win in the 2019 struccion is helping build the third ebration of that. We cannot avoid program of the administration. midterm elections. n “The relation with the Duterte Cebu-Mactan bridge. the fact that Christianization and In other parts of the country, religion started here 500 years administration is fine even though we have some disagreements on he said they were also working ago. Now the Philippines is one different points. I would say that on water treatment facilities and of the most Catholic and Christian these relations are fine and are railways. countries in Asia and the world,” In the upcoming celebrations of Moragas said. n improving,” said Moragas in an
Cyberlibel case vs Rappler may be dismissed
Napoles asks Supreme Court for halt order vs plunder proceedings at Sandiganbayan by Kristine Joy
Philstar.com
PataG
MANILA — Businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, believed to be the brains behind the pork barrel scam, asked the Supreme Court to issue a halt order against the Sandiganbayan’s plunder proceedings against her. Napoles filed a Petition for Certiorari assailing the Sandiganbayan’s resolution rejecting the demurrer to evidence she filed, that sought the dismissal of plunder case against her, and a separate motion to dismiss. She urged the SC to issue a Temporary Restraining Order and/or Writ of Preliminary Injunction to enjoin the Sandiganbayan from the proceedings and nullifying the assailed resolutions due to “lack or excess or jurisdiction.” A demurrer to evidence is a pleading that challenges the sufficiency of the prosecution’s evidence against the accused. It paves the way for the dismissal of the case halfway through the trial, without the accused having to present their counter-evidence. A copy of the plea was made public only on Tuesday, October 7. Former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada is Napoles’ co-accused in the case. Named as respondents are Sandiganbayan 5th Division Associate Justices Rafael Lagos, Maria Theresa Mendoza-Arcega and Maryann
Corpuz-Mañalac. Napoles’ lawyers raised that the Information or charge sheet failed to identify Estrada as the main plunderer in the case and does not constitute a charge of plunder. “The requirement of identifying the mastermind or main plunderer in the crime of plunder was introduced or came about only in the year 2016 when the Honorable Supreme Court en banc decided the GMA case,” the petition read. They were referring to the 2016 SC ruling that cleared former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of plunder. The SC granted Arroyo’s petition and set aside the rulings of the Sandiganbayan denying her demurrer to evidence. Napoles’ lawyers pointed out that the Sandiganbayan failed to summon or indict the supposed bogus non-government organizations involved in the scam, nor did it determine their true ownership. They said that the Sandiganbayan justices established the link between Napoles and the NGOs based on “say-so of the self-confessed criminals turned state witnesses who unequivocally admitted that they were officers of the NGOs.” “The miserable failure of the Ombudsman to indict the said NGOcorporations in the Information for Plunder or even summon them through any of the processes of the court, deprived the Sandiganbayan,
Spain looks forward to celebrating 500 years of PH Christianization in 2021
Pagcor shuts down 200 POGO firms by Mary
Grace Padin, Paolo roMero Philstar.com
MANILA — Authorities have so far shut down around 200 Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) that have been operating without license, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) said. Pagcor chairman and chief executive officer Andrea Domingo said the agency, in cooperation with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Philippine National Police (PNP), has successfully raided fly-by-night online gaming operations in the country. “The last count, the report, and that was a few months ago, they’ve already closed 170 small operations. These are small fly-by-night operations,” Domingo said. “But now I think they should be reaching 200 because we get an average of about 10 certifications from NBI and PNP on who they suspect to be illegal – certification that they ask us if they are registered with us. If they’re not registered with us then that means they will raid and close them down,” she added. Earlier, Pagcor entered into a mutual cooperation agreement with
the NBI, PNP, Bureau of Immigration and the Department of Justice for a concerted effort against illegal online gambling. Various agencies have also joined forces and formed the POGO task force to strengthen the crackdown on POGOs and their foreign employees not paying the appropriate taxes. There are currently 60 POGO firms licensed by Pagcor. However, the regulator earlier imposed a moratorium on new licenses until such time that issues plaguing the industry are addressed. Domingo said the moratorium also came at a time when online gaming was banned in Cambodia, preventing the Philippines from becoming the catch basin for fleeing operators. “As courtesy and respect for the Chinese government closing down online gaming in Cambodia, remember we said we will not accept any more applications for online gaming. We do not want to be the basin for the fallout in Cambodia,” the Pagcor chief said. However, she said some operators in the country may benefit from the ban in Cambodia by attracting more customers. “The operators might benefit from it in terms of having more players, but we’re not sure of that,
we have not seen a real big spike in the GGR (gross gaming revenue),” she said. According to Domingo, the POGO industry is contributing P20 billion a year on lease payments to the real estate sector. She said the industry is also estimated to generate P24 billion in income taxes annually and P1.25 billion in value-added tax monthly from foreign workers who purchase around P12.5 billion a month. House mulls bill on POGO taxation Such developments have prompted the House of Representatives to consider passing a bill that seeks to prescribe a taxation scheme for POGOs. The committee on ways and means is now drafting the proposal following the closure by the Bureau of Internal Revenue of some POGOs allegedly to failure to pay taxes. Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, committee chairman, said his panel is proposing a franchise tax of five percent based on an operator’s gross revenues. “It will be a tax on gaming monopoly and on gambling. POGOs shall be registered as resident corporations as basis for their taxability,” he said. n
Gov’t execs told: Stop being in denial on transport crisis, feel people’s suffering by Pathricia
ann V. Inquirer.net
roxas
MANILA — Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano “Ruffy” Biazon on Monday, October 7, appealed to government officials to stop being in denial stage on the existence of a mass transport crisis in Metro Manila and feel the suffering of commuters. At a meeting of the House transportation committee, Biazon expressed lament at how some officials “make things worse” by denying there’s a crisis and brushing aside the daily ordeal of commuters. “Let’s be sensitive to the people,” he said. “Just having a long list of what we do won’t work if we don’t make people feel we have empathy for them,” Biazon said in Filipino. “When people feel there’s a crisis
and we deny it, it makes matters worse,” he added. Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo was earlier heavily criticized for denying there’s a mass transport crisis. He said there couldn’t be a crisis because people still reach their destinations. Prior to Biazon’s appeal, Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John Batan repeatedly refused to answer directly when he was asked at the meeting if the National Capital Region, indeed, is suffering from a transportation or mobility crisis. “Probably, going beyond, let’s just focus on what our responses are,” Batan said in Filipino. “Our current investment in mass transportation is probably bigger than what we’ve invested in the last two decades put together,”
he said. “We acknowledge the huge problem we have to address and we’re taking steps,” he said. Biazon said while he appreciated the steps being taken by the Department of Transportation, all signs pointed to commuters feeling a crisis in mass transportation. The existence of a crisis in transportation was first pointed out by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan secretary general Renato Reyes who concluded that a mass transport crisis is upon Metro Manila following the grounding of MRT 3 and LRT 1 due to different mechanical issues. Another mass transport system, LRT 2, was paralyzed after a fire destroyed a piece of electrical equipment called power rectifier. LRT 2 is operating only partially now. n