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THURSDAY May 16, 2019
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Passage of anti-terror bill pushed S
BY JAVIER JOE ISMAEL
ENATE President Vicente Sotto 3rd on Wednesday stressed the need for the immediate passage of the bill that seeks to strengthen the Human Security Act amid reports that Islamic State jihadists are seeking to extend their presence in the Philippines. “It is imperative that we pass it within the remaining session days of the current 17th Congress,� Sotto said.
He said martial law, which is being implemented in Mindanao, is not enough to prevent terrorism. “The martial law we have now
is a far cry from the old martial law of the 1935 Constitution. Tiger noong araw, pusa na lang ngayon; may lagnat pa ‘yung pusa,� (The tiger then is now a mere cat with a fever),� he added. The Senate chief said he has called members of the majority bloc to a lunch meeting on May 20, Monday to tackle, among othERS THE PASSAGE OF SIGNIkCANT BILLS AWAITING THE CHAMBER S kNAL APproval. He said he would also talk to Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon before they convene for the
resumption of the regular session of the 17th Congress on Monday. Sotto said the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act has to be passed to boost the Human Security Act. “Human Security Act natin parang kakampi sa terrorists e. Sobrang maluwag e, di ba? (The Human Security Act seems to favor to the terrorists. It’s too loose, right?),� he said. The proposed Anti-Terrorism Act, or Senate Bill 1956, was filed by Sen. Panfilo Lacson in August. Under the bill, the term “ter-
rorist acts� instead of “terrorism� is used to remove the requirement of the acts being perpetrated for the purpose of coercing the govERNMENT TO GIVE IN TO A SPECIkC demand. “This has the effect of punishing the act of committing crimes that sow widespread extraordinary fear and panic, and not the purpose behind the commission of such acts,� said Lacson, chairman of the Senate public order and illegal drugs committee. He said the bill also penalizes foreign terrorists, including those
who travel to a state other than their state of residence to commit or organize terrorist acts; and those residing abroad who come to the Philippines in transit to commit or take part in terrorist acts to target countries. Lacson said the bill makes it clear that terrorist acts shall exclude legitimate exercises of the freedom of expression and right to peaceably assemble, “where a person does not have the intention to use or urge the use of force or violence or cause harm to others.�
LEGARDA WINS HOUSE SEAT SEN. Loren Legarda was proclaimed representative of the lone district of Antique after resoundingly trouncing her opponent, former governor and congressman Exequiel Javier. The outgoing senator swept votes in all of the province’s 18 towns, getting 199,187 votes against Javier’s 69,716 votes. Javier sought to replace his son, incumbent congressman Paolo Javier, who was defeated in the gubernatorial race by Rhodora Cadiao. It was the first time in 32 years that no member of the Javier clan won an election. “I thank all AntiqueĂąos who voted for me, especially those who supported me from the start. This victory is not for me alone, but for Antique and the AntiqueĂąos. Now that the election is over, we should start working togeth-
er. I extend my hand to every AntiqueĂąo — let us unite to defeat the real enemy, which is poverty,â€? said Legarda.  “We are determined to do more in Antique in the next three years than has been done in the last 30 years, and prove that every province has the potential to bring prosperity to its people,â€? she added. “I ran for Congress to bring my two decades of Senate work to the grassroots, and make Antique a role model for sustainable development for the rest of the country.â€?  This is Legarda’s first foray in local politics, being at the end of her second consecutive term in the Senate. Legarda served as senator for 18 years, championing causes such as environmental protection, sustainable development, and women and children’s rights. JOSE JAVIER ISMAEL
RANDOM AUDIT
Public school teachers process ballots during the random manual audit of votes at the Diamond Hotel in Manila. The random audit is being held by the Commission on Elections, Legal Network for Truthful Elections and Philippine Statistics Authority. PHOTO BY ENRIQUE AGCAOILI
Returning trash shipment to Canada faces delay RETURNING tons of garbage to Canada would face some delay because the processing of the needed documents would take time, MalacaĂąang said on Wednesday. President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said Canada had until May 15 to take back the trash shipment.
However, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said there would be a slight delay in shipping back the garbage because of documentation. Panelo said that shipping might start in two or three weeks. “If the delay is only slight, the President is a reasonable man. What is
Senators pledge support for Sotto A number of senators on Wednesday said Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd continues to enjoy the backing of his colleagues, and those who plan to replace him would have to contend with the “macho� and “seatmates� blocs. “As far as I’m concerned our SP (Senate President) still has strong trust and confidence of all the reelectionists coming back to the Senate, plus a solid number of those remaining,� Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said in a text message. “I’m not sure who wants to make A GO FOR IT BUT DEkNITELY A COMBINED bloc of the ‘seatmates’ and ‘macho’ bloc is a group to contend with,� he added. Zubiri said the macho bloc is composed of Sotto and Senators 0ANkLO ,ACSON AND 'REGORIO (ONAsan 2nd. The “seatmates� bloc is composed of Senators Sherwin Gatchalian, Joel Villanueva, Richard Gordon, and reelectionist senators Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay, Juan Edgardo “Sonny� Angara, Joseph Victor “JV� Ejercito and Cynthia Villar. “[Reelectionist Sen. Mary] Grace [Poe] is close to SP, too,� Zubiri said. “There is no talk of leadership change guys. As far as most of the seatmates are concerned, we’re supporting SP Sotto,� he added. Sotto said a change in leadership would depend on senators. “I leave it to my colleagues. I only serve at their pleasure. I have
only been hearing unconditional support from some of my peers. But then again, it’s up to the majority [bloc] to support or not support the present leadership,� he said in a text message. Lacson also expressed support to Sotto. “SP Sotto’s presidency is stable as he has shown very good leadership qualities, having consistently taken the cudgels for the senators both from the majority and minority on many occasions. How he dealt with the 2019 national budget is a kNE EXAMPLE OF HIS GRIT AND GUTS IN HANDLING SUCH DIFkCULT SITUATIONS u he said. “Sen. [Cynthia] Villar already stated that she’s not interested in the Senate presidency and we must leave it at that,� he added. Sotto on Wednesday gave assurances that the Senate would remain “independent.� “I am sure the Senate will remain independent and I will endeavor to keep it that way if our leadership remains intact. I believe the incoming senators will be aware of this importance,� he said. He issued the statement as partial and unofficial results of the senatorial race showed that majority of those who will be proclaimed senators are allied with the administration. Once proclaimed, the 12 winning candidates will be added to the majority bloc in the Senate. BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO AND JAVIER JOE ISMAEL
Pope appoints new Malolos bishop
important is they will take back their waste,� he said. He added that it was just right for Canada to shoulder all the expenses. “They should pay for it. All the penalties, it should be thrown to them,� he said. In 2013 and 2014, 103 shipping containers of garbage declared as scrap plastics
were sent to the Philippines from Canada. Twenty-six of the containers were dumped ON A PRIVATE LANDkLL IN 4ARLAC Duterte, in a speech last month, said he would declare war against Canada if it would not take back the tons of trash it dumped into the country. POPE Francis has named Cebu AuxRALPH EDWIN U. VILLANUEVA iliary Bishop Dennis Villarojo as the new bishop of Malolos diocese in Bulacan, succeeding the late bishop Jose Oliveros. The appointment of Villarojo, 52, was announced on May 14 by the are aimed at ensuring freedom erations to challenge Beijing’s Apostolic Nunciature in Manila, acvast claims in the sea, often cording to the Catholic Bishops’ Conof navigation. The US will, however, ensure angering China. ference of the Philippines’ (CBCP) After last week’s sail-by, a news service cbcpnews.net. that communications with Beijing remain open to prevent any foreign ministry spokesman The CBCP News said Villarojo untoward incidents, he added. said “the Chinese side express- WOULD BE THE kFTH TO HEAD THE -ALOLOS “I really value the channel es strong dissatisfaction and diocese, which was bereft of a prelate of communication that I have resolute opposition� to the US since Oliveros died a year ago, with Shen Jinlong,� he told re- action. Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco But Richardson insisted the was in charge of the Malolos diocese porters, referring to his Chinese patrols were routine. counterpart. until Villarojo’s appointment. “We just recently visited Chi“We haven’t done anything The newly appointed Cebu-born na, we had a chance to get to increasingly provocative or bishop was ordained on June 10,1994, know each other, understand anything else that we would not after earning a philosophy degree at each other more thoroughly. do anywhere else in the world,� San Carlos College Seminary of Cebu. “We can continue to advo- he said. From 1994 to 2010, he served as the cate that while we may not see Beijing has built artificial is- assistant of the late Cardinal Ricardo things the same in all parts of lands and military installations Vidal of the Archdioces of Cebu, takthe world, we’ve got to work in the South China Sea, includ- ing time in between to complete a through those differences in a ing on the Spratlys. degree in theology at the University way that doesn’t boil over into China claims nearly all of the of Santo Tomas in Manila and a docconflict.� sea, but Taiwan, the Philippines, TORATE FROM THE 0ONTIkCAL 5NIVERSITY The US Navy regularly con- Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all of the Holy Cross in Rome. ducts freedom of navigation op- claim parts of it. AFP CATHERINE A. MODESTO
‘China tensions should not boil over’ SINGAPORE: The US navy chief said Wednesday he did not want maritime tensions with China to “boil over,� a week after Washington’s latest challenge to Beijing’s territorial claims in contested waters. Beijing said last week two American warships sailed near disputed islands in the South China Sea without permission, prompting the Chinese Navy to ask them to leave. The ships entered waters adjacent to Gaven and Chigua reefs in the Spratly Islands, which Beijing calls Nansha, o n M ay 6 , C h i n a ’s f o r e i g n ministry said. Speaking on the sidelines of a maritime security conference in Singapore, Admiral John Richardson said Washington will continue such operations which
Demolition of a cultural property Dear PAO, I was able to purchase an old house declared as a world heritage site. I am planning to demolish the house and construct a new one for my restaurant business. Will I violate any law? Alisa Dear Alisa, The law that addresses your situation is Section 48 (a), Article VIII, of the “National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009�: “Section 48. Prohibited Acts.
DEAR PAO
PERSIDA ACOSTA - To the extent that the offense is not punishable by a higher punishment under another provision of law, violations of this Act may be made by whoever intentionally: xxx
“(a) Destroys, demolishes, mutilates or damages any world heritage site, national cultural treasures, important cultural property and archaeological and anthropological sites;� It is clear from the cited provision that demolishing a structure CLASSIkED AS A WORLD HERITAGE SITE IS illegal. In your situation, you may be apprehended and penalized if you will demolish the above-mentioned property you purchased.
This opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Thus, the opinion may vary when the facts are changed or further elaborated. We hope that we were able to enlighten you on the matter.
Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net