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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2016
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Bangladesh nags RCBC to account for cyberloot
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BANGLADESHI official on Wednesday insisted that Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. must shoulder the missing chunk of the $81 million or around P4 billion stolen from its central bank in New York.
Law Minister Anisul Huq also dismissed RCBC’c claim that it had no reason to compensate Bangladesh’s central bank because it had admitted its fault and liability on the alleged cyber robbery. “Whether Bangladesh is negligent or not, it is not relevant here,” Huq told reporters when asked to react on RCBC’s recent position on the issue. He said it was not for RCBC to
point its fingers on who should be blamed because the money from the central bank was stolen from the account of RCBC “They should explain their conduct and the conduct has been very much culpable,” said Huq who went to the Philippines with Bangladeshi delegates to meet with government officials to speed up the return of their supposedly stolen money. Huq said he and his delegation
were flown here to recover the remaining $66 million of their allegedly stolen money. The $81 million from the New York Federal Reserve was transferred to four accounts with fake names at one RCBC branch in Manila until the money was stolen by an unidentified thief. The money was converted into pesos through the remittance firm PhilRem Service Corp. and then gambled away at several casinos. On Tuesday, RCBC’s lawyer said in a statement that RCBC had no reason to compensate Bangladesh’s Bank as the lender had been “negligent.” “RCBC is not the proximate cause of the theft. They have no case against us,” RCBC external
counsel Thea Daep said. Huq said the Philippine government would be the one to file legal actions against RCBC. “Both civil and criminal proceedings are being initiated... Government officials assured us due process would be followed,” Huq said. He said the Senate and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas had found that RCBC committed serious lapses, allowing the cyber thieves to hide their loot in fake bank accounts in the bank’s Jupiter branch in Makati City. “It is clearly established that RCBC was very much involved in the scam, and they have admitted their liability,” Huq said. “RCBC is to be blame.” Sara Susanne D. Fabunan
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Lorenzana said that their recent acts suggests that they have already established connections with the global terrorist organization, contrary to their earlier position last August that they weren’t much of a threat. “They’ve always said they support IS, and they fly their flag. With those indications, you can come to the conclusion that maybe that connection is already there,” Lorenzana said in Filipino. On Wednesday, Duterte warned the Maute group, saying that they should not force him to declare war against them. “Do not force me because I might be provoked to do something drastic,” Duterte said in his speech before troops at the Tactical Command Post in Lumbayanague, Lanao del Sur, some five kilometers away from the war zone in Butig town. “When the time comes that it’s going to be a war against terrorism and drugs, I will tell you now that I can be harsh... as harsh I can ever be,” he added. In an interview with reporters at Camp Evangelista Station Hospital in Cagayan de Oro City, Duterte said the Maute group should stop waging war on the government. “For the Maute, I said I do not want to declare war against Filipinos, but I told them that they have to stop. I hope we will not reach that point that we have to go to war. So I am doing everything to prevent war,” Duterte said. “I don’t want to go to war, but do not force my hand into it,” he added. Duterte said that he hoped to have a “middle ground” with the Maute group, whom he cited
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SIGNATURE GESTURE. President Rodrigo Duterte and military men do his signature clenched fist during his visit to Lumbayanague town, Lanao del Sur on Nov. 30, 2016. Toto Lozano
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Jalandoni also said Duterte’s actions were in violation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law. On Wednesday, a second commissioner of the National Historical Commission resigned in protest over the Marcos burial. Francis Gealogo, an associate professor of History at the University of the Philippines, said Wednesday he resigned a day after the dictator was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
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SPARK Spokeswoman Joanne Lim cited the depreciation of the peso against the US dollar, the continuing practice of contractualization and the enduring joint military exercises with the United States. She also slammed the Duterte administration’s war on illegal drugs. “No one wants to know, but the war on drugs is a war on the very people that the state has failed to protect,” Lim said. Distrito said Lola Nonay should also be buried at the Heroes’ Cemetery beside her brother Andres saying she too contributed to the revolution. She said Lola Nonay was tasked to secretly bring bullets to the revolutionaries during the
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“They buried me, they buried the truth,” she said. She said she just needed to weather the storm and wait for the time when the atmosphere was right for telling the truth, and that she face all the charges against him. When told that the House leaders were ready to file a disbarment case against her, De
In a letter dated Nov. 19, Gealogo reiterated that the commission’s stance that Marcos faked his war records and committed various abuses in his 20-year rule as President, hence disqualifying him from getting a burial at the LNMB. He said this was “based on solid historical research” and that it was part of the mandate of the commission to clarify issues pertinent to historical questions that affect society. “I stand by the historical truth of the fact that the martyrs and victims of Martial Law should be the ones that we ought to recognize as the true heroes of our nation, and not the dictator who
revolution, which she hid in a cooking pot filled with rice. She also hid guns under her skirt and cooked food for the wounded Katipuneros. She said Espiridiona died at the age 76 and was buried at the Manila South Cemetery. Distrito said Duterte had the prerogative to grant a state funeral to those considered worthy of it--like Andres Bonifacio. She said during President Benigno Aquino’s administration, they also asked for a state funeral for their great-grandfather, but their request fell on deaf ears. “I cannot blame them because they are close to the relatives of Emilio Aguinaldo,” Distrito said. Bonifacio was ordered killed by Emilio Aguinaldo along with his brother Ciriaco in the mountains of Maragondon, Cavite, on May 10, 1897. Lima said that would just add to her existing cases. “This is just an addition. I will face them all,” De Lima said. She assured her former lover Ronnie Dayan that she will not do what he did to her. She said she will not destroy the man who once became part her life. “I don’t want to destroy him. That’s not my attitude,” De Lima said. “I know there’s a reason why he was forced to tell lies about Kerwin Espinosa. That’s a total
caused untold miseries and sufferings to our people,” he said. NHCP Chairwoman Maria Serena Diokno on Tuesday submitted her resignation to Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and said it was a move toward the “right side of history.” In a television interview, Diokno expressed disappointment that Duterte isn’t open to hearing a different point of view other than his own. “You can’t blame us for trying—we did and we went through a study, well-documented, but it appears his mind had been made up early on,” Diokno said. Diokno had earlier submitted
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appeal letters to Duterte informing him about the “historical lies” committed by Marcos, particularly on his war records, which Duterte used to justify his decision to allow the burial. “We went through the works and we sent him the study on July 12. No reply, no response,” she told ANC. After the Supreme Court came out with its decision in support of Duterte’s position, she said, she again wrote to Duterte but still received no reply. “Nonetheless, I wrote the President an appeal, which I also made public, and I also received no reply,” she added.
But in early September, the US transferred $4 million into maritime law enforcement, particularly to the Philippine Coast Guard and Bureau of Fisheries, while half a million dollars will go to human rights and internal reform efforts. Kirby said State Departmentfunded training aims to transform the Philippine National Police into a modern, sustainable, democratic police force capable of effectively providing internal security in difficult conditions while demonstrating respect for democratic principles and human rights. “We remain deeply concerned by reports of extrajudicial killings by or at the behest of government authorities in the Philippines,” he reiterated. Since the start of the drug cam-
paign, he said, Philippine law enforcement assistance has been refocused away from narcotics control to supporting maritime security efforts and to providing human rights training to the PNP. “Our assistance programs expand Philippine capacity to conduct effective, lawful investigations and professionalizes the criminal justice system so that it is more accountable, transparent, effective, and just” Kirby said. He also note that the US vigorously vets all units and individuals before providing assistance to the security forces of the Philippines “as we do elsewhere around the world.” In August, the US announced that the $32-million assistance to promote human rights and security is now subject to “rigorous vetting,” calling the Philippines to observe the rule of law and due process on its campaign against drugs.
lie.” Dayan, a married man, claimed that his relationship with De Lima lasted for seven years. He disclosed some details of their affair before the House committee. “We are the only ones who know what happened to our relationship. Only we know it,” De Lima said. “He knows who is at fault why the relationship ended.” After being arrested in La Union, Dayan was presented at the
congressional inquiry where he alleged that De Lima dissuaded him from showing up at the House. He said De Lima had told him the lawmakers would just “feast” on their relationship as part of the Duterte administration’s alleged bid to destroy her reputation. De Lima also confirmed that she gave Dayan money to build a house in Urbiztondo, Pangasinan, but that amount was not P2 million.
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The failed bomb attack was earlier attributed to the Maute group or the Dawlah Islamiya, which has links with the Islamic State terrorist group. National Capital Region Police Office Director Oscar Albayalde said that the two arrested suspects matched the description given by an eyewitness. “Investigations and police operations are still ongoing. Most probably the Chief PNP could give an official statement by tomorrow, depending on the outcome of the investigations and operations if indeed the two persons of interest are involved and if they had other companions,” Albayalde said. He added that neither of the suspects has yet admitted to being part of the Maute group. Shortly after the improvised bomb was found, PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said the Maute group was apparently involved, and said the attack was an attempt to ease the pressure of the ongoing military offensive against them in Butig town.
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“We have to be at all times vigilant because there are still people and groups who are out to destabilize our government and terrorize the Filipino people,” he added. Nine soldiers were injured Tuesday with two in critical condition after an improvised explosive device exploded next to a presidential convoy in Marawi City. The convoy, composed of personnel from the Presidential Security Group, state television RTVM and local troop escorts, was supposed to do advance work ahead of President Duterte’s visit to Butig, Lanao del Sur. They were hit by unidentified gunmen in Barangay Emie Punod in Marawi City at 10:30 a.m. Despite threats to his security, the President pushed through with his visit Wednesday. Malacañang, meanwhile, slammed conspiracy rumors that attack against the PSG personnel was staged by the government. Posts on social media claimed that residents of Marawi saw the fleeing PSG convoy shooting at houses along the highway, add-
in previous speeches were provoked by “Moro nationalism.” “It’s very easy to start a war. But how to stop it and to heal the wounds, it would be hard. I wish we could have a middle ground,” Duterte said. The President said he tried sending feelers to the Maute group but to no avail. “I have long opened [communication lines with them]. This problem cannot be resolved through sheer courage alone. But there is always a time when I have to protect everybody,” Duterte said. Despite threats to his security, the President pushed through with his visit to Lanao del Sur Wednesday, when he landed at the Tactical Command Post in Lumbayanague, a mere five kilometers from the war zone in Butig. Nine soldiers, including members of his security group were injured Tuesday with two in critical condition on Tuesday after an improvised bomb exploded near a presidential convoy in Marawi City. On Tuesday, Duterte suggested he could “befriend” the Maute group to avoid conflict. He also urged them to abandon their “losing cause” and talk with the government. “How could you be a Maranao? You’re a Tausug… and you take orders form outside just to fight for what? Won’t this end?” he said. It has long been against official policy to negotiate with terrorist groups. The Maute group was behind the Davao City night market bomb attack that killed 15 people in September. On November 24, the group occupied the abandoned town hall of Butig in Lanao del Sur and reportedly raised the black flag of IS. The Army has sent elite troops to flush out the group. Some 100 Maute rebels had sought shelter at the old municipal building of Butig after a fierce firefight with Army troopers in Brgy. Bayabao. Also on Wednesday, Cardinal Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato condemned the bomb attack near a Catholic Church on Sunday in Sultan Kudarat and demanded justice for the survivors of the attack. Senior Supt. Raul Supiter, Sultan Kudarat police director, said several witnesses positively identified one of two motorcycle-riding men who left the bomb, which exploded around 6:40 a.m. near the gate of the Our Lady of Hope Church in Barangay Saliao at the end of the first mass. Three churchgoers sustained slight injuries and are currently recuperating at a hospital in Koronadal City. “I appeal to our security police forces to ferret out those responsible and bring them to justice. Let us all be vigilant against acts of terrorism,” the Cotabato Cardinal said in a statement. “It is an attack on innocent human lives. It is also an attack on freedom of religion and freedom to worship,” he said. With Vito Barcelo
ing that only the military did the firing. “That remains to be a conspiracy theory. So we ask citizens to always verify the news that they receive in social media,” Communications Assistant Secretary Kris Ablan said. “The government will not sacrifice the lives of our soldiers, for the conspiracy theory that some citizens have been thinking about,” he added. Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III on Wednesday urged the military to bring justice to the perpetrators of the attack. Brig. Gen. Restituto Padillia, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman, said seven personnel of the Presidential Security Group and two security escorts from the military were wounded in an ambush on Tuesday morning in Sitio Matalupay, Marawi City, Lanao del Sur. “We cannot tolerate such brazen terrorist attacks against our uniformed personnel. It’s time for the AFP to show them the consequences of such brutality,” Pimentel said. Padilla said that the ambush was carried out with the use of an improvised explosive device against a convoy of PSG and military personnel.