SC absolves Rody of misconduct

By Rey E. Requejo

FORMER President Rodrigo Duterte has been exonerated by the Supreme Court of simple misconduct for which he was imposed a six-month suspension when he was still the mayor of Davao City.

In a decision dated March 15, 2023 and made public on June 30, the High Court upheld the 2011 ruling of the Court of Appeals reversing the Ombudsman’s suspension order on Duterte and five oth-

DOT...

From A1 and ownership of all materials contained in the video and key visuals it presented during previous consultations.

“In all these occasions, DDB repeatedly assured the DOT that the originality and ownership of all materials are in order,” it said.

DDB Philippines won the contract to develop the updated branding campaign that replaced the previous tourism slogan “It’s More Fun in the Philippines.”

Frasco earlier said the campaign, including the entire study, coming up with a logo, and other components, had cost P49 million.

The DOT, however, clarified that no public funds were spent in the production of the viral AVP “as this particular com-

Zubiri...

From A1 probe into the mysterious activity of a US Air Force Boeing C-17 in Philippine territory and airspace on June 26, stressing it raises questions of sovereignty and air travel safety.

Marcos, who chairs the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said the Philippine government should know the plane's mission, the identities of its flight crew and lone passenger, the type of its cargo, and the reason for a 10-hour layover in Manila.

Zubiri, for his part, said the possible

PBBM,...

From A1

Senator Imee Marcos posted a video on Facebook to greet her mom, whom she said was a "fashion icon" because of her iconic "terno" dresses during the administration of the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

"First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos has been nicknamed a "fashion icon"

Phivolcs...

From A1 additional families or 30,000 individuals will need to be evacuated. Again, that’s on top of the ones we already evacuated. You could imagine the number of mobility assets we will need to move them,” he said.

“Even with the mobility assets already deployed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines to support evacuation, we estimate it will take three-and-a-half days, given time-and-motion calculations,” he added.

“So we need all the vehicles we can prepare. My office is prepared to support the needs of local government units, and I have commitments from private sector members, including those in the construction and transport sectors, to provide transportation aid,” he noted.

“We need everything we can get, so right now, my appeal to government agencies is to help us prepare the needed mobility assets. Trucks, vans, buses –everything we can use to safely convey evacuees,” he said.

Mayon Volcano’s unrest has affected a total of 41,517 individuals or 10,652 families residing in 26 barangays, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Sunday.

Of these, 18,751 people or 5,365 families were staying in 28 evacuation centers in the Bicol Region, while 1,427 people

Jackpot...

From A1

In an advisory Sunday, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) said the bettor's winning combination of 1825-12-14-13-22 carried a total jackpot prize of PHP61,234,178.

The ticket was purchased in Las Piñas City.

On Friday night, a lone bettor from Nueva Ecija became an instant millionaire after hitting the P366-million jackpot of the Ultra Lotto 6/58 draw.

In an advisory on Saturday, the er city officials. The SC decision, penned by Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, also cleared Wendel E. Avisado, city administrator; Jose D. Gestuveo Jr., city engineer; Elmer B. ponent of the launch was released on the account of DDB.”

Emphasizing its commitment to promoting Philippine tourism to the “highest standard,” the DOT said it “will not hesitate to exact accountability and take the necessary action to protect the interest of the country.”

Blogger Sass Sasot, in a Facebook post on Saturday, pointed out that at least six of the clips featured in the “Love the Philippines” promotional video are not located in the country and were sourced from the stock video footage site Storyblocks.

The video clip showing a fisherman throwing a net in the waters was captured in Thailand by the RedCupStudio-Thailand, the rice terraces image was captured in Bali, Indonesia, the aircraft landing was captured in Zurich, Switzerland and the sand dunes video was captured in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which were transfer of operations of US arms manufacturers would be "a good thing" as it will generate jobsfor Filipinos. The parts for the arms and munitions to be produced can likewise be sourced in the Philippines.

"Of course, for the defense side, we have the [proposed] Philippine Defense Industry Development Act (PDIDA),” he added.

Zubiri filed the PDIDA bill in July last year.

“After what we saw during the Marawi siege, we were trying to go around begging for ammunition, begging for firearms, which is not necessary since we have the development, the technology, the people that can do it in in our country. She has been our inspiration. On her birthday, let's get to know her better by looking back at some of the stories of her life. Happy Birthday, Mom!" the senator said.

Sen. Imee Marcos, who was not in the group photo at the Palace, posted a separate photo of her with her sister Irene and their mom with the caption: “With our forever First Lady. Of course, I cannot be absent on my mommy’s birthday.” or 408 families were seeking temporary shelters outside of evacuation centers. The NDRRMC said P130.5 million worth of assistance has been provided in the Bicol Region, so far.

A total of 397 rockfall events were recorded in Mayon Volcano in the past 24 hours, according to the Phivolcs.

As of 5 a.m., the Phivolcs bulletin showed that there were four volcanic earthquakes and two dome collapse pyroclastic density current events.

Mayon Volcano, which is currently under Alert Level 3 due to intensified unrest, also continued to have a “very slow effusion” of lava flow from its crater, reaching up to 2.7 kilometers along the Mi-isi Gully.

Lava flow along the Bonga Gully, meanwhile, stretched to 1.3 kilometers.

There were also lava collapses on both gullies within 3.3 kilometers and 4 kilometers along the Basud Gully, Phivolcs said.

Mayon Volcano also emitted a 1,500-meter-tall plume that drifted southwest, south-southwest, and northwest.

It also generated 864 tonnes of sulfur dioxide flux on Saturday, July 1.

The volcano’s edifice also remained inflated.

With these, Phivolcs reminded the public that entry into the six-kilometer radius of Mayon Volcano’s Permanent Danger Zone is not allowed.

Flying any aircraft close to the volcano is also prohibited. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

PCSO said the lucky bettor guessed the winning combination, 43-58-37-4727-17, and will take the prize money of P366,687,465.20. The winning ticket was bought in San Roque, Cabiao, Nueva Ecija.

Bettors can claim the check at the PCSO main office in Mandaluyong City upon presentation of the winning ticket and two identification cards.

Lotto winnings of more than P10,000 shall be subject to a 20 percent tax under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law.

Prizes not claimed within a year will be forfeited.

Rano and J. Melchor V. Quitain, city legal officers; and Yusop A. Jimlani, chief of the city’s drainage and maintenance unit. The complaint against Duterte as mayor and the other city officials was filed before the Ombudsman by the late former Speaker Prospero Nograles who was also then Davao City 1st District representative.

The controversy arose from the 2006 Canal-Cover project initiated by Nograles in Davao City’s Quezon Boulevard. The case records stated that “since concrete flooring was constructed on top of the drainage canal, silt and garbage all found in storyblocks.com.

DDB Philippines on Sunday released an apology to the DOT for using nonoriginal, stock footage in the audiovisual presentation shown in the launch event of the Love The Philippines campaign.

“As DOT’s agency on record for the launch of this campaign, we take full responsibility over this matter,” the ad agency said in an apology letter to the DOT.

The agency said it uploaded the video on social media as a mood video to raise positivity among tourism internal stakeholders about the campaign.

DDB said the video was produced by the agency at its own expense, without spending a centavo from public funds as an initiative to help pitch the slogan.

“While the use of stock footage in mood videos is standard practice in the industry, the use of foreign stock foot- the Philippines,” he said in an interview earlier this year. He cited the case of the Marikina-based Armscor Global Defense Inc., the largest manufacturer of firearms and ammunition in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Armscor, Zubiri said, responded to the urgent call for firearms and ammunition during the five-month-long Battle of Marawi in 2017.

Zubiri said over the weekend that there is also a need to amend the Procurement Law, because "cheapest is not the best for military equipment."

"At the same time, ‘brand new’ is not necessarily practical for ourcountry because the four new airplanes we got are

PAO...

From A1 backing a Supreme Court policy that al lows two public defenders from her agency to face each other in court.

“We as public defenders are also active members of IBP but we have never been consulted about its support,” she told the Manila Standard.

She urged the IBP to adhere to Republic Act 9999 or the Free Legal Assistance Act of 2020 stating that “a private lawyer or professional partnership/firm provides legal assistance to indigents who cannot secure legal services from the PAO, the Department of Justice or any accredited association of the Supreme Court…”

“After all, having been ordained by the Supreme Court and subsidized by the latter with P130.9-million funding in maintenance and other operating expenses for the year 2023 (under the General Appropriations Act 2023), it is sufficiently equipped to at least partially fill the gap in access to justice,” the PAO chief said.

Regarding the subsidy, Acosta said: “We don't know where their money goes.”

The PAO chief and her agency's 3,500 lawyers opposed the “conflict of interest” provision of the Supreme Court's recently approved Section 22, Canon III or the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA) allowing public defenders to go against one another in the same case.

The IBP said it fully supports the CPRA, which it said sets aside the challenge of “conflict of interest” posed by the PAO.

PAO had sought a revision of CPRA’s Section 22, Canon III, which states: “A conflict of interest of any of the lawyers of the Public Attorney’s Office incident to services rendered for the office shall be imputed only to the said lawyer and the lawyer’s direct supervisor.

Such conflict of interest shall not disqualify the rest of the lawyers from the Pub-

PNR...

From A1 bound for Calamba were no longer accommodated, as the available train trips were from Alabang to Biñan, Laguna only. The Biñan to Calamba train trip had already ceased operating, PNR said.

Starting July 15, all trips from the Alabang route will stop, Macapagal said. Some 500 daily train commuters will be affected, according to PNR's management.

The whole PNR operations will stop in December after the holiday rush, according to Macapagal.

To help the affected riding public, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will be issuing additional franchises to the could not be dredged, impeding the flow of water.”

In 2008, the Davao City government informed the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) of the problem arising from the construction of the concrete flooring.

The DPWH constructed several manholes on the concrete flooring of the canal, but flooding still occurred, prompting the city government to inform the DPWH of its plan to remove the concrete flooring. (See full story online at manilastandard.net) age was an unfortunate oversight on our agency’s part. Proper screening and approval processes should have been strictly followed. The use of foreign stock footage in a campaign promoting the Philippines is highly inappropriate, and contradictory to the DOT’s objectives,” the agency said. equivalent to six or 12 – one squadron –of slightly-used airplanes from friendly countries or ally countries like, for example, the Netherlands," he said. lic Attorney’s Office from representing the affected client, upon full disclosure to the latter and written informed consent.”

DDB said the video fiasco was an isolated incident and the AVP has already been taken down as soon as disparaging comments about it flooded the internet.

There are remaining campaign collaterals that will be released soon that will rectify the blunder caused by the AVP, the company said.

The ad agency said it will cooperate with the DOT probe, hoping that the “gross oversight will not diminish the genuine love and appreciation the stakeholders and the public have been showing” for the campaign.

He also announced that at least 10,000 to 15,000 workers will be hired to build American bases in Guam.

"And they are looking at Filipino workers to go to Guam and help build up the bases because they need to build the bases as soon as possible," the Senate President said.

"Of course, they'll discuss how to get the working visa, and they're trying to get the State Department approval to hasten the proceedings. They still have no workers,” he added.

In its public statements and in letters sent to Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo and the 14 other SC justices, PAO said that the provision in CPRA allows PAO lawyers to be pitted against each other before the courts by representing opposing parties in cases.

Acosta said the provision puts PAO attorneys at risk because if things go wrong, clients would be given reason to suspect that “their counsels double-crossed them.”

“There were instances when conflictof-interest representation was the cause of death of former public attorneys,” Acosta said.

In its statement, the IBP said it remains “confident in the Court’s intention and object to reflect the values of fairness, justice, and ethical practice as envisioned in the CPRA to the benefit of the entire legal community and the public.”

It said the provision in CPRA already addressed the concerns of the PAO.

“We thus firmly stand with the tribunal’s position upholding Section 22 of the CPRA. This provision appropriately addresses conflict of interest that may arise within PAO’s organization while safeguarding the rights and interests of its clients,” it also said.

The IBP said the CPRA limited the conflict-of-interest rule “only to the handling PAO lawyer and his or her direct supervisor, with full disclosure and written and informed consent.”

“The subject provision is in consonance with the constitutionally provided right of all persons to equal protection of law by ensuring that all parties are afforded their right to counsel,” it said.

While PAO has the right to be cautious against any appearance of impropriety, the IBP said “unflinching adherence to a broad and antiquated concept of ‘conflict of interest’ should not stand in the way of all persons’ right to counsel.” affected routes, according to Macapagal.

The NSRP will run up to six years, according to Macapagal.

“We are currently modernizing the train system of the Philippines. We will have electric trains which will come from Clark to Pampanga, Pampanga to Bulacan, Bulacan to Metro Manila, then Metro Manila to Calamba, Laguna,” Macapagal said.

The project aims at modernizing the PNR system in the country, which will eventually boost economic progress.

“This entire project will include 35 stations, there are 51 new electric trains, commuter trains, then about 7 or 8 express trains.

These are all electric and these are at far with world standards, and these are all elevated system so you will all see this,” he said. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)