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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com
Protests turn into ‘prayer for healing’ THERE is no widespread condemnation of President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly drug war, Malacañang claimed Monday despite the mass actions aimed at calling for an end to the killings that have claimed thousands of lives since the Duterte administration took office. Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque described the protest rallies organized by the Catholic bishops on Sunday as a simple “religious activity” rather than an attempt to send out a political message. “It wasn’t a rally. It was a prayer for healing, so I take the organizers’ words literally,” Roque told reporters. He made his statement even as Senator Bam Aquino on Monday welcomed the Catholic Church’s initiative to spearhead the call for a stop to the drug war killings, saying it was the first and most important step in achieving much-needed healing in the country. “We are happy with the call of the Church to the public to join the call to stop the killings,” Aquino said after the “Lord Heal Our Land Sunday” Holy Mass at the Edsa Shrine. “As Christians and Filipinos, we’re agreed with the call of the Church to stop the killings and start the healing of the nation.” Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines on Monday appealed to the military and the police to stop the violence and drug-related killings and instead follow the rule of law. CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said both institutions must aim at justice rather than revenge in the battle against crime and lawlessness. “Choose to be requested rather than feared,” Villegas said during the “Lord Heal Our Land Sunday” Mass. “If you have stumbled and waltzed with graft, rise up men and women in uniform. Demand ethical leadership from your officers. Choose integrity not the quick fix,” Villegas said.
John Paolo Bencito
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The war of words has been deeply unsettling for US allies in the region, including Japan, where Trump met Sunday with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and South Korea, where he is to meet Tuesday with President Moon Jae-In. Trump then travels to China on Wednesday, Vietnam on Friday and the Philippines on Sunday. The interview was broadcast as a letter by the US Defense Department emerged that said the only way to locate and secure all of North Korea’s nuclear weapons sites would be through a ground invasion. A spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that Rear Admiral Michael Dumont sent a letter to several members of Congress in response to a request for details about the plan for military action against North Korea. Ted Lieu, a Democratic member of Congress whom the letter was addressed to, posted a copy of the twopage correspondence on his website. “The only way to ‘locate and destroy—with complete certainty—all components of North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs’ is through a ground invasion” it said. It added “a classified briefing is the best venue for a detailed discussion” of such a plan. AFP
Du30 sets bilaterals at Apec By John Paolo Bencito
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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is expected to hold bilateral talks with the leaders of Russia, China and Vietnam when he leaves for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Da Nang starting Wednesday, the Foreign Affairs Department said.
“On top of this would well Vietnam because it’s we’re looking also to meet be countries like China, the host country, and then with Russia,” Foreign Af-
fairs Assistant Secretary Leo Herrera-Lim said in a Palace news briefing. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will not be attending the Asean Summit in Manila is on top of Duterte’s consideration in holding bilateral talks, Lim said. Also on the works is a
bilateral dialogue with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang or Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Vietnam, which is an hour away from Manila by plane, is currently the host of the Apec Summit. The President will be meeting with US President Donald Trump for the first time during the Apec, where there is a
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found sufficient in form and substance. Among the allegations in the impeachment case against Sereno is the alleged misdeclaration in her statements of assets, liabilities and net worth by supposedly hiding her P30-million earning as government counsel in the arbitration case involving the expropriation of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3. “There is no anomaly in her SALNs. It is unreasonable for anyone to expect her earnings from the Piatco case to be intact,” Deinla argued, reiterating that Sereno has invested her earnings in properties reflected in her SALNs. “She paid all the taxes and obligations. When it was recomputed, there was even an overpayment on her part,” the lawyer said. Gadon’s complaint also cited her supposed extravagant spending of judicial funds by purchasing a P5-million Toyota Land Cruiser and traveling on first-class flights and hotels. However, Deinla stressed that Sereno is not extravagant and has been actually living a modest lifestyle. “There is definitely nothing wrong with the purchase of the vehicle. It was for security purposes and not for luxury. It was also approved by the full court as part of the SC’s regular procurement,” she said. Lastly, Deinla reiterated that Sereno would not attend the hearing of the House committee justice on Nov. 20 for determination of probable cause in charges against her. Just as in their previous statement, she invoked Sereno’s constitutional right to be defended by her lawyers as an accused in the impeachment case. Three lawmakers on Monday criticized Roque’s call for Sereno to resign. “Resignation is the sole prerogative of the person subject to the impeachment,” said Rep. Gus Tambunting of Parañaque City. “My position in these kinds of matters will always be to let the procedures provided by the Constitution go forward, respecting all the time our institutions.” Rep. Rodolfo Albano III of Isabela said the impeachment process against Sereno, which is now on the determination of probable cause at the House committee on justice, should be allowed to progress. Albano said Roque—being a lawyer himself—must acknowledged the separation of powers among the branches of government. Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza shared a similar viw. “I do not agree with my good friend Secretary Harry. There’s nothing wrong with the chief justice undergoing impeachment and trial,” Atienza said.
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TURNOVER. Former Health Secretary Pauline Ubial hands over the DoH flag to her successor Francisco Duque III during the turnover ceremony at the DoH main office in Sta. Cruz, Manila. Norman Cruz
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Correctional director Elsa Alabado had been replaced by lawyer Daisy Castillote because of the incident, he added.
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Northern Mindanao police who arrested her in her house found bomb-making materials. Her arrest came weeks after the military announced the end of the battle for Marawi that killed more than 1,100 people, including 165 soldiers. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Monday played down the capability of terrorist stragglers in Marawi to threaten the security of the city.
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“We have reports that they launched their big dredger, but we don’t know where it is going. We are constantly monitoring the movement of this ship,’ Lorenzana said at the sidelines of the Defense department’s 7th anniversary rites. Lorenzana’s comment surfaced after party-list lawmaker Rep. Gary Alejano’s disclosure that the Chinese dredger ship was indeed on its way to the
In a followup operation at noon, PDEA agents searched Uy’s condominium unit and seized some P10 million worth of shabu. Radio dzBB quoted PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino as saying that Uy tried to bribe PDEA agents
with P5 million, but Uy denied making the offer and said the shabu was planted. The radio report said PO3 Walter Vidad, a member of the PNP Special Action Force and alleged bodyguard of Uy, was under investigation.
At present, a dozen of foreign militants—Malaysians and Indonesians, who survived the final assault leading to the liberation of Marawi City, are engaged in hit-and-run fighting with security forces at the periphery of the main battle area. “They are no longer a force to reckon with because they can no longer hold the ground and sustain the fight. They fire and run away,” Lorenzana said. Among the foreign jihadists still holed up in the battle zone is Malaysian Amin Baco, who was earlier reported dead.
Baco was with four other Malaysian battle-trained fighters who slipped out of Malaysia following a crackdown of Muslim extremists there, and had sought sanctuary in Basilan and Sulu and established an alliance with Isnilon Hapilon’s Abu Sayyaf group. Lorenzana said Baco was in the middle of the IS hierarchy in Southeast Asia. With no leaders left above him, he could be taking over the remnants of the terrorists who overran Marawi, Lorenzana said, but would be unable to mass enough fighters to threaten the city.
Philippine territory in Pagasa Island. Alejano voiced concern over the China’s recent launching of a 140-meter long and 28-meter wide dredging vessel named Tian Kun Hao. Alejano said the new super dredger of China was now the largest dredger in Asia and was actually dubbed as “Asia’s most powerful island maker.” “The Tian Kun Hao is quite alarming in itself. This newest addition in China’s maritime arsenal provides increased and faster capacity to dredge
and reclaim lands,” Alejano, an opposition, said. “It would make it easier for China to build artificial islands and reclaim more reefs. Take for instance what China did when it reclaimed its seven reefs in 2013 to 2016. Given the earlier aggressive reclamation activities of China, one cannot help but be alarmed on what this massive dredger could do,” Alejano added. This developed as Alejano urged the Duterte administration “to establish our direction in the West Philippine Sea”
Sereno, who was appointed by former President Benigno Aquino III, is facing an impeachment case over her alleged betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution for failing to fully disclose his wealth, on top of other allegations of mismanagement in the affairs of the high court. While the impeachment proceedings have yet to reach the Senate, Roque—a former member of the House committee on justice—said he had already read the complaint, Sereno’s response, and all the other replies. “I’m very bothered by the allegations, which to my mind are supported not just by substantial evidence but very convincing evidence that some of the grounds may in fact be impeachable,” he said. He added that his call for Sereno to resign also reflects the sentiment of the President, who had earlier challenged Sereno and Ombudsman Conchita CarpioMorales to resign with him. By his suggestion, Roque denied that he is undermining the judiciary, which he branded as the “weakest branch of government.” “[Sereno] has only to blame herself if she feels that the impeachment proceeding has affected the independence of the judiciary,” he added. Roque made these in response to Sereno alluding to a “resurgence of political forces” that have “threatened and harassed” the independence of the judicial system. During her keynote address at the 8th International Conference on the Training of the Judiciary, Sereno said that a good judicial system is only “as strong and independent as the belief and faith of the people in it.” Sereno on Monday rejected the call of Malacañang for her to resign. Her spokesman, lawyer Carlo Cruz, said resignation has never an option for the chief justice. “The chief justice needs to face the impeachment proceeding precisely to preserve the dignity and independence of both the Supreme Court and the Office of the Chief Justice,” Cruz said in a statement. “She has done nothing to damage the institution, and she has been doing everything to strengthen it,” Cruz added. Sereno’s camp again denied the allegations in the impeachment case against her. In a forum at the Manila Hotel, her lawyer Jose Deinla reiterated that Sereno has not committed any act of betrayal of public trust or culpable violation of the Constitution as insinuated in lawyer Lorenzo Gadon’s complaint, which the House has already
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During the resumption of the Senate hearing on the death of the Aegis Juris neophyte, Poe cited instances of the involvement of DivinaLaw, whose founder and managing partner is a member of the Aegis Juris Fraternity--the fraternity that carried out the initiation rites on Castillo on Sept. 17. Poe said the Pacific Star Building, which houses Divi-
naLaw, is owned by Century Properties, whose corporate secretary is a “senior partner” at DivinaLaw. The senator also revealed that Century Properties also owns Novotel Manila in Cubao, Quezon City where some Aegis Juris fratmen, including some elder brods, met in the afternoon of Sept. 17, hours after Castillo’s death. Also in the Senate, Senator Panfilo Lacson on Monday called on the Depart-
ment of Justice to look into the possibility that hazing suspect-turned-witness Marc Anthony Ventura might be a “Trojan horse” in order to muddle the probe into Castillo’s death. Lacson made the statement after he noticed inconsistencies in Ventura’s claims about him being a former master initiator of the UST-based Aegis Juris Fraternity that conducted the initiation rites for Castillo on Sept. 17.
DoTr Secretary Arthur Tugade dated Nov. 3, 2017, the agency noted the failure of Buri to address the issues raised in the notice of termination served to them last Oct. 17. The DoTr cited reasons of termination such as poor performance, failure to put in service and subsequently ensure the availability of contractually obligated number of trains, and more importantly, for failure to put in operation reliable and
efficient trains and failure to implement a feasible procurement plan for spare parts. The DoTr also said Buri failed to comply with the contractual requirements of a complete and up to date Computerized Maintenance Management System. “It cannot be overemphasized that what is at stake here is the welfare and interest of the riding public... This office could not just sit back and wait while watching Buri trifle and flirt with the lives of the commuting public, with its substandard performance,” Tugade said.
“higher than 50% chance” of having pull-aside meetings, Lim added. The DFA official said that should the two leaders decide to meet, they will likely discuss national security both at the country and regional levels and their common “desire to grow the different engines of the global economy.”
Roque throws a party for media PRESIDENTIAL Spokesman Harry Roque threw breakfast buns and not hollow blocks at reporters on Monday and vowed to teach Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson and President Rodrigo Duterte’s hordes of online supporters the virtues of journalism and the role of mainstream media in protecting constitutional freedoms. Despite calls from a proDuterte blogger for him to make good on his vow to throw “hollow blocks” at a Malacañang reporter, Roque instead brought in loads of baked goods from a popular bakery-cafe in Quezon City as he reiterated his message to spare legitimate journalists from further attacks. He likewise said he was also hopeful that Uson, who is leading the President’s legions of supporters, would take his comments well. “I am calling out to the DDS [Diehard Duterte Supporters] and I was hoping Asec Mocha could be here to send the message. In due course, we will explain in a manner that all will understand why the rights of the free press are important,” Roque said. John Paolo Bencito
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Interior Department said Monday. “We are covering all the bases to ensure the safety and security of our Asean delegates, including their mobility and transfer from one place to another,” Interior officer-in-charge Catalino Cuy said. “We appeal to all our countrymen and the business community who will be affected by the restrictions. Please bear with us in the next few days.” Cuy made his statement even as the Gabriela Women’s Party on Monday raised fears that US President Donald Trump will push for the full restoration of US military bases in the country when he visits the Philippines later this week. Gabriela Party-list Rep. Emmi de Jesus said the “militarist push is very likely” as Trump is expected to play up the North Korean threat and with the Duterte regime already providing at least five agreed locations or military bases for the use of the US military. Along with this, Tugade signed the establishment and composition of the MRT-3 Maintenance Transition Team that will temporarily take over the maintenance works of MRT-3 while the procurement of a new maintenance provider is being processed. In the House of Representatives, at least three lawmakers on Monday welcomed the decision of the DoTr to terminate the MRT3 maintenance contract of Buri and the immediate takeover of the maintenance by the government.