VOL. XXX NO. 123 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 WEDNESDAY : JUNE 15, 2016 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph
3 more Cabinet members appointed
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DAP BOUGHT LUISITA New DAR chief wants Abad charged for hacienda sale
By Maricel V. Cruz and Sandy Araneta
OUTGOING President Benigno Aquino III and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad could be held criminally liable for allegedly misusing P471 million in Disbursement Acceleration Program funds to pay for parcels of land at the Aquino-owned Hacienda Luisita.
Incoming Agrarian Reform secretary Rafael Mariano said he would order an investigation into the matter as soon as he assumes office on July 1. “There is documentary evidence regarding the use of P471 million from DAP, which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, for the payment of parcels of lands at the Hacienda Luisita owned by the Cojuangco-Aquino family in Tarlac,”
Mariano said at a news forum. “We will immediately review the sham land reform implemented by the DAR [Department of Agrarian Reform] in Hacienda Luisita,” Mariano said. Mariano said Aquino could no longer invoke his immunity from suit as president of the Republic when he steps down by June 30. The CARP (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program) law
provides that the chief executive is the ex-officio chairman of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC), which decides agrarian reform cases like Hacienda Luisita. Mariano said the probe would determine the legality of the payment scheme carried out by the Aquino administration, not just in Hacienda Luisita but also for other big corporation claimants under the Agrarian Reform Law. Next page
Bought with DAP? Farmers stage a protest against the government’s failure to implement genuine land reform in Hacienda Luisita in this file photo. Incoming Agrarian Reform secretary Rafael Mariano alleged that the farmland was bought using funds from the illegal Disbursement Acceleration Program. EY ACASIO
UN raps Duterte on bounties By John Paolo Bencito DAVAO CITY—The head of the UN High Commission for Human Rights on Tuesday reminded President-elect Rodrigo Duterte that he is mandated under international law to protect human rights as he slammed his recent offer of bounties for the killing of suspected criminals and for his plan to reinstate the death penalty. “I remind the incoming President of the Philippines that international law, which is binding on his administration, requires him to protect the rights of all his people, in-
cluding journalists, civil society activists and human rights defenders who expose malfeasance,” sand Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a wide-ranging speech to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. “Criticism of people in power is not a crime,” he added. Two UN human rights rapporteurs had earlier condemned Duterte—whose recent statements on the killings of journalists made headlines—for his rather “irresponsible” statements, saying that these instigated deadly violence against members of the press. Next page
K-12 plan described as ‘chaotic, criminal’
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