T H U R S D AY : J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 1 6
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NEWS
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Ledac will have regular meetings, says Alvarez
Statements. Dogs sniff boxes containing Statements of Contributions and Expenditures from Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II, which were delivered by a truck to the Commission on Elections head office in Intramuros, Manila, on Wednesday. DANNY PATA
‘Capital punishment a form of retribution’ PRESIDENT-ELECT Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday the reimposition of capital punishment was not aimed at deterring crime but at having the criminal elements pay for their past mistakes. He made the statement even as he slammed the media for allegedly twisting his statements, and broadcast giants ABS-CBN and TV5 for being the “mouthpiece of the oligarchs.” Meanwhile, Commission on Human Rights Chairman Jose Luis Martin Gascon said he and Duterte would not have any problems if Duterte followed the Constitution. Duterte, speaking at the oath-taking of Senator-elect Manny Pacquiao in Sarangani, acknowledged the claims of human rights groups that the death penalty would not deter crime, but he insisted it would be a form of retribution for the sins committed by criminals. “The death penalty to me is retribution—you pay for the mistakes you have
done in this life,” Duterte told local officials. Various groups, including Amnesty International and the Commission on Human Rights, say Duterte’s aim to reinstate the death penalty as part of his hard-line stance against crime will not be successful. They say the mere restoration of the death penalty is the “ultimate violation of the right to life.” In a television interview, Gascon said they had already formed a national task force to probe extra-judicial killings in anticipation of its rise in Duterte’s presidency. “The president-elect should follow the Constitution and we won’t have a problem,” Gascon said. “I hope that this relationship will
blossom into a relationship based on rules.” Duterte said his stance against journalists was only aimed at the third type: the vultures. He then slammed ABSCBN, which is owned by the Lopezes, and TV5, which is owned by Manny V. Pangilinan. He said the two broadcast giants were the “mouthpiece of vested interests.” “Itong pangalawa, itong mga announcer, itong mga broadcaster na mouthpiece ng kumpanya niya. Yan, ABSCBN, Pangilinan—Action 5? May mga newspaper... they are there to protect their vested interest. Kapag inatake sila eto na yung mga magprotekta sa kanila just to influence the thinking of the person,” Duterte said. During the campaign trail,
ABS-CBN became the sole network to air a controversial television advertisement commissioned by Senator Antonio Trillanes attacking Duterte and showing children condemning his supposed ill manners foul speeches. Some of Duterte’s cabinet members have links to both broadcast giants, with incoming Communications Secretary Martin Andanar being a former broadcaster and anchor of TV5, while incoming Environment Secretary Regina Lopez is a scion of the Lopez group, the owners of ABS-CBN. Duterte said the “vultures” in media were twisting his statements. His spokesmen had previously said he was being “misquoted” by the news organizations throughout the campaign. John Paolo Bencito
INCOMING Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said Wednesday the LegislativeExecutive Advisory Council will meet regularly in the coming 17th Congress. Outgoing President Benigno Aquino III convened the Ledac only twice since he assumed office in 2010: on Feb. 28, 2011, and on Aug. 16, 2011. The council was conceived during the Ramos administration. “We will push for a regular Ledac to ensure the successful passage of priority measures for our people,” said Alvarez, the representative of Davao del Norte and secretary-general of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan. Alvarez recalled having attended regular Ledac meetings during the Ramos administration. “The Ledac during the Ramos administration was at its most active, and that is important because it guides both the executive and the legislative for a clearer direction of the government’s socio-economic development goals,” Alvarez said. He said he was pushing for regular Ledac meetings to preserve the intent and spirit of Republic Act 7640, which provides that the council meet at least once every quarter. Outgoing Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. was himself disappointed over the Aquino administration’s failure to convene the Ledac regularly as prescribed by law. “I think he should have convened it more often, so that we could be more in tune with his thinking,” Belmonte said. “There are bills that are very good but which we have passed but it turns out they were not in his thinking, not in the liking of his economic managers. More Ledac meetings would have probably solved that.” Belmonte said Aquino’s penchant for vetoing several bills of national importance could have been prevented if the leaders of Congress and Malacañang had met regularly under Ledac. But because there were no Ledac meetings, the House and the Senate took the initiative of passing several pieces of important legislation that ended up being vetoed by Aquino. Maricel V. Cruz
Former Globe legal counsel to head new department PRESIDENT-ELECT Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Rodolfo Salalima, formerly the chief legal counsel of Globe Telecom, to head the newly formed Department of Information and Communications Technology. In a statement released Wednesday, Globe said Salalima will be the department’s first secretary under the incoming Duterte administration. Salalima is a magna cum laude graduate of philosophy and a cum laude graduate of bachelor of laws from San Beda College. In May, President Benigno Aquino III signed into law Republic Act 10844 creating the new department. That law requires that the department heads have “at least seven years of competence and expertise in any of the following: information and communications technology, information technology service management, information security management; cyber security, data privacy, e-commerce, or human capital development in the ICT sector.”
Globe said Salalima has more than 40 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. It said he is a member of the executive committee of the National ICT Advisory Council, president of the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunications Operators Inc. and a director of the Telecoms Infrastructure Corporation of the Philippines. Duterte earlier warned the telecommunications companies to improve their internet services or face competition from foreign players. The Philippines’ internet speed is the second slowest in Asia after Afghanistan. The internet services in the Philippines are also among the most expensive. A 2015 Ookla Speedtest showed that consumer download speeds in the Philippines ranked 176th out of 202 countries. The cost per megabit per second in the Philippines is also one of the most expensive, with an average value of $18.18 against the global average of $5.21. John Paolo Bencito
Advocacy. Senior citizens join an advocacy event against the use of medicines, which can cause serious health problems, as the country marks National Poison Prevention Week in Quezon City. LINO SANTOS