Share Share Share – Breaking News: Like Like Like —–>>>>> https://www.facebook.com/MetroManilaKilusangPagbabago/ ***** Arrest warrant for Senator De Lima is out. At the Senate, no arrest warrant was served on her. She then decided to go home first to return to the Senate tomorrow. There is still no clarity if she could or would be arrested in her house in spite of her statement that she would be waiting for the arresting party tomorrow at the Senate. Ano po ang say nyo mga ka-DDS?

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Foes rejoice looming De Lima arrest

Matapos ipawalangsala si Dating Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte sa pamumuno ng Davao Death Squad sa Senate hearing, BUMUWELTA si PNP SPO3 Arturo Lascanas at ngayon naman ay nagsasabing tutoo daw na may DDS at si nagyo’y Presidente Duterte ang pasimuno nito.

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Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to file perjury charges against retired SPO3 Arturo Lascañas for flip-flopping on the alleged existence of the so-called Davao Death Squad.

“The Department of Justice should immediately file perjury charges against retired SPO3 Arthur Lascañas. By admitting to lying under oath before the Senate justice committee during the October 2016 hearings on alleged extrajudicial killings, Lascañas has made a mockery of the solemn proceedings of the Senate. He should be made to pay for the grave disrespect he has shown to this institution,” Gatchalian, who is part of the Senate majority bloc, said in a statement.

Lascañas denied the existence of DDS when he testified under oath before the Senate committee on justice and human rights last year.

But in a press conference this Monday morning, the retired police officer did not only confirm its existence but also accused President Rodrigo Duterte of using the group to kill criminals when the latter was still the mayor of Davao City.

“Personally, I find it hard to believe the incredible alternative facts that Lascañas is now asserting. After all, he was singing a completely different tune just a few months ago,” Gatchalian said.

“Taken all together, it is clear that there are serious doubts about his integrity and the credibility of his new testimony. Unless Lascañas can provide actual concrete evidence to link the President to extrajudicial killings, I would not rely too much on this retired cop’s tall tales,” he added.

Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao, who is also part of the majority bloc, raised doubts about Lascañas’ new allegations.

“Maraming mga oppositor ang Pangulo, baka nakumbinsi sya. Baka nakumbisi sya na mag oppose (The President has many opposers. He may have been convinced to oppose),” Pacquiao said in an interview.

Asked if he believed the former cop’s latest version of his story against Duterte, the senator answered no.

“Paano mo paniniwaalan e nag statement na dito yun e? Tapos nag statement na naman (How could I believe him when he has testified before? Then he has made another statement),” he said.

“Mahirap ang buhay ngayon, maraming nangangailangan (Life is difficult nowadays, many are in dire need),” Pacquiao added.

Asked again if what he meant was Lascañas changed the story in exchange for money, the senator said: “Huwag na nating sabihing money involved, baka nakumbinsi sya ng kabila (Let’s not say that money was involved, he may have been convinced by the opposition).” RAM/rga

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Retracting his earlier testimony at the Senate, a Davao City policeman who had testified on the Davao Death Squad (DDS) resurfaced on Monday and claimed that President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the killings of criminals in Davao City when he was still its mayor.

SPO3 Arturo Lascañas, who was presented by members of the Free Legal Assistance Group during a press conference in the Senate, claimed that Duterte personally ordered them to kill criminals. He also confirmed the existence of the DDS.

“Sa una pong pag-upo ni Mayor ni Mayor Duterte bilang mayor ng Davao City ay nag-umpisa na po kami ng tinatawag na salvaging ng mga tao. Ito po ay mga suspek na gumagawa ng krimen sa Davao, about illegal drugs,” Lascañas said.

“Inimplementa po namin ang personal na utos ni Duterte sa amin,” he said.

Lascañas claimed that DDS members were paid by Duterte from P20,000 to P 100,000 depending on their targets.

“Sa lahat po ng ginagawa naming pagpatay sa Davao City, libing man o itapon namin sa laot, ito po ay binabayaran kami ni Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, kadalasan P20,000, minsan P50,000 at depende  po sa status ng target. Minsan P100,000,”   he said.

“Ako po ay tumanggap ng allowance galing sa office of the mayor sa matagal ng panahon. Tumanggap ako ng P100,000,”  he added.

Lascañas’ statement was a turnaround from his earlier  testimony  when he faced  the Senate justice and public order committees  that investigated  the alleged  extrajudicial  killings in the country.

“All lies,”   told the  committee when he was asked by senators  if he  was part of the DDS. CBB

The contracts—known as mineral production sharing agreements, or MPSAs—are all in watershed zones, with many in the exploration stage.

They cover projects not yet in production and the latest action by Lopez suggests she will not allow them to be developed further.

“You kill watersheds, you kill life,” Lopez told a news briefing.

“In this country, all open-pit mining operations are being done in a watershed,” she said. “This should never be allowed.”

Sanctity of contracts

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) said in a statement that with Lopez’s unilateral action, the controversy was “no longer a question of whether a handful of companies really violated environmental laws” but “whether we still uphold the sanctity of contracts.”

Suggesting the affected miners were preparing to take legal action, COMP said the matter had “now become a question of due process” and “fairness and justice that applies to all.”

COMP lawyer Ronald Recidoro  said Lopez’s latest action was “absurd” and ignored due process given MPSAs were contracts between the government and the mining companies.

“You cannot just unilaterally cancel contracts, especially if there are no specific grounds,” Recidoro said.

Mining law allowed operations in watersheds, except those declared protected by the government, he added.

The American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines called the cancellation of the mining contracts “irresponsible.”

“We do not understand why these permits—which are only to explore but not to produce—are harming watersheds. Responsible government agencies reviewed the permits, and there are dispute resolution provisions that should be followed,” John D. Forbes, senior adviser to the chamber, said in a text message to the Inquirer.

“Cancellation without due process is as irresponsible as operating a mine without following environmental rules and laws,” he said.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry agreed. “There should be due process for the mining firms,” its president, George T. Barcelon, said in a phone interview.

But Lopez said it was within her discretion “to decide on the resources of the country.”

Duterte ally

The canceled contracts include the $2-billion Kingking gold and copper project in Davao del Norte province, the holder of which is the group of former Sen. Manuel Villar, an ally of President Duterte.

Five of the scrapped contracts involve the Philex group led by Manny V. Pangilinan, who figured in a verbal tussle with Lopez when she spoke against mining during an industry forum in 2012.

A longtime environmentalist, Lopez ordered the closure of 23 of the Philippines’ 41 mines on Feb. 2 for allegedly damaging watersheds and for siltation of coastal waters and farmlands.

Another five mines were suspended, causing an outcry from the industry.

Protesting Lopez’s action, COMP on Monday filed its opposition to her nomination in the Commission on Appointments.

COMP said Lopez’s orders would affect 1.2 million people.

Legal action

The industry plans to appeal Lopez’s orders to President Duterte, although some miners facing a shutdown of their operations have threatened legal action, with some miners saying on Tuesday they had received a formal closure order from the DENR.

Top Philippine nickel ore producer Nickel Asia Corp. said it would “pursue all legal remedies to overturn [the] order because of due process violations and the absence of any basis” that would warrant a suspension or closure of operations of its unit Hinatuan Mining Corp.

Hinatuan was told that its operation had “impaired the functions of the watershed in the area,” according to a copy of the closure order.

Lopez said on Tuesday that courts could not halt her orders.

“There is no TRO (temporary restraining order) that holds function in the case of environment enforcement,” she said.

“You can’t have a TRO. We are protecting the environment and you can’t stop us from protecting the environment,” she added.

The contracts she ordered canceled on Tuesday include the $5.9-billion Tampakan copper-gold project in South Cotabato province, the biggest stalled mining venture in the Philippines.

“The contract here covers four provinces—South Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat and Davao del Sur—and six rivers and the food basket of Mindanao,” Lopez said.

“We’re canceling this as a gift of love to the people of Cotabato,” Lopez said.

7 days to comment

The mining companies that would receive cancellation orders would have seven days to comment and “show why we shouldn’t cancel their MPSAs,” she said.

Four of the five Philex contracts canceled on Tuesday were assigned to Philex Gold Philippines Inc. and involved projects in Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Negros Occidental provinces.

The fifth MPSA was assigned to Silangan Mindanao Mining Co. Inc. in Surigao del Norte, where Philex hopes to develop a $2-billion copper-gold project that would replace the group’s biggest revenue source—Philex Mining Corp.’s Padcal mine in Benguet province, whose production life is expected to expire in 2022.

The decision to close or suspend existing mine operations followed a months-long audit of the mines, although a government team that reviewed the audit recommended only suspensions and fines.  —WITH REPORTS FROM JAYMEE T. GAMIL, BEN O. DE VERA, ROY STEPHEN C. CANIVEL AND THE WIRES

By: Ronnel W. Domingo

The 2017 Surigao earthquake or 2017 Northeastern Mindanao earthquake, occurred on February 10, 2017 at 10:03 PST, with a moment magnitude of 6.5 and a maximum Intensity VII (Destructive) off the coast of Surigao del Norte in the Philippines. In the past Surigao province experienced a Magnitude 7.2 tremor in 1879 and in 1893.

#DSWD #Duterte #Surigao #SurigaoCity #Earthquake

Senator Leila de Lima said Monday she is preparing for the “worst-case scenario” as the resolution on drug-related cases filed against her is expected this week.

“I have been preparing for the worst-case scenario kasi katuparan lang ‘yan ng matagal nang inuutos ng Pangulo,” De Lima told reporters in an interview.

“Ilang beses na niyang sinasabi na he (President Rodrigo Duterte) wants me locked up in jail to suffer the fate of the former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. That is his words, not mine,” the senator added.

Arroyo, now Pampanga congresswoman, was ordered released from hospital arrest in July last year, after being detained in a Quezon City hospital since 2011 over plunder.

De Lima said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is “rushing” the filing of charges against her before a Regional Trial Court instead of the Ombudsman, which has jurisdiction over elected officials.

“Alam nila ‘yan na hindi ‘yan yung tamang pamamaraan. Pero ‘yun daw ang gagawin dahil alam nila na ‘pag nandyan na sa Ombudsman, hindi naman agad mag-prosper ‘yung kaso,” De Lima said.

She said the DOJ’s strategy is to file charges before a regular court to immediately secure an arrest warrant against her.

Aguirre denies De Lima’s claim

In a statement, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II denied De Lima’s claim that the DOJ was expediting the issuance of an arrest warrant against her.

“It is totally irresponsible of her to announce that the DOJ is expediting the issuance of such warrants. That is a blatant lie and a total misinformation,” Aguirre said.

“Senator De Lima’s motivation for saying such is beyond us. It is a totally irresponsible statement. It implies that we can control or influence our courts. We do not do that, at least in my time as Secretary of Justice. It might be what was done during her time at the DOJ but definitely it will not be done during my time,” he added.

In the meantime, De Lima said she will continue with her legislative work.

“Siyempre po. Hintayin ko na lang po ‘yun,” she said.

By KATHRINA CHARMAINE ALVAREZ, GMA News

With a report from Virgil Lopez/ALG/KG, GMA News

February 13, 2017

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De Lima accuses Arroyo, ‘PDAF senators’ of helping Duterte pin her down

Senator Leila de Lima on Thursday claimed that former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, along with “one or two” senators charged over the pork barrel scam are allegedly using President Rodrigo Duterte to exact their own revenge against her.

In a media briefing at the Senate, De Lima said “powerful” personalities whom she had investigated in the past have allegedly formed political alliances to make her life difficult.

“I’m referring to personalities lalo na the powerful ones na natapakan ko nung ginagawa ko yung trabaho ko as secretary of Justice,” said De Lima, who was the Secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ) during the previous Aquino administration.

“[These involve] high-profile cases. Some people keep on blaming me until now dun sa pagharang ko nung lalabas sa bansa yung dating Pangulo (Arroyo), diba? And even the President is saying na I will suffer daw the same fate of former President GMA. In other words, I will rot in jail,” De Lima said.

The senator was referring to a 2011 incident when Arroyo, now congresswoman of Pampanga, failed to leave the country after Immigration officials barred her from boarding her flight.

Arroyo failed to leave despite a Supreme Court (SC) order stopping the government from enforcing watch list orders against her.

De Lima, already the DOJ Secretary then, had said that she ordered the Bureau of Immigration (BI) that the watch list will be enforced as the government has yet to receive a copy of the SC order then.

Senator De Lima also pointed to a lawyer of former President Arroyo and a “powerful religious bloc” who was also reportedly “angry” with her.

“Dahil nga mag-kakampi na sila ngayon, may political alliances sila, GMA forces, and then yung mga PDAF senators. Alam ko meron silang mga tao na mga inuutusan diyan to also make my life difficult,” De Lima said.

“These are the forces na may alliances na sila ngayon with the President. Nakapasok sila sa Pangulo, naka-access na sila sa kanya politically and therefore ginagamit nila yung galit sakin ng Pangulo para tulungan ang Pangulo for their own respective agenda, which is also to get back to me. Payback time ang nasa isip nila,” the senator added.

Asked whether she thinks Arroyo herself was behind the efforts against her, De Lima said: “I think so.”

PDAF senators

De Lima said “one or two” senators charged for their involvement in the multi-billion priority development assistance fund (PDAF) scam also have an axe to grind with her.

“Baka hindi yung lahat na tatlo. Baka isa o dalawa lang. That’s based on my own information but as I said I cannot validate fully or conclusively,” she said.

Three former senators — Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Ponce Enrile, and Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr. — have been jailed over the PDAF scam. Enrile is currently out on bail.

De Lima recalled that in a past confirmation hearing by the Commission on Appointments (CA), one of the members opposed her appointment and threatened to reveal an alleged sex video.

“Yung nagbanta na ipalabas yung alleged sex video, alam ko ginamit sa kanila nung isa sa tatlong PDAF senators…I don’t have to name him. I think you know,” she said. De Lima was referring to then Senator Estrada.

De Lima said she will maintain her innocence on the accusations hurled by Duterte and her other critics until her last breath.

Mocha Uson Blog post (February 10, 2017)

MANILA – Theoretically, Senator Leila De Lima is not immune from arrest if the Court issues a warrant on supposed drug charges to be filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said on Wednesday.

In an interview, Pimentel said that all senators including him and De Lima enjoyed immunity from arrest if the punishment on the case is not more than six years imprisonment.

“Okay, eto theoretical na lang, if a senator has a criminal case, a pending criminal case filed before the Prosecutor’s Office, before the court, the court issues a warrant of arrest, which involved imprisonment of more that six years, no exemption,” Pimentel explained.

Pimentel said that the Constitution does not speak of their exemption from arrest even if they enjoy some immunity and privileges under the law.

“But then even the privilege from arrest we do not enjoy if it’s beyond six years,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel further stressed that a senator cannot be arrested while Congress is in session.

“So kahit na six years and below (ang punishment sa kaso mo), and we are on break, puwede. Siyempre, di kami exempted from criminal liability ah. Wala sobra na yun.  Yun lang yung mga kaunting concession ng State for legislators,” he stressed.

De Lima confirmed that a warrant of arrest may be issued by a court against her for the drug charges, which is not bailable, to be filed by the DOJ before a regular court, and thus, bypassing the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan.

“Very possible. Kaya nga I need to tell you that because I’ve been receiving information also, credible information from inside DOJ, na binibilisan na nga daw, minamadali na yung resolution na yan,” De Lima said referring to the two separate cases against her.

“I’m sure they will find a way to make it non-bailable. In fact, they were emphasizing the drug trafficking angle yesterday (Tuesday) to make the case fully cognizable by the regular court,” she added.

De Lima was talking about the four consolidated cases, filed by Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) together with former National Bureau of Investigation officials Reynaldo Esmeralda and Ruel Lasala and New Bilibid Prison inmate Jaybee Sebastian, which were consolidated by the DOJ.

The second set of cases, De Lima said, was about the accusation made by Kerwin Espinosa against her regarding the drug payola and campaign funds she received before she ran for senator.

De Lima said that she has no immunity from arrest since the case/s that will be filed are for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

“Walang immunity. It is in the Constitution, I am sure of that. There is a minimum penalty and certainly itong mga so-called charges sa akin na drug trafficking kuno, violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act and Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act kasi mixed na cases yan,” De Lima said.

With this, De Lima expressed hope that the Court of Appeals will issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) questioning the jurisdiction of the DOJ over her alleged cases.

In her petition for prohibition and certiorari, De Lima urged the CA to stop the proceedings at the DOJ and nullify the actions of the panel of prosecutors which she said are tainted with grave abuse of discretion.

In her petitions filed last Jan. 13 and 30, De Lima noted the obvious bias of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre as she sought the transfer of the cases to the Ombudsman, which has exclusive jurisdiction over cases against incumbent and former government officials.

“Well, I’m really hoping na makakuha na ako ng TRO. I already filed two motions, two successive urgent motions to resolve my prayer for TRO. Wala pa. Na-transfer na nga from one division to another yung kaso ko. Meron atang mga nag-i-inhibit na justices so I’ll wait for that eventuality and see what my lawyers can file again kapag nandyan na yan kapag finile na nila yung information in an RTC and then seek for an issuance of warrant of arrest. Non-bailable,” De Lima said.

She said that her legal team is already preparing for any eventuality, whatever would be the appropriate pleading to be filed, either with the Regional Trial Court, the Court of Appeals and even to the Supreme Court.

“So there are, I think, still available remedies but ang pinaka-tama sana is yung aksyunan na ng Court of Appeals yung two motions ko na to resolve my prayer for a TRO because I raised very substantive and valid grounds,” she said.

“Pero bakit hanggang ngayon, wala pa ring aksyon sa TRO? A prayer for TRO is deemed urgent and in-emphasize naman namin dun sa prayer for TRO na anytime soon, baka i-resolve na,” she added.

She said it is very clear under the Ombudsman Law and Sandiganbayan Law, and the Memorandum of Agreement between the DOJ and the Office of the Ombudsman that if one of the respondents is a public official whose Salary Grade is at least Grade 27, the Sandiganbayan has the primary jurisdiction. A Cabinet Secretary has a Salary Grade 31.

“The case would be under the exclusive jurisidiction of the Sandiganbayan. Kapag Sandiganbayan, Ombudsman dapat ang nagpi-PI, nagpi-preliminary investigation,” she said.

By: Ernie Reyes, InterAksyon.com
February 8, 2017

InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

Dalawa ang focus ng war on drugs: ang pigilan ang pagkalat ng droga sa bansa at ang drug rehabilitation, pero ano-ano nga ba ang mga nagiging balakid sa war on drugs:

1) Matigas na ulo ng ilang mga drug pusher at adik. Kahit sa dami ng sumuko sa gobyerno, marami pa rin ang hindi natatakot at patuloy pa rin sa ilegal nilang gawain. Paano natin irerehabilitate ang mga ayaw sumuko?

2) Narco politicians at mga tiwaling pulis. Marami ang mga nasa gobyerno mismo na involved sa kalakaran ng droga na maaaring ginagamit nila ang kanilang posisyon upang kalabanin ang war on drugs o patahimikin ang mga magtuturo sa kanila. Isang posibilidad na hindi na tinitignan ng iba dahil tila mas pabor sa kanila ang sabihin na kagagawan ng gobyerno ang mga patayan. Ang tanong ay bakit kaya?

3) Biased media. Nakikita naman natin ang mga hindi balanseng pagbabalita ng ilang media at nahahalata na rin natin na meron silang partikular na imaheng gustong ipinta sa Pangulo at dahil dito hindi balanse ang mga balitang nakukuha natin kaugnay sa mga ginagawa ng gobyerno sa war on drugs. Dahil sa hindi balanseng pagbabalita, marami ang nabibiktima lalo na sa international community na hinuhusgahan na agad ang ating gobyerno dahil sa mga patayan ngunit hindi napapansin ang mga proyekto ng gobyerno para sa rehabilitasyon.

MANILA, Philippines – Environment Secretary Gina Lopez yesterday said the mining closure order she issued to 23 mining firms has nothing to do with politics.

“I don’t do things because of politics. I don’t do things because I’ll get confirmed. It’s always for the common good (of the people) that is on my mind,” Lopez said.

She added she is not against mining but just wants people not to suffer.

She denied that due process was not followed when she issued an order regarding the closure of the mining companies for committing environmental violations.

“They were given a chance to explain and conduct remediation measures. I even flew in the subject areas but they failed.”

“We are not concerned with these business interests prompting extractive activities thus, affecting our water supply. Water is life,” Lopez said, referring to those doing activities near or along the watershed.

Last Thursday, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) announced the closure of 23 mining operations in several areas in the country.

The DENR chief said the firms could still appeal the decision before the Office of the President.

“The closure becomes final when the President says it is,” she said.

By Rhodina Villanueva (The Philippine Star) February 7, 2017

Attn: Mamasapano Massacre, SAF44