Maniolas

Detained Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. on Tuesday asked the Sandiganbayan to allow him temporary liberty on March 28 to attend his daughter’s high school graduation. “While he does not want to abuse this honorable court’s kindness and understanding, Sen. Revilla is again constrained to seek this Honorable Court’s permission, this time to attend the Commencement Exercises of his daughter, Ma. Franzel Loudette Bautista, who will graduate from high school at De La Salle Zobel, Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa City on March 28, 2015,” Revilla’s four-page motion read. “The assemble and march of the graduates will start at  2:30 p.m. The program will commence at 3 p.m. and end at 6 p.m.,” it added. Revilla is currently detained at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame over allegations that he participated in the multi-billion peso pork barrel scam, which saw public funds diverted to bogus non-government organizations owned by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles. Just two weeks ago, a separate division of the anti-graft court allowed another detained senator, Jinggoy Estrada, to attend his son’s graduation. In his motion, Revilla said his daughter will receive three awards, and that as a father, he would like to be present for the occasion. “As a testament of her diligence and hard work as a student, Sen. Revilla was informed by his wife, Rep. Lani Mercado Revilla that their daughter, Loudette, will receive the following awards: (a) St. Mutien Marie Award; (b) St. De La Salle Award; and (c) Alfonso Yuchengco National Discipline Award,” his motion Read More …

No overkill was committed by members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Mamasapano incident that led to the deaths of 60 individuals, including 44 commandos on a mission to neutralize suspected terrorists in alleged MILF territory on Jan. 25. In its 35-page fact-finding report on the Mamasapano operation, the MILF Special Investigative Commission also found no liability on the part of the MILF fighters in the area as the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force failed to coordinate its mission as supposedly mandated in the peace agreement between the government and the rebel group. “After the initial advantage on the part of the PNP-SAF, the BIAF got the upper hand in the fighting. Their strong points included familiarity with the terrain, their location vis-a-vis their adversaries, their superior number, and the use of the ‘Barrett’,” read the MILF report. According to the report, the police commandos belonging to the 55th Special Action Company stayed in the cornfield while the [Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the MILF’s military component] were able to cover themselves in the river banks and coconut trees surrounding the cornfield. “The fighting also became so intense that at one point, the men were shooting at each other with only three-to-four meters between them,” the MILF report read. “Despite the advantages, the BIAF did not use unnecessary force or employ any method of warfare that violated International Humanitarian Law. Rather, they faced their adversaries employing the weapons that were available to them and using their advantages to the Read More …

Unlike last Christmas when he asked for temporary liberty, detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada has no plans to seek a furlough for Holy Week, saying on Monday that his detention already feels like the yearly penitence required of Catholics. “Araw-araw Holy Week sa amin, penitensya doon sa loob eh, sa init, nakakulong, mahigpit. Araw-araw penitensya kami doon,” Estrada said when asked about his Holy Week plans. Estrada is currently detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City after being charged with graft and plunder. The senator is accused of siphoning off millions from his discretionary pork barrel funds into bogus NGOs owned by businesswoman and alleged pork scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles. Estrada has denied all allegations. Monday also marked the ninth month of Estrada’s bail hearing, which began late July in 2014. The senator decried the slow pace of the proceedings, blaming the prosecution panel for the delays. “They always come to court unprepared. Wala sa amin ang delay, nasa kanila. We surmise that they will really drag this bail hearing for me to be detained longer,” Estrada said, adding that the prosecution is covering up for a lack of evidence. “I think it’s intentional because they really have no evidence against me,” Estrada said. Plunder is a non-bailable offense when evidence of guilt is strong, which Estrada earlier claimed the prosecution has failed to prove. — BM, GMA News

Malacañang on Monday didn’t offer any stand yet on the legalization of divorce in the country, which received majority support in a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey. Instead, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. tossed the task of discussing the issue to the public and its representatives in Congress. “Ang mga mamamayan ay may kapangyarihang ipaabot sa kanilang mga kinatawan sa Kongreso ang kanilang mga saloobin hinggil sa usapin ng divorce. Hindi pa tinatalakay sa Gabinete ang isyung ito,” Coloma said in a statement. Earlier in the day, SWS poll results revealed that 60 percent of Filipino adults want divorce to be legalized in the Philippines. President Benigno Aquino III, a bachelor, has earlier described the legalization of divorce in the country as “a no-no.”  “I cannot support something like they do in Las Vegas. The stereotype is you get married in the morning [and] you get divorced in the afternoon,” the President said back in 2010. A bill is pending at the committee in the House of Representatives seeking to introduce divorce in the Philippines.  The Philippines, Asia’s bastion of Roman Catholicism, is the only country in the world that has not yet legalized divorce. In 2011, predominantly Catholic Malta voted to legalize divorce. —NB, GMA News

President Benigno Aquino III has noted the opinions of those who believe he should publicly apologize for the Mamasapano clash, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said on dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on Sunday, “Patuloy pong nakikinig ang ating Pangulo sa saloobin ng mga mamamayan at gagawin po ng ating Pangulo ang sa kanyang pagtuturing ay pinakamainam na desisyon na naaayon sa pambansang interes,” explained Coloma.  “Kung mayroon man pong kailangan pang ipaliwanag, kung mayroon pang naging pagkukulang sa pagpapaalam sa ating mga mamamayan hinggil sa buong kaganapan, patuloy din po itong tinutukoy ni Pangulong Aquino at ng pamahalaan.”  Former President Fidel V. Ramos, former senator and administration ally, Panfilo Lacson, Senator Sergio Osmeña as well as several bishops had urged Aquino to apologize for the Mamasapano clash, in which 44 police officers were killed.  A Senate draft report on the clash had concluded that Aquino was “ultimately responsible for the Mamasapano mission”, while Philippine National Police inquiry said that the president violated the chain of command. Aquino himself had said earlier this month, “Kung ako ang may kasalanan dito, bakit di ko aakuin lahat?”  Meanwhile, Coloma said the President was confident that his allies in Congress still supported him, even after more than a hundred House members had signed a resolution for the resumption of its investigation into the Mamasapano clash. The House’s investigation will resume on April 7 and April 8. Their investigation into the January 25 tragedy had been indefinitely suspended after a single hearing last February 11. — Read More …