Maniolas

Despite a growing clamor for her to divulge Janet Lim-Nqpoles’ revelations about the P10-billion pork barrel fund scam, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima’s lips will remain sealed. “I won’t bow down to pressure from anyone or any group (challenging) that I make Napoles’ list public at this point,” De Lima told reporters in Manila on Friday. Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Francis Escudero, among other lawmakers, have already appealed for the release of Napoles’ supposed list of individuals involved in the multi-billion-peso controversy, that reportedly included Sen. Gringo Honasan as well as eight former and incumbent congressmen. Groups such as the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan have likewise posed the same challenge to De Lima to reveal the manes of persons on the list. Former Senator Panfilo Lacson earlier revealed that he, too, allegedly has a copy of Napoles’ list that was supposedly handed to him by the businesswoman’s husband, Jaime. Lacson claimed more than 100 people have been implicated. Like De Lima, Lacson had ignored calls to make public his copy of the list. Even Sandra Cam, president of the Whistlblowers Association of the Philippines, claims to be in possession of Napoles’ list, which she claimed included 16 senators, two Cabinet officials, and around 80 lawmakers from the House of Representatives. Cam warned De Lima she would reveal the contents of Napoles’ list if the Justice secretary would attempt to “sanitize” the list to exclude administration allies. On Friday, De Lima cast doubts on the authenticity of the supposed lists in Read More …

The government denied on Friday that it was unjustly restricting the access of the National Democratic Front to their leaders being detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center inside Camp Crame in Quezon City. In a statement, the government peace panel branded as “false” the assertion of Randall Echanis and Rafael Baylosis of the NDF that they were denied access to Communist Party of the Philippines leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon without explanation. It explained that the PNP duty officer on the day of the incident, April 13, told the two visitors that as a matter of standard operating procedure, they need at least one week to process visit requests. But it said Enchanis and Baylosis handed their request letter only on the said date and the PNP had to “regretfully” inform the two that their request cannot be granted. It said the two were then advised to reschedule their visit. “While visits are given the highest priority for immediate relatives, counsels, or their doctors, all others who do not fall under these categories have to undergo the usual scrutiny and process, which require an application submitted days in advance,” it said. And with the “distorted” information being disseminated by the NDF, the government panel said it is “constrained” from making its “usual ready endorsement” to the PNP relative to their request made through NDF Monitoring Committee for Human Rights secretariat head Issa Dumanjug Palo, for a rescheduled visit to the Tiamzons. Last March, authorities arrested the Tiamzons for Read More …

Hong Kong accepts Erap apology. Hong Kong Chief Executive Chun Ying Leung (right) accepts on behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government the apology delivered by Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada on Wednesday, April 23, over the 2010 Manila hostage crisis. With it, Hong Kong adjusted the Outbound Travel Alert (OTA) for the Philippines from Black to Amber. Standing behind Leung are the relatives of the victims and some of the survivors of the tragedy. Ason Cañete While diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Hong Kong are getting back to normal after the 2010 Manila hostage crisis, the resolution of the conflict is still hounded with intrigue. At a press conference in Hong Kong on Wednesday, the Hong Kong media specifically inquired about the lack of words like “apology” and “sorry” in a letter from the Philippine government presented to the families of the victims. “It seemed that you refused to use the word apology? You only used the words ‘most sorrowful regret’?” asked a member of the Hong Kong press during a media briefing, a portion of which was aired on GMA News’ “24 Oras” Thursday evening. The reporter was referring to the letter, signed by Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Alan Purisima, over the incident, copies of which were handed to the families of the victims by Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras. “I would rather not say we refused but we found a better way of saying something which is more acceptable in the realm of Read More …

The government is spending at least P2.07 million in its efforts to track, test and monitor all 414 passengers of Etihad Airlines flight EY 0424, the spokesman for the Inter-agency Task Force Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus (MERS-CoV) said Thursday. Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy said the photo chromatography reaction test, which requires a mouth swab from the tested person, costs P5,000 for each passenger. Lee Suy said the task force has not yet compiled a detailed report of other expenses, such as hospital confinement, long-distance and cellular phone calls, and transporting or the fetching of the passengers from a specific location. The 45-year-old Filipino male nurse who initially tested positive for the MERS-CoV in the United Arab Emirates was one of the 414 passengers on board the EY 0424, which landed in Manila on April 15. He subsequently tested negative for the virus in two tests conducted by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine. Spending now to prevent higher costs In a press briefing, Lee Suy said the financial cost of testing and treating the 414 passengers should be viewed in the context of a widespread MERS-CoV infection. “Consider the economic cost of parents unable to report for work and losing income, or children missing school. A widespread MERS-CoV infection will pose a graver, bigger problem for the Philippines,” said Lee Suy, who is also the program manager of the Department of Health’s Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases Unit. As of 8 a.m., April 24, Lee Suy said only four Read More …

Twenty-five policemen, most of them assigned in Central Luzon, have been relieved of their posts for their alleged involvement in illegal drugs operations. Two ranking police officials in Metro Manila, identified as Supt. Robin King Sarmiento and Supt. Maristelo Manalo, are also implicated. “We are not saying that they are guilty. We just want to know the truth and make sure that they will be available during the investigation,” said Police Director Carmelo Valmoria, head of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).. He said Sarmiento was sacked as deputy chief for Operations of Parañaque City Police while Manalo cannot be relieved as he is under schooling. Meanwhile, aside from the two, 24 other policemen — 19 of them Police Non-Commissioned Officers (PNCO), or those with ranks from Police Officer 1 to Senior Police Officer 4 — were sacked from their posts, said Chief Supt. Raul Petrasanta, director of the Central Luzon regional police. “This is to pave the way for the investigation being conducted by NCRPO and to make the concerned personnel available for inquiry and investigation,” said Petrasanta. The NCRPO conducted the investigation following the killing of  investigation on the killing of  Chief Insp. Elmer Santiago in an ambush last April 16 in Mandaluyong City. Santiago was killed after he made a diagram, which surfaced later, showing the involvement of several police officials in the illegal drug trade. “This is really a sensitive issue. We would like really to get to the bottom of this,” said Senior Supt. Read More …