Maniolas

Prosecutors from Department of Justice are set to fly to Mamasapano in Maguindanao to conduct an ocular inspection of the site where 44 police commandos were killed in an encounter with armed rebels on Jan. 25. In an interview on Friday, Justice Secrtary Leila de Lima said the prosecutors would be in Mindanao “early next week” to validate sworn statements forwarded and other pieces of evidence sent to DOJ by the Philippine National Police’s Board of Inquiry. “May tentative na silang plano na mag-ocular to validate iyong mga sinasabi sa mga sworn statements,” De Lima said.   “They (prosecutors) need to be there as part of that evaluation para ma-validate exactly iyong mga location, mga troops and then kung saan nakita si Marwan,” she added. De Lima said the NPS component of the DOJ’s joint task force would be collating and evaluating the documents for eventual determination of probable cause to charge individuals behind the encounter. Among the evidence that will be verified by the prosecutors during the Mindanao trip are statements by residents who claimed seeing international terrorist Marwan. Documents from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s own investigation on the incident will also be considered. “Plano na rin ng joint team na iyan na even iyong evidence na makakalap din ng MILF, iyan makukuha rin namin. And I think, I see no problem. I don’t think mahihirapan kami kumuha niyan,” De Lima said. Also to be evaluated are the statements of the survivors of the clash, as well as other Read More …

The Philippine government is standing firm on diplomacy despite a US military official’s statement that China is preparing to use military force in disputed areas in the South China Sea. At a press briefing on Friday, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the Philippines is determined to settle its territorial dispute with China through international arbitration. “Hindi natitinag ang posisyon ng ating pamahalaan hinggil sa pangangailangan na pairalin ang isang rules-based approach sa pagharap sa mga usapin sa West Philippine Sea o South China Sea,” Coloma told reporters in Malacañang. The Palace official was reacting to a statement made by US Navy Captain James Fanell, the outgoing intelligence chief of the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet, that China “has been and continues to prepare to use military force” in the South China Sea. The Philippines and China have been engaged in a territorial dispute over parts of the South China Sea , which Manila calls the “West Philippine Sea,” over the past years. The Philippines claims that the disputed territories are part of its exclusive economic zone under the international law. China, meanwhile, is asserting its historical claim over the area through the “nine-dash line.” Last year, the Philippines brought its territorial dispute with China before the Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration. Beijing, however, has rejected the arbitration proceedings, repeatedly insisting on bilateral talks to settle to issue.  Coloma further said that the Philippines will continue to push a code of conduct with China and other Southeast Asian countries to resolve Read More …

Two associate justices may have opined that President Benigno Aquino III should answer for the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), but Malacañang said Friday that the majority ruling did not impute liability on anyone for the controversial spending mechanism. “The government maintains that any interpretation regarding the DAP should be based solely on the main decision of the Supreme Court (SC),” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement. He added that the SC’s modified ruling on the DAP stated that “authors are presumed to have acted in good faith.” Earlier this month, the high court partially granted the executive’s motion for its earlier DAP ruling, which struck certain acts under the spending mechanism as unconstitutional. In its modified decision, the SC allowed “the funding of projects, activities and programs that were not covered by any appropriation in the General Appropriations Act.” Aside from this, the high court also said that only the DAP’s authors, not the proponents and implementors of the projects, could possibly be held liable for unconstitutional acts. The majority ruling did not identify who the DAP’s authors were. In their concurring opinions to the DAP ruling,  Associate Justices Antonio Carpio and Arturo Brion however said that Aquino and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad should be held liable for economic stimulus program. Quoting Abad, Coloma further said SC “upheld the application of the doctrine of operative fact, which re-states presumptions of good faith and regularity.” The doctrine of operative fact would dictate that all the plans and projects Read More …