De Lima: Possible witnesses to killings of Ozamiz gangmen are not missing

 News
Jul 192013
 
De Lima: Possible witnesses to killings of Ozamiz gangmen are not missing

The five possible witnesses to the killing in Laguna of the Ozamiz robbery group members are not missing, said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Friday afternoon to clarify an earlier report. “They are not missing. [Authorities] were just having a hard time accessing them dahil ayaw lang pumayag yung parents and I think that’s a natural feeling,” De Lima was quoted as saying in a report on Balitanghali. “Hayaan ang CHR (Commission on Human Rights) na mag-access din sa Kanila para mas maging comfortable sila,” she added. A report on “24 Oras” on Thursday said the witnesses were missing. Also, the report said one witness living just 50 meters away from where the killings took place purportedly saw how gunmen in two vehicles ambushed the police convoy transporting Ricky Cadavero alias “Kambal” and Wilfredo Panogalinga Jr. alias “Kulot” of the notorious Ozamiz gang. It was a different version from that of the Ozamiz gangmen’s police escorts, who have said that their convoy was intercepted and shot at by gunmen on motorcycles, the report added. Also on Thursday,  a GMA News source tried contacting the family but they could no longer be reached. The source, who wished to remain anonymous, detailed that members of the family had met with NBI agents on Wednesday midnight, along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City. However, during the meeting, about 20 members of the Quezon City Police District arrived, the reporty said. There was a tense moment between the law enforcers, the television report said. Read More …

De Lima questions deaths of two suspects in Laguna

 News
Jul 152013
 
De Lima questions deaths of two suspects in Laguna

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima is questioning the circumstances of the deaths of two suspected criminals in Laguna who were shot while in police custody and being transferred from Cavite on Monday night. In a press conference in Manila, De Lima said many questions have to be answered on the deaths of Ricky Cadavero alias “Kambal” and Wilfredo Panogalinga alias “Kulot,” who were said to have been shot dead by their police escorts after the two supposedly tried escaping. Cadavero and Panogalinga were being held for illegal possession of firearms. The police officers were transporting Cadavero and Panogalinga back to Camp Vicente Lim in Laguna from Cavite, where the two underwent inquest proceedings when the shooting hyappened on Monday. An initial police report said that at a little past 6:30 p.m., as the police convoy was passing through San Pedro, Laguna on the Magsaysay Highway, the van carrying Cadavero and Panogalinga was shot at by unknown gunmen on two motorcycles. Superintendent Chito Bersaluna, head of the San Pedro Police, said that it was at this point that Cadavero and Panogalinga made a grab for their police escorts’ weapons. The officers resisted and the two alleged gangster ended up getting shot. The police officers suffered minor injuries. Meanwhile, the motorcycle-riding gunmen sped away. The other vehicle in the police convoy then rushed Cadavero and Panogalinga to the nearest hospital, but they were declared “dead on arrival.” Cadavero and Panogalinga were in police custody as they were arrested by the Philippine National Police last Friday Read More …

De Lima: NBI probe on P10B fund scam may include lawmakers

 News
Jul 122013
 
De Lima: NBI probe on P10B fund scam may include lawmakers

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is studying the possibility of including in its investigation several lawmakers being implicated in the P10-billion fund scam by a syndicate allegedly using “pork barrel” in ghost projects. This was according to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who confirmed on Friday that the NBI is in the middle of probing a fund scam being allegedly carried out by businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, owner of JLN Group of Companies. Her firm was allegedly tapped for government-funded projects that were later found questionable, including the P728-million fund for a fertilizer project for poor farmers that were allegedly diverted to benefit politicians and a sitting president. “Whether or not lawmakers are or will be part of the NBI probe or whether or not there’s need to issue a look out bulletin will depend on results of the evaluation of the evidence,” De Lima said. De Lima refused to give further details on the ongoing NBI probe on the fund scam. She also refused to identify the lawmakers who would be investigated. “Given the gravity of the allegations, we’re keeping such investigation under wraps until the NBI completes its evidence gathering and evaluation,” she said. Napoles and her brother Reynaldo Lim were earlier charged by the NBI for illegally detaining Benhur Luy, a lead employee of JLN Group of Companies and a probable witnesses in the fund scam. The Department of Justice (DOJ), however, dismissed the complaint for lack of probable cause. The NBI has already moved for Read More …

NBI completes 'rationalization plan'

 News
Jul 112013
 
NBI completes 'rationalization plan'

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has finished a “rationalization plan” to streamline its offices, highlighted by the hiring of almost 70 new agents and investigators in the last two years. On Thursday, Justice Secrtary Leila de Lima said the NBI, which is under the Department of Justice, is still looking for its last batch of recruits this year for positions in the newly formed Forensic Science Division. “The DOJ is done with its major rationalization plans. We continue to fine-tune the implementation and request for the new or revised positions to meet the changing demands of justice work,” De Lima said. “Human resources is the key to any high performance organization,” she added. De Lima said the rationalization plan was designed and conceived in 2005 as a government-wide effort to streamline offices and establish more integrated functions. However, it was only under De Lima’s leadership that “serious efforts were made to push for the plan’s completion.” For his part, NBI Director Nonnatus Caesar Rojas said the new recruitment would “motivate us to rethink our policies and assign our best people to the most critical tasks.” Rojas said the NBI would soon be submitting its request for the recruitment of the last batch of new NBI personnel. Another highlight of the rationalization plan are the strengthening of the Investigative Service, the clustered approach to using science and technology in crime fighting, the improved Information and Communications Technology Division, and the deployment of NBI personnel where the need is greatest. — Read More …

De Lima tells families of drug mules: Cooperate with authorities

 News
Jul 042013
 
De Lima tells families of drug mules: Cooperate with authorities

By Tetch Torres-TupasINQUIRER.net 3:04 pm | Thursday, July 4th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila De Lima ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to hunt down the alleged recruiter of the executed drug mule. “I am directing the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) to investigate and hunt down the alleged recruiter with the end view of filing charges against him or her and other members of the syndicate, if any,” De Lima told reporters in a chance interview Thursday. Filipino children light candles outside the house of Sally Villanueva, one of three Filipinos executed in China after being convicted of drug trafficking, last March 2011. AFP File Photo The Filipina drug mule was executed Wednesday after the Supreme Court People’s Court of China upheld the death sentence handed down by a lower court on June 26. The 35-year old Filipina and a mother of two from Metro Manila was the fifth Filipino national to be executed for drug trafficking in China. She was arrested last January 2011 after attempting to smuggle around six kilograms of heroin in Hangzhou International Airport. De Lima also urged the family of the Filipina drug mule to coordinate with the NBI. “They probably have more information that could help the NBI in its investigation,” De Lima said. De Lima said Filipinos are among those targeted for the transport of these illegal substances because there are some 10 million Filipinos working overseas. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and Read More …

Approved PEZA investments up 92% to P83.7 B in H1

 Economy
Jul 032013
 
Approved PEZA investments up 92% to P83.7 B in H1

MANILA, Philippines – Investment pledges approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) grew by over 90 percent in the first semester from a year ago as more companies expressed plans to set-up manufacturing facilities in the country. PEZA director general Lilia De Lima told reporters in a chance interview yesterday investments approved by the agency for the January to June period amounted to P83.692 billion, posting a 91.9 percent growth from the P43.611 billion in the same period last year. “The biggest chunk (of approved investments) was for electronics,” she said. She said most of the investments were from Japanese companies. The government is optimistic the country could attract more foreign investments as the Philippines is now being considered as a place to do business by European companies. “What is good is we are now on the radar screen of European investors,” De Lima said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Given the recent visit of high-level European government officials to the Philippines, European Union Ambassador Guy Ledoux told reporters firms from that region are most likely to check out investment opportunities here. Apart from European firms, American companies are likewise looking at the country as an investment destination. De Lima said that during a recent trip to the US, firms engaged in manufacturing and information technology have expressed interest to set-up facilities here. She said the Philippines is being considered as a place to make investments given its skilled and young workforce. With more foreign Read More …

Sereno, De Lima, Roxas meet to tackle ways to decongest courts, jails

 News
Jul 032013
 
Sereno, De Lima, Roxas meet to tackle ways to decongest courts, jails

Top officials of the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Interior and Local Government on Wednesday convened to discuss reforms in the country’s justice system that would help decongest Philippine courts and jails. SC Public Information Office chief and spokesman Theodore Te said Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Interior Secretary Mar Roxas led the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC), the first of such meeting since 2011. Te said the officials discussed a “wide range of topics affecting the judiciary,” including case congestion and prison congestion caused by overstaying detainees. Te could not immediately give further details of the meeting, saying a joint statement would be released on Thursday. In a chance interview, however, Roxas said they discussed ways to expedite the resolution of cases of detainees who have already been incarcerated for too long. “Kami naman sa Philippine National Police at Department of Interior and Local Government ay gagawin namin lahat para malutas o matanggal ang mga balakid na ito para sa mabilisang paglitis o mabilisang pagbigay ng hustisya sa ating mga kababayan,” Roxas said. The Philippine National Police is under the DILG. Roxas noted that detainees are the ones who suffer the most from the country’s snail-paced justice system. 15 detainees He said he had recently ordered a census of all inmates under the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, which is also under the DILG, and found out that at least 15 detainees who have Read More …

DOJ: Sex-for-flight probe to include Filipina’s suicide

 News
Jul 022013
 
DOJ: Sex-for-flight probe to include Filipina’s suicide

By Christine O. AvendañoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 4:42 am | Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013 Justice Secretary Leila de Lima: Own probe INQUIRER file photo MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Tuesday said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) was conducting its own probe into the alleged sexual exploitation of Filipino women in the Middle East by Philippine officials, including one reportedly involving a Filipino woman who committed suicide. De Lima said she met with Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello on Monday on the Department of Justice’s role in the investigation of the “sex-for-flight” cases. She said that following the investigations by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Labor and Employment, the DOJ could come in if it is determined that criminal charges are warranted against certain Filipino overseas officials. She said the Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking (Iacat) could also come in to help in the investigation since the cases “had elements of human trafficking.” De Lima said the NBI was conducting a similar trafficking investigation and some agents had gone abroad to investigate another case, this one involving a Filipino woman who was allegedly raped by “an official involved from an embassy.” The NBI was also set to investigate the case of another Filipino woman who allegedly committed suicide in a Philippine halfway center, she said. “It’s supposed to be an incident of reported suicide but there are indications that this may not be the case,” said De Lima, declining to give details or the identities of the Read More …

Lilia de Lima, PEZA’s Powerhouse

 News
Jul 012013
 
Lilia de Lima, PEZA’s Powerhouse

The Brew By Esther Misa Chavez 6:46 am | Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013 PEZA Director General Lilia de Lima at trade briefing in San Francisco. SAN FRANCISCO—To doubting Thomases out there—the news is true. Numbers do not lie. The Philippines IS Asia’s rising tiger. A number of global credit rating agencies have upgraded the Philippine’s rank to BBB- (Investment Grade). The New York Times calls the Philippines the “Newest Bright Spot in Asia.” Lilia B. de Lima said as much to a group of businessmen and community leaders at a breakfast briefing held at Dentons Law Offices on Market Street. The director general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and undersecretary of Trade and Industry led the briefing, themed “Business and Investment Opportunities in Philippine Economic Zones as gateways to the 600 Million Strong South East Asian Market” hosted by CalAsia. Joining her was Arlen Chou, president and COO of Rucker & Kolls Inc., an American firm that has been running a full operation in one of the PEZA facilities the past six years. Chou confirmed that his business is thriving inside PEZA. Rucker & Kolls is the original patent holder of the probe card and a leader in providing reliable testing of complicated testing requirements. Leaving no doubt among the attendees that PEZA is indeed the “gateway to the Asean market in a leading global emerging economy,” Dr. de Lima said that of the 86 percent total commodity and service exports from the Philippines, 76 percent comes from Read More …

De Lima: Internal probe ongoing for drug suspect's 5-year illegal detention

 News
Jun 272013
 
De Lima: Internal probe ongoing for drug suspect's 5-year illegal detention

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday said she is already awaiting the results of an internal investigation into the five-year illegal detention of a drug suspect. De Lima said she ordered the investigation after a Court of Appeals ruling that branded as illegal the detention of suspect Joan Urbina in the absence of any formal charges in court. Urbina and her boyfriend Ben Bryan Chua were arrested in December 2007 for alleged use of illegal drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia, in violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. In January 2008, the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the drug complaints against Chua for lack of evidence, while those against Urbina remained. She was locked up at the Philippine Custodial Center in Camp Crame. “I’m waiting for the result of the [DOJ] Internal Affairs Unit investigation. Titignan ko kung ano ire-recommend na sanction,” De Lima told reporters in Manila. “Titingnnan ko rin kung ang handling prosecution lamang ba ang dapat parusahan. [Kasi] baka may iba pa diyan,” she added. Assistant State Prosecutor Gerard Gaerlan had already owned up to the delay in the resolution of Urbina’s case. But De Lima stressed despite the prosecutor’s apology, she also wanted to take full responsibility for the illegal detention. “Inaako ko iyang kasalanan ng mga nasa baba sa akin. Kasalanan ko rin iyan but of course it’s humanly impossible to monitor   all case here,” De Lima said. “But as head of the institution ako ang mananagot sa lahat, good or Read More …

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