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 …

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 …

DOJ wraps up probe on slain Batangas fiscal

 News
Jun 212013
 
DOJ wraps up probe on slain Batangas fiscal

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday wrapped up its preliminary investigation on the killing of Batangas assistant provincial prosecutor Alexander Sandoval. During the proceedings at the DOJ main office in Manila, the panel handling the complaint refused to grant a request from the camp of suspect Ana Marie Mendoza, a former mayor of Sta. Teresita town in Batangas, to be given more time to file a counter-affidavit. According to lawyer Norberto Malit, Mendoza’s legal counsel, their camp wanted an extension because they were not furnished with a copy of the complaint, which included charges of murder and illegal possession of firearms. The DOJ panel thumbed down the request and instead submitted the case for resolution. Under the rules, the panel has at least 60 days or two months to come up with a resolution stating whether to dismiss the complaint or elevate it to the courts. Apart from Mendoza, also implicated in the killing was her husband, Barangay Kalayaan chairman Hermogenes Mendoza, and several others. Mendoza, with her face covered, arrived at the DOJ on board a white van and escorted by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of Batangas. Several supporters of the Mendoza couple also dropped by the DOJ to show their support to them. Sandoval was on his way to a court hearing on June 13 when he was shot nine times by a suspect on a motorcycle. The incident happened along the national highway in Barangay Muzon in San Luis town, near the Read More …

DOJ recommends kidnap-for-ransom raps vs 7 people in Rolito Go abduction

 News
Jun 212013
 
DOJ recommends kidnap-for-ransom raps vs 7 people in Rolito Go abduction

Criminal charges were recommended against seven people implicated in the the abduction of murder convict Rolito Go and his nephew Klemens Yu inside the New Bilibid Prison on August 14 last year. In a resolution, the Department of Justice found probable cause to charge Emilio Ortiz, Lawrence Yurong, Emerson Guazon, Fernando Francisco, Armando Mondero, Jerry Dueñas, and Reynaldo Tadtad. They were being charged for violation of Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code for “kidnapping for ransom.” Meanwhile, a certain “Kumander Rico” and several “John Does” or unidentified suspects were cleared “for lack of positive identification and showing of clear participation in the crime charged.” Mondero himself was a former inmate at the NBP who was earlier arrested along Litex Road in Commonwealth, Quezon City. He was nabbed on the basis of a warrant of arrest issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 19 in Malolos, Bulacan. Go was convicted for the killing of Eldon Maguan, an engineering student, in 1991 in a traffic altercation in San Juan City. “The Task Force resolved that it was established that the principal objective of the respondents in depriving complainants of their liberty was to obtain ransom money from the complainants’ family as can be gleaned by respondents’ repeated demands for the same,” the DOJ said. Go’s disappearance was discovered after the daily roll call. His relatives claimed he was taken forcibly from the prison, and that his abductors had demanded a P1-million ransom. He resurfaced a day after he disappeared and was placed Read More …

NBI submits Sabah standoff report to DOJ

 Entertainment
Jun 092013
 

MANILA  (Mabuhay) — The National Bureau of Investigation has already submitted to the Department of Justice the report in connection with the investigation they conducted on the Sabah standoff. However, NBI Deputy Director for Regional Operations Virgilio Mendez on Tuesday refused to disclose the contents of the report they submitted to Justice Secretary Leila M. […]

De Lima wants Mancao coddlers unmasked

 News
May 062013
 
De Lima wants Mancao coddlers unmasked

Investigators are currently zeroing in on the coddlers of fugitive murder suspect Cezar Mancao II, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Monday. “I don’t think mag-isa siya (Mancao). May kasama siya [at] may ibang nagpo-protekta sa kaniya. Iyon ngayon ang pinapahanap ko,” De Lima said. De Lima also said they are determining Mancao’s possible real agenda in escaping, among these to put the Department of Justice in bad light and to push for his candidacy for local position in Compostela Valley, his home province. Mancao, a suspect in the high-profile Dacer-Corbito double murder case, escaped from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) compound last Thursday, the same day he was about to be transferred to the Manila City Jail. In various interviews after his escape, Mancao cited fear for his life as reason for his escape. De Lima said Mancao could have another agenda for escaping, although investigators have yet to confirm this. “I hope wala nang ibang agenda. Ang sinasabi niya kaya siya tumakas dahil mamamatay lang siya sa city jail,” De Lima said. “Pero what if kung may mga tao na ibang agenda na somehow maa-access siya?” Sabotage the DOJ De Lima noted the possibility that Mancao’s escape was part of a plan to “sabotage” the DOJ and the NBI. “Ayoko nag-iisip ng ganoon. Pero I also want to think ahead. Sa trabahong ito, hindi puwedeng hindi ka paranoid paminsan-minsan,” she said She said whoever could be coddling Mancao probably wants to “destroy the reputation and put to Read More …

Risa urges DOJ to probe rebel ‘checkpoints’

 Entertainment
May 032013
 

MANILA, Apr 30 (Mabuhay) — Akbayan Citizen’s Action Party chairperson and Team PNoy senatorial candidate Risa Hontiveros urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate “illegal checkpoints” set up by the New People’s Army (NPA) in certain areas. In a 3-page letter complaint, Hontiveros cited the recent ambush try on 78-year-old Guingoog City Mayor Ruthie […]

Soldiers in Atimonan bloodbath ask DOJ to drop charges against them

 News
Apr 242013
 
Soldiers in Atimonan bloodbath ask DOJ to drop charges against them

The soldiers implicated in the killing of 13 people in the infamous Atimonan bloodbath have asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to dismiss the multiple murder charges filed against them. In their joint counter-affidavit, the soldiers, led by Lt. Col. Monico Abang, denied that they conspired with the policemen in carrying out what investigators from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said was a case of ambush. The group reminded the prosecution team that it was from a soldier where the NBI found out that the police manning the checkpoint with them had tampered with the evidence at the crime scene. “We would not have disclosed what we saw, taking into consideration that the police actions may be considered as our own act,” the soldiers argued. “Without the statement of the undersigned respondents… the NBI would have not learned of this fact,” they added. They also said they found nothing “suspicious” about the operation, which the police claimed was against a criminal group led by Vic Siman, who was among the 13 fatalities. “There was nothing suspicious in the request made by the police that should have aroused our suspicion that our forces were tapped to form part of a concerted effort to perpetrate the commission of any crime,” they said. “Aside from the sole request for military augmentation, there was no independent indication that the checkpoint will be used to camouflage in any case, the commission of a crime,” they added. In its report, the NBI used one of Read More …

If tasked, DOJ ready to look into Imee Marcos' offshore trust — De Lima

 News
Apr 042013
 
If tasked, DOJ ready to look into Imee Marcos' offshore trust — De Lima

If ever she would be put to task, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday said she would look into a report that Ma. Imelda “Imee” Marcos is beneficiary of a secret offshore trust in the Carribean. “If it gets refered to us, it’s our duty to preliminary look into that. Kapag me positive finding, that’s the time to make a formal probe,” De Lima told reporters. However, she refused to further comment on the issue, saying: “Huwag niyo muna ako tanungin. Di ko pa nakita document. How can I comment? So lets see,” she said. Under Executive Order 643 issued in July 2007 by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Presidential Committee on Good Government was transferred under the DOJ from the Office of the President. The almost 27-year-old PCGG was created through Executive Order No. 1, the first edict that the late President Corazon Aquino signed shortly after the Marcos regime was toppled in 1986. According to a report of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, Imee Marcos is one of the beneficiaries of the Sintra Trust, which financial records uncovered by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists show was formed in June 2002 in the British Virgin Islands. The PCIJ report said that apart from Marcos, other beneficiaries are her adult sons with estranged husband Tomas Manotoc: Ferdinand Richard Michael Marcos Manotoc, Matthew Joseph Marcos Manotoc, and Fernando Martin Marcos Manotoc. The PCIJ said that having offshore trust was “a primary way her father allegedly stashed away hidden wealth Read More …

DOJ urged to upgrade raps vs suspects in Dutch NGO leader's slay

 News
Feb 262013
 
DOJ urged to upgrade raps vs suspects in Dutch NGO leader's slay

The fiancée of slain Dutch development worker Wilhelm Geertman on Tuesday urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to upgrade the criminal charges filed against the suspects in the killing from the current robbery with homicide to murder and robbery.  In a petition for review filed with the DOJ, Maria Aurora Agustin Santiago contested the prosecutor’s recommendation that the lesser complex crime of robbery with homicide should be slapped against the suspects in the July 2012 killing. The suspects in the case are Harold Dela Cruz, Marvin Marsan and several Jane and John Does.  “This is not merely about an investigating prosecutor’s error in the appreciation of the facts and the pieces of evidence before him,” said Santiago’s legal counsel, Edre Olalia. “The bigger picture is, as in this case, the propensity to ignore and cover-up state responsibility in extrajudicial killings contributes to the impunity and obscures the political nature of the attack.” The camp of Geertman insisted that his death was a case of extra-judicial killing because the suspects “went into the trouble of making him ignominiously kneel down thereby costing them several minutes before they were able to carry out their alleged plan.” Geertman was shot at close range at the Alay Bayan-Luson Inc. (ABI) headquarters in San Fernando, Pampanga, by two unidentified gunmen who fled in a motorcycle. He was the executive director of ABI, a non-government organization (NGO) that is active in land issues and disaster response. “Geertman, who is known for his commitment to work for Read More …

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