News Roundup 24 May 2022
May 24, 2022 • 4 min Read
Cavite Rep. Remulla says recanting of 3 witnesses in De Lima case a ‘red flag’ | INQUIRER.NET – Cavite 7th District Rep. Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla, who is set to be the next Department of Justice (DOJ) chief, on Tuesday said the retraction of three witnesses on opposition Sen. Leila de Lima’s drug case is “a red flag.” “That’s already a cause of concern, that is a red flag that there is something wrong,” Remulla said over CNN Philippines. Three witnesses — namely self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos, and her former aide and co-accused Ronnie Dayan — have recently recanted their testimonies where they linked the then-Justice secretary to drug activities inside the New Bilibid Prison. When asked if he was willing to review De Lima’s drug cases once he assumes the DOJ top post after accepting the offer of presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Remulla replied: “Of course.” In 2021, the court dismissed one of three drug charges against De Lima, but the senator remains detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center inside Camp Crame. De Lima has since conceded after failing to secure a seat in a senatorial derby. The senator, however, said she will now “focus on the dismissal of the fabricated drug cases” against her.
With ‘no magic wand’ to fix labor issues, Laguesma wants ‘action-driven’ DOLE | INQUIRER.NET – With “no magic wand” to fix labor concerns in one sweep, incoming labor secretary Bienvenido Laguesma is looking to make the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) a responsive and action-driven agency as he also seeks to push for more local employment in the country. Interviewed over ANC on Tuesday, Laguesma, who is set to return to DOLE under the incoming administration, said sitting down with the worker and employer sectors would be his first order of business. “Try to come up with some workable formula…I would make my pitch for more local employment because while I see overseas employment as providing us needed foreign exchange remittances, I also look at the social cost that go with it: separation of family, too much dependence on foreign remittance, spending more than what you are actually earning and not saving for the future,” he said. “My mission should be to be able to promote and create…more employment opportunities so that our workers will have an option of choosing staying with their families—maybe not with lucrative salaries—but enjoying and probably watching the growing up of their children,” he stated, adding that he intends to work closely with the newly-created Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). Laguesma also stressed the need to “shape up” DOLE programs into “fighting machines” that would effectively address the concerns of both the workers and employers. “Ang gusto ko sanang makita yung Department of Labor and Employment makita na moving, motivational, accessible, action-driven, responsive and responsive doon po sa mga concerns ng mga workers at employers,” he said. (I want the Department of Labor and Employment to be motivational, accessible, action-driven, responsive and responsive to the concerns of the workers and employers.)
Congress begins marathon canvassing for president, VP | PHILSTAR.COM – The Senate and the House of Representatives convened Tuesday in a joint session as the National Board of Canvassers to officially count the votes for president and vice president and eventually proclaim the winners for these polls. For the first time in the history of the country’s automated elections, Congress will be working round-the-clock to canvass the votes for president and vice president in the hopes of proclaiming winners in these races by Wednesday. “We are looking at two days,” Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri told reporters in a press conference on Monday. “With this kind of outcome where the difference [of votes between candidates] is huge and convincing … we don’t really see too many problems that may arise.” Presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his running mate, presumptive vice president Sara Duterte-Carpio have secured convincing leads in their respective races, garnering over 31 million votes respectively, according to partial and unofficial results. To make the outcome of the elections final, Article VII, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution tasks Congress to canvass votes for president and vice president. Congress has created a canvassing committee composed of members of the Senate and the House to compare the physical certificates of canvass with digital COCs to see if they match in figures and signatures. “We do not expect any serious objections unless the COC will have incomplete records orv does not match what was electronically transmitted,” Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III told reporters at a press conference at the sidelines of the joint session. Should there be any discrepancies, the NBOC will defer the canvass of the COC and require the concerned board of canvassers to appear before it to explain the difference.
