News Roundup 19 August 2022
Aug 19, 2022 • 4 min Read
After initially getting blocked by police, US lawmakers get to meet with De Lima | PHILSTAR.COM – Lawmakers from the United States got to visit Friday former Sen. Leila de Lima in her detention facility in Camp Crame in Quezon City a day after they were barred by police for lacking a court order. US Embassy Spokesperson Kanishka Gangopadhyay confirmed to Philstar.com that a congressional delegation met with De Lima. According to a source, the eight-member delegation led by Sen. Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts) was able to enter the detention facility at noon and left after an hour and 15 minutes. Two Muntinlupa courts granted Friday De Lima’s plea to let US lawmakers visit her after they were denied entry by police the day before. In the order from Muntinlupa RTC Branch 204, De Lima is said to have pre-arranged and coordinated with the Philippine National Police on the US lawmakers’ visit to her, with a letter having been sent to police chief PGen. Rodolfo Azurin last August 10. “However, despite follow ups, the PNP has not timely responded to the request,” read a portion of the order. Markey also sent a letter to Azurin on August 9 informing him that he is leading a congressional delegation and requesting that they be allowed to meet De Lima in her detention facility on August 18.
SC OKs transfer of ex-BI execs to Bilibid | PHILSTAR.COM – The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld a 2021 Sandiganbayan decision ordering the transfer to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) of former Bureau of Immigration deputy commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles and retired policeman Wenceslao Sombero Jr. after finding them guilty of plunder and graft. In an eight-page notice released yesterday, based on a Feb. 15 resolution, the SC’s First Division denied the petitions of Argosino, Robles and Sombero to continue their detention at the Metro Manila District Jail (MMDJ) in Camp Bagong Diwa. The three men received maximum prison terms of 40 years for plunder and 10 years for graft in connection with receiving P50 million from Jack Lam, a Chinese gaming tycoon, in exchange for freeing over 1,300 undocumented Chinese workers at his casino in Clark, Pampanga in 2016. The three, in their pleas to stop their transfer to the NBP, cited health reasons that would make them prone to contracting COVID-19. The SC said that the three are considered “national prisoners” under the Bureau of Corrections Act since they received prison terms of more than three years. As national prisoners, the SC said the Sandiganbayan was correct in ordering the transfer from the MMDJ to the state penitentiary.
Union leader hounded by unknown men ahead of CBA talks with Laguna company | INQUIRER.NET – Mario Fernandez, the leader of the Technol Eight Philippines Workers Union (TEPWU), has been a subject of surveillance and even stalking by still unknown men ahead of collective bargaining talks with the company, Technol Eight Philippines Corporation, next month. In a statement released on Thursday, TEPWU alleged that an unknown armed man was caught on CCTV outside of Fernandez’s home in Cavite on August 16. The man, the statement read, “stood in front of the family’s home for a few minutes before throwing a plastic bag that contained a sim card and money.” Fernandez also recounted that a man followed him after work at the TEPC factory in Binan, Laguna. TEPWU also claimed that the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and local barangay tanods also approached Fernandez’s family on August 12. “They pressured Fernandez’s wife and nephew to sign and receive a letter addressed to Fernandez from the NTF-ELCAC” the statement read. With TEPWU set to have a collective bargaining negotiation this month, the union believed that these incidents constitute “bad faith” on the part of the company. “We heavily condemn the increased surveillance and intimidation on Mario Fernandez and his family and any attempt from the management, NTF-ELCAC, and the LGU to illegitimize our legal right to organize,” TEPWU stated.
Suspect in rape-slay of teenaged biker arrested in Camarines Sur | INQUIRER.NET – The suspect behind the rape and murder of a 15-year-old biker in Bulacan has been arrested, the police said Friday. The Bulacan Police Provincial Office confirmed that Gaspar Maneja Jr. alias Jose Francisco Santos was captured in Pamplona, Camarines Sur on Thursday afternoon. Police said Maneja has three outstanding warrants of arrest for rape and violations of the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act. Additional criminal complaints for rape with homicide, and for using fictitious name and concealing true name have been lodged against the suspect before the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor in Malolos, Bulacan. To recall, the body of 15-year-old Princess Dumantay – marked with bruises, cigarette burns and strangulation marks – was found by authorities on a grassy area in Bustos, Bulacan last Friday, August 12. A forensic autopsy report likewise indicated that the victim was raped. An investigation on the case of Dumantay, along with three other women who have recently been reported missing, has since been sought by the Gabriela party-list group in the House of Representatives.
