News Roundup 22 December 2023
Dec 22, 2023 • 4 min Read
De Lima questions DOJ’s refusal to transfer 11 inmate-witnesses from Sablayan to Bilibid | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Former Sen. Leila De Lima on Friday reacted to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) refusal to transfer the 11 inmate-witnesses on her last drug case.
In a statement, she said that the DOJ’s remark shows the justice department’s “continuing attempt to stand by its former secretaries.
This statement was issued a day after the DOJ discouraged the transfer of the inmate-witnesses saying that they are convicted felons and emphasizing that recantation does not warrant a “reward.”
“Until the very last moment, this agency which I also led for five years opposed my application for bail, despite its willful and deliberate use of manufactured evidence and perjured witnesses just to sustain Duterte’s persecution cases against me,” De Lima, who was also a former justice secretary, said in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter).
“The DOJ wants to prevent them from testifying again in court on their recantations to stop the identification of DOJ officials who played a crucial role in forcing them to lie & fabricate evidence in my cases,” she added.
On Wednesday, the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 206 approved the transfer of the 11 inmate witnesses from the Sablayan Prison Camp to the New Billibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
Full Story at: De Lima questions DOJ’s refusal to transfer 11 inmate-witnesses from Sablayan to Bilibid | Philstar.com
Marcos vows Philippines will assert South China Sea rights after Beijing warning | PHILSTAR.COM –MANILA, Philippines — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos vowed Thursday that his government will stand up to “coercion” in the South China Sea, a day after a stern warning by Beijing.
“We shall continue to assert our rights in accordance with the Philippine constitution and international law,” he said, adding recent confrontations in the sea were a “demonstration of Filipino courage against coercion and our firm resolve to protect, preserve and uphold our territorial integrity”
Story at: Marcos vows Philippines will assert South China Sea rights after Beijing warning | Philstar.com
More recantations: Retired cop says raps vs De Lima ‘pure hearsay’ | INQUIRER.NET – The prosecution has lost another key witness in the last illegal drug case facing former Sen. Leila de Lima as a retired police general has informed a Muntinlupa City court that he intends to disavow his testimony against her.
Describing the charges against De Lima as “pure hearsay and full of lies,” retired Police Brig. Gen. Jerry Valeroso, who used to work in the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police, wrote a “letter of intent to recant” to Judge Gener Gito of Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch No. 206.
In the Dec. 18 letter, a copy of which was made public by De Lima’s lawyer Filibon Tacardon, the former CIDG officer expressed remorse for making false allegations against the former senator and justice chief, saying he would file a formal affidavit upon consulting with his lawyer.
“Because I was disturbed by my conscience, I planned to recant in early 2019. However, fearing for my life and the safety of my family and loved one[s], I lost the guts to do so,” Valeroso wrote.
Bilibid drug trade
Before Valeroso, a dozen other witnesses, including convicted drug lords formerly held at New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City and former chief of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), have publicly retracted their statements that De Lima, as justice secretary, was involved in the illegal drug trade in the state penitentiary.
Full Story at: More recantations: Retired cop says raps vs De Lima ‘pure hearsay’ | Inquirer News
PNP: Security guards can’t wear costumes | INQUIRER.NET – Sorry, but they can’t be part of any “cosplay.”
The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday reminded the management of shopping malls and other business establishments that their security guards are not allowed to wear costumes, even if it is just part of a themed activity or promotional gimmick.
Brig. Gen. Gregory Bogñalbal, chief of the PNP Supervisory Office for Security and Investigation Agencies (Sosia), said guards posted at such places should remain in uniform and conduct themselves accordingly while on duty.
Sosia, an office under the PNP Civil Security Group, regulates the operations of security agencies.
Citing one of the dangers of allowing guards to don costumes, Bogñalbal said criminals could use the same outfit as a disguise to access or infiltrate their target establishments.
Full Story at: PNP: Security guards can’t wear costumes | Inquirer News
