News Roundup 18 March 2024
Mar 18, 2024 • 5 min Read
Scrutiny of Quiboloy’s assets prompts call to publicize ex-president Duterte’s SALN | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman should release the long-withheld Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) of former President Rodrigo Duterte now that allegations of money laundering have hounded Duterte in connection to his ties with controversial preacher Apollo Quiboloy, a Makabayan bloc lawmaker said on Monday.
Rep. France Castro (ACT Teachers) said that Duterte’s new role as property administrator of the assets of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ — the church founded by Quiboloy, his close ally and spiritual adviser — has “(raised) more doubts about the connections of the two and talk of money laundering issues between them.”
Duterte’s 2017 declaration was his last SALN to be made public. Throughout most of his presidency, which ended in June 2022, the Palace had asserted that the president is only required to file his SALNs with the Office of the Ombudsman, which decides whether to publicize the SALN or not.
However, in 2020, the Office of the Ombudsman under Ombudsman Samuel Martires restricted the public’s access to officials’ SALNs, only allowing its release if the requester is an authorized representative, acting on a court order concerning a pending case or part of the Office of the Ombudsman’s fact-finding investigation team.
As this essentially allowed Duterte and other public officials to keep their SALNs from the public eye, critics of Martires’ circular pointed out that it went against the principles of Republic Act (RA) 6713 or Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, which require all public officials to file their SALN.
Full Story at: Scrutiny of Quiboloy’s assets prompts call to publicize ex-president Duterte’s SALN | Philstar.com
Philippines rejects China’s ‘baseless’ claims over WPS | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has long-standing sovereignty and control over Bajo de Masinloc and the Kalayaan Island Group, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) asserted, countering China’s claims of historic rights in the South China Sea.
In a statement on Sunday, the DFA called the Chinese foreign ministry’s statement on the supposed historic rights and sweeping claims of Beijing in the resource-rich waterway “baseless and misleading.”
The DFA stressed that Bajo de Masinloc and the features that now form the Kalayaan Island Group “appeared and were clearly identified in the administrative maps of the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period, including the 1734 Murillo Velarde Map of the Philippines.”
It added that the 2016 Arbitral Award made it clear that China’s claim to historic rights or jurisdiction beyond the limits allowed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) “are without legal effect.”
Beijing, which claims almost the entire South China Sea, including waters the Philippines calls its West Philippine Sea, has ignored the international tribunal ruling.
“The Philippines maintains a firm stand against misguided claims and irresponsible actions that violate Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in its own maritime domain,” the DFA said.
Full Story at: Philippines rejects China’s ‘baseless’ claims over WPS | Philstar.com
Tulfo probes into lotto bettor’s case who ‘invested’ P90-M, ‘won’ P600-M | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Senator Raffy Tulfo flagged on Monday potential irregularities surrounding a lotto bettor who reportedly invested P90 million and who is said to have won more than P600 million on 6/49 lotto draw via system play.
At the Senate’s hearing held Monday, Tulfo said there’s a possibility that the bettor also owns the three lotto outlets in Binondo, where the P90-million bet was cast.
“So again one person may ari siya — maybe siya ang may ari, maybe hindi — parang nag invest siya ng P90 million — tig-P30 million each outlet na siya ang may-ari: Outlet A, Outlet B, Outlet C. This is in Binondo area. He or she owns these three outlets. Nagtaya siya, system 12,” Tulfo said.
(So again, one person who owns the outlets — maybe this individual is the owner, maybe not – it seems like this bettor invested P90 million — P30 million in each outlet he or she owns. This is in the Binondo area. He or she owns these three outlets, and this person casts the bet via system 12.)
According to the senator, betting millions is not prohibited by law nor by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s (PCSO) charter.
But he pointed out that a bettor wouldn’t risk money as big as P90 million if there’s no assurance that he would win.
Full Story at: Tulfo probes into lotto bettor’s case who ‘invested’ P90-M, ‘won’ P600-M (inquirer.net)
PNP reform, reorganization measure advances | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The Senate on Monday evening ratified the bicameral committee report on the disagreeing provisions of Senate Bill No. 2449 and House Bill No. 8327 containing proposed organizational reforms to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Former PNP chief Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, sponsor of the measure, said the conferees from both chambers of Congress agreed to use the Senate version as the working draft of the measure.
Speaking at the Senate’s plenary session, dela Rosa presented the highlights of the reconciled bill, requesting that the joint explanation of the Senate and counterparts in the lower chamber be only inserted and considered read into the records.
The highlights of the bill are as follows:
- As part of the mandate of the Philippine National Police Academy, the PNPA shall recruit cadets from all provinces in the country
- To maximize the technical expertise of PNP officers who joined the service through lateral entry, technical officers shall be authorized to be assigned to positions related to their technical expertise outside of the office or unit where they were accepted.
- Coinciding with the National Women’s Month celebration, the National Administrative Support Unit Women and Children Protection Group shall be headed by a female director with the rank of Police Brigadier General
According to dela Rosa, the ratification of the bicam report proved that he is “not alone” in seeking urgency of the measure.
Full Story at: PNP reform, reorganization measure advances (inquirer.net)
