News Roundup 13 August 2024
Aug 13, 2024 • 5 min Read
Alice Guo removed from office amid POGO hub scandal | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo from service due to her alleged involvement in the illegal activities of a Philippine offshore gaming operation (POGO) hub in the Tarlac town.
“Needless to stress, when respondent Guo started to discharge her duties and responsibilities as Municipal Mayor, she remained to be the real, true and actual President of Baofu Land Development, Inc., and stands to benefit from the continued operations Hongsheng and Zun Yuan,” the Ombudsman’s resolution dated August 12 read.
The Ombudsman raised several concerns with Guo’s actions both before and during her tenure as mayor. These actions include:
- Acquiring land in 2019 that became the Baofu compound
- Pushing for the reclassification of this land from agricultural to residential/commercial use
- Obtaining transfer titles in favor of Baofu Land Development Inc., a company she founded
- Securing a Letter of No Objection for Hongsheng Gaming Technology and failing to revoke permits for Hongsheng and Zun Yuan despite legal violations
The Ombudsman noted that the actions suggest a deliberate intent to breach laws or ignore established regulations.
Full Story at: Alice Guo removed from office amid POGO hub scandal | Philstar.com
No surprise if VP Sara faces impeachment — lawmaker | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Key members of the House of Representatives have dismissed rumors that the lower chamber is readying an impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, but one lawmaker said it would not come as a “surprise” if “some groups or individuals” file an actual impeachment complaint against the vice president.
In a press conference on Monday, Rep. Jil Bongalon (Ako Bicol), House assistant majority leader Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega V (La Union) and Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong (Lanao del Sur) denied allegations by former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque that the lower house is preparing to start the impeachment process against Duterte.
Ortega said he had not heard of such a move in the House and quipped that Roque’s “crystal ball” needs “cleaning.”
“We’re sticking to the facts… We’re sticking to the issues in the House of Representatives, and nothing like that is being discussed,” the House leader said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Bongalon said that he echoed Ortega’s statement but added that it would not come as a shock if certain quarters are seeking Duterte’s impeachment to hold her accountable.
“It would not be a surprise if somebody would file an impeachment case against the vice president,” the lawmaker said.
“It is not surprising, and we wouldn’t be shocked if there are other groups or individuals who want to hold our Vice President accountable through a filing of impeachment. But as of now, I haven’t heard anything about this in Congress or anywhere else,” Bongalon added.
Full Story at: No surprise if VP Sara faces impeachment — lawmaker | Philstar.com
Panel to COA: Submit audit reports on OVP, DepEd, including secret funds | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has been directed to submit audit reports involving the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) — including reports on confidential fund (CF) expenditures for 2022 and 2023.
At the House of Representatives’ committee on appropriations’ hearing on COA’s proposed budget for 2025 on Tuesday, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro questioned the commission about the audit reports on these two offices, noting that this has been the subject of previous requests made by her office.
COA Chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba said the OVP has already submitted its liquidation reports, and they have already released audit actions regarding the office’s P125 million CF funds for 2022.
Castro asked about the findings, but she also acknowledged that these cannot be divulged by COA because of the secretive nature of the CF — leading her to make a motion to subpoena the audit report and other documents.
“Since Madam Chair, they could not mention the findings here, the report, or any observations made by COA — but the people are interested to know how the confidential funds were spent, how it was used, and if it followed the guidelines, the joint guidelines,” Castro said.
Full Story at: Panel to COA: Submit audit reports on OVP, DepEd, secret funds (inquirer.net)
Lawmakers welcome Duterte’s drug testing bill: We hope he will defend it | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The Majority bloc at the House of Representatives has welcomed Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte’s proposal to require drug testing for all elected officials, with the hope that he will attend the committee hearing to defend his bill.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Davao Oriental 2nd District Rep. Cheeno Almario, PBA party-list Rep. Margarita Nograles, Taguig 2nd District Rep. Amparo Maria Zamora, and 1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez were asked about Duterte’s House Bill (HB) No. 10744, which seeks to amend the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
“On its face, it seems the proposed law is good. We haven’t had the time yet to read specifically what is in there, but I think that’s the challenge for those who study the law…In what words was it couched? Would it be able to pass that constitutional barrier from previous iterations? And I think that’s what is hard here,” Gutierrez said.
“It’s easy to file bills, it’s easy to place good-sounding explanatory notes which may be clickbait or catchy, but it really comes down to the quality of the legislation. And I think we’re excited, hopefully, to see our esteemed colleague attend the hearings and defend this bill, and we’d like to see his opinions on how this would pass through the committee,” he added.
Zamora also believes that Rep. Duterte’s intentions in filing the bill are good.
“We are more excited with him joining us for committee hearings,” she added.
Full Story at: Lawmakers welcome Duterte’s drug testing bill (inquirer.net)
